Nobody knows how hard we fought to get this far. Everything we’ve struggled against, all the tears we’ve shed, how much we’ve bled. But one day, they’re gonna know that we made it.
Cries several rivers because this is so bad and I had such wonderful plans for this OTL. But!
Happy birthday to the dork twins; Shino and Tali! Aka, our very own @rkars and @jacksonxrk. I love you both and (all) your boys so much, I hope we’ll be able to interact even more next year IC~
Shino; I know I yell and you and we insult each other at least once a day, but I love you so much. You’re one of my best friends and I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you. Thank you for always being there and making me laugh. ...And getting me into the hell that is K-Pop. (Stop insulting my height though, brat)
Tali; We only met recent but I love you! You’re so cute and sweet and thank you for standing up for me when Shino makes fun of me~ (Sometimes. Other times you’re just as bad.) I can’t wait to see you in Berlin where we’ll just flat out DIE when Day6 come towards us. ...At least we’ll die happy, right?
When he had signed up, he hadn’t exactly anticipated actually making it through the first round of auditions. In Youngjae’s perspective he had done quite well sabotaging himself, but apparently swearing on camera hadn’t been good enough, and it was already too late. He had already appeared on television. Fortunately not a lot of his classmates had his phone number, but the few who did had chimed him down and the past week at campus had been hell. In between strangers hitting him up for being the one on TV as well as acquaintances bugging him about never telling them he could sing, Youngjae hoped it would blow over quickly and everyone would just forget about this whole nightmare and let it pass as a joke. It wasn’t like he was going to pass the second round after all.
A part of him did wonder though. This place was full of people of many talents, so how far could someone like him who didn’t even want to be here go? If he got eliminated in the first batch, he couldn’t care less, but now that he had made it this far, watching someone else get tossed out in his place somehow seemed like it would be very amusing. Even if his appearance had been brief, he didn’t want to appear in the first place, and since that was already too late, Youngjae was playing with the idea of going all out after all. But it wasn’t like he had many practical skills in this line of business. He couldn’t dance or rap and he wasn’t exactly a prince charming in any way. He just had his song, and he was going to sing his heart out if it was the last thing he did.
If there was one thing he could appreciate though it was that the numbers had been culled greatly from the initial audition. 54 participants was still a big figure, but it was much less crowded than it had been at the audition building and Youngjae actually felt like he could breathe in here. While some others were busy with chatting each other up, Youngjae had gone straight to his seat and not bothered with conversation. Only when Jackson appeared did he bother moving from his chair to give the other a fist bump. He then crossed his arms before his chest and tilted his head arching an eyebrow. “Is it really okay to let you in here?” he said in what could be perceived to be jest, but Youngjae was entirely serious. “I still can’t believe you passed. That’s even more of a joke than me making it.”
Not really interested in any further small talk he parted ways with Jackson and sat down in his designated seat. His focus shifted from his surroundings to making sure he had remembered everything correctly. Usually he had an aversion to singing in Korean as he still made mistakes even when speaking, but this was as close to showing a new side of himself as he could get. The complete shift in genre as well was a means to that end as well. It annoyed him how much practise and attention he had actually put into this thing for Youngjae kept insisting that it was just one big joke. So why was he taking it so seriously? He could easily just keep his stubborn attitude and pick another j rock song, but in the end he had tried to create a diversity and even challenged himself more than necessary when in the end singing was nothing more than a hobby.
His own number was at a nice halfway point he thought to himself. He wasn’t part of the first experimental group setting the bar, and he wasn’t part of the final people when everyone was already getting tired of listening and watching either. If he had to be here throughout the entire thing anyway, being in the middle seemed pretty nice. There was a lot of diversity, but none of them would be as memorable to him as the kid who later on would sing a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle song. At first he hadn’t caught what the other was singing about, not understanding the fast English, but the moment he hurt the words ‘ninja’ and ‘turtle’ in succession Youngjae had raised an eyebrow and perked his head. Seriously?
That was however after his own performance, and thankfully for that for he might have been thrown off his focus should he have performed straight after something like that. When it was his turn, the artist walked up with his prepared hand microphone, clearing his throat into the device. Fuck. Why was he getting nervous? It wasn’t like it meant anything. “Choi Youngjae, contestant #4026,” he introduced himself briefly and to the point. “I’m a 21 year old artist and I’ll be singing for you. Please listen well because this song is dedicated to someone.” He doubted the person in question would even realise it was for him, but he still sang all the same. Before the music started he let his voice resound in the room acting as the cue to begin playing.
Because it was raining, I thought of you
Because I thought of you, I was like that
It didn’t mean anything
His voice was mellow and much weaker than it had been in his former audition, carrying a certain melancholy to fit the lyrics and the mood of the song. The rain dropping down from the sky bringing forth depressive thoughts as the sky wept. A moment of weakness. Of letting old emotions into your heart. And of realising that everything would just be washed away with the rain.
For the first time in a while, I thought about you today
I deliberately look for a song we listened to together
My heart says it’s okay to be sad or depressed today
It doesn’t matter anyways, when this night is over
I’ll forget you again and live like that for a while
And you’ll only live on in my heart
Because it was raining, I thought of you
Because I thought of you, I was like that
It didn’t mean anything
I hide under an umbrella
And pass by your house
Because I wanted to feel
The emotions of the old days again
As he sang the chorus again, this time in its fullest Youngjae closed his eyes and tilted his head slightly. He was bitter. He was sad. He was lonely. He was jealous. He felt petty and miserable knowing he should be happy for that guy but he just couldn’t, not when he himself didn’t have anyone he could lean on when the days got dark. Finishing his piece, his mess of emotions, he exhaled into the microphone in a sigh, remained in his spot for a moment and only now gave a nod of his head before returning to his former seat.
School was out for the year, and that should have been the end of it and the start of his days of lazing about and do whatever the hell he wanted to whenever the hell he wanted to. Not that his plans usually consisted of much else but sitting by the kotatsu and trying not to freeze to death around this time of the year, but it was a principle he still treasured in some way -- the time alone and the freedom. Not in his wildest imagination had Youngjae thought that his Christmas would be stolen away so mercilessly for some random performance he didn’t give two shits about. Forcing him back on stage for some fucked up show and putting him in a situation where he was at such a disadvantage that he was bound to make a fool of himself had put him in a sour mood and thus the only thing he could do to vent his frustrations was summon one of the few people who actually might just wish to hang out with him during the days of festivity.
Since Jackson had come by Youngjae had already emptied half a bottle of tequila and phoned for a takeout consisting mainly of chicken which he would claim was way overdue even though it had only been five minutes since he made the call. Swaying along to Last Christmas playing for the third time that evening, Youngjae was in the middle of pouring another glass for himself and his guest, a profound expression on his face. “I tell you man, this Wham dude really knew what he was doing. Get dumped by someone, spend your Christmas alone and become world famous for singing about it. If that isn’t fucking genius then I don’t know what is.” After taking a sip from his glass Youngjae rose and picked up Coco from the floor, bringing her into a close and intimate slow dance.
it’s no wonder that jinyoung is always saying he’s going to kill yugyeom one day. it’s no one the older is always bemoaning the fact his roommate is the most exhausting person. and yugyeom always takes so much pride in being the cause of this complaints. he loves getting on the nerves of his hyungs. all of them, it’s so much fun to pester them so. and a lot of the time, yugyeom doesn’t really know where to draw the line-- ( luckily, jinyoung has managed to get him to learn that jokes can go to far ) --but he is learning that he can’t always cause mayhem.
that does not apply right now. the dancer having spotted one of the hyungs he loves pestering the most up ahead of him. now, he could be normal. call his hyungs name, and wave at him like most people would. he could even run up and tap his shoulder lightly. but no, yugyeom has a whole other idea in mind currently. a grin forming on his face as he takes off in almost a full sprint. towards the older. there is no warning given as yugyeom all but launches himself off the ground and latches onto the older’s back. laughter bubbling from his throat the whole time.
the weekends use to be full of activity for the teen. he’d meet up with hyojeong most times, or with his hyungs from orion, or even just be skateboarding on his own around the area or around hongdae. just to get out of the house and do something. he might come off as a lazy teen but hyunjoon isn’t actually all that lazy. he enjoys being active and doing things, sure sometimes it’s nice to just do nothing and relax but typically he rather be doing something. and right now it was hard to do anything. it’s very frustrating.
plus the fact his mom had to go to work and jaewon was at the hospital for another check up with their grandparents, leaving hyunjoon alone. he thought about messaging hyojeong but he kind of felt bad for how much he was asking her to do things for him recently. given, he has a good excuse currently and he doesnt think his best friend would hold any of this against him but still.
instead he called up someone else, the teen deciding it’d been too long since he last spoke with jackson hyung and feeling more comfortable actively whining with this one. someone he feels less embarrassed around due to their past. he doesn’t even let the older get a word of greeting out before he’s all but crying into the phone in chinese. “--and i can’t reach up on the shelf and i cant use a chair and its all bad hyung come help, please.”
Such a legend exists in this world. If you see a shooting star, your wish will come true.
“In that case, I want to be someone else... Just kidding~...”
They also say you should be careful what you wish for.
The sound of the bustling city was no stranger to him. Lulled to sleep every night by the car engines of Busan, it felt almost as a comfort than anything else, and likewise what greeted him the first thing in the morning was always the same sound of traffic. The same as always, never to differ. But something was wrong. Something was very wrong.
What had pulled him out of his sleep was not the usual tunes of Bigbang’s Haru Haru, but instead a yell he wasn’t awake enough to make out the meaning of. What met his eyes wasn’t the usual wide space and the tidiness he was made to keep, but rather the bottom of another mattress, and -- when he turned his head -- a room that was far messier than what he was used to. It wasn’t that bad, but it felt much more lived in than his own place did. Before he had any time to gather his wits to understand the situation, the door opened, and in came a boy that seemed to be around his own age. He was saying something to him, but Jinwoo wasn’t sure what; and this time he knew for sure that it wasn’t just because he was tired and had just woken up. It sounded Chinese. But why was he in a strange room with a strange Chinese boy?
“I... I’m sorry, I don’t understand,” he managed to stutter out in English, hoping that he could find a common ground in a more universal language. But the voice that came out didn’t belong to him, and all of a sudden Jinwoo realised that neither did the rest of him. The first thought that passed through his mind was to go back to sleep so he could maybe wake up from this weird dream. The next was to pinch his own cheek which proved to actually hurt. And lastly he held out a hand. “Phone... Uhm, can I borrow a phone?” Not seeming to understand what was going on, at least the stranger complied and Jinwoo pressed his own number on the display. When the line connected he tried carefully. “Hello?” first in Korean, and then again in English: “H-hello?”
