he calls a few days after he gets the business card, after talking it over with woojin (and some others-- primarily woojin.) he explains what happened to the person on the other line in rambly, long-winded detail, more wordy than daniel ever is thanks to frazzled nerves. the secretary he speaks to doesn't seem startled in the slightest, and instead, explains all the details he needs to know in turn. two minutes, demonstrate at least one performance skill (daniel still doesn't really know what this means), and schedule the audition for sometime in the next week.
naturally, daniel chooses november 8th, the very last day possible, to come in. he spends another two days going about his life as usual, constantly agonizing over the audition in the back of his mind. he thinks of potential song choices over customers' coffee orders, hears guitar chords over readings he does for class in his room. he pulls his acoustic guitar out from its place where it hides underneath his bed in most free moments, quietly strumming, looking up potential audition songs on youtube and trying to transpose the sounds he hears onto the instrument in front of him.
jaehwan proves a great help, faithful guitar teacher and avid supporter as always, and daniel tries not to think about what will happen if this audition succeeds. he doesn't want to consider a contract in his hands, and a commitment to a company every day of the week, and jaehwan and the others short a bassist for empty enigma once again. he doesn't want to restructure his entire life around a trainee schedule-- he doesn't want to kill himself over dance steps every day for the rest of his life, or get told how inadequate he is in every lesson.
and yet, he still works hard to prepare his audition-- still works to do his best, and ignores the doubts and anxiety every time they surface once again.
he ends up learning three different songs on the guitar (with jaehwan's help), and shortens them all to fit within his time frame given for the audition, and with each passing day, flops between his different choices, indecision reigning supreme. he practices all three equally, waiting for something to click and help him narrow his options down.
he practices at sungwoon, minhyun, woojin and jaehwan's apartment too, always a safe space for music that daniel doesn't have at home, and they don't provide much help in narrowing down song choices, all having a different favorite and daniel, mostly too embarrassed to sing any of them for them so they can get a real idea of which option suits his voice the best.
he stuffs string beans into his mouth over dinner, and mina gives him a weird look. he pauses after he swallows it down, letting his fork fall to the side of his plate.
"daniel, are you okay?" his mother asks, and for a moment, daniel considers telling them about the audition. he considers confessing to some of the secrets of his life-- telling them about the mgas, and his love for music at the very least. empty enigma can stay a secret, but he should really start coming clean, if he might pass an audition that could change his entire life. he looks from his mother's face to his father's, and then his brother, taking a break from his own busy life to have a dinner with family like old times, and he considers it. he really does.
"ah, it's just..." the opportunity is right there. he could finally bring breathing room back into his life-- get rid of the suffocating blanket he places over everything, trying to hide it, trying to avoid disappointing his family.
but he can't do it.
"a customer was really rude to me at work today. i keep thinking about what they said," he admits, falsely.
"what did they say?" his mother asks, eyebrow raised expectantly, and daniel better come up with something good, or else she'll dismiss his worries. he can see it on her face.
"ah, um, she said that...i'm not good at anything, and can't do anything right-- because she's seen me at work before, and every time, i do a bad job," he lies. it's a pretty terrible thing to say to someone, and seems realistic enough. the food service industry can be a nightmare.
he swears his mother scoffs, but she shakes her head. "don't listen to people like that," she advises instead, and daniel nods.
"i just..." she looks at him expectantly, and he shrugs. "i don't know how long i can keep serving coffee."
"well, that always was a temporary job. it's probably about time you get a real one soon."
"maybe."
"yes. you can always work at the company, you know? it would be a good job."
"i'll think about it." he would, quite frankly, rather die. his gaze settles on mina, and the dark expression on her face suggests she understands.
after dinner, when daniel picks up the dishes off the table, and he and mina split the duty of washing dishes, the opportunity presents itself once again, and this time he doesn't shy away. "hey, don't tell mom this--" he begins.
"i can't tell mom? i'm already interested," mina replies immediately, and daniel gives her his best stern and serious look. he trusts mina, but doesn't appreciate any remarks to make him consider that trust might be displaced. he wants to believe she wouldn't betray him as far as serious matters go; after all, she watched the mgas on her own and saw him on the show, and their parents still seem to be none the wiser, so...
he takes the business card out of his pocket once again and shows her, and she gasps, nearly dropping one of the dishes on the floor.
when he's back in his room, seated on his bed, guitar in his lap, he considers the lyrics of his song choices, and as he quietly runs over them all, there's one that resonates above the others, and he thinks he's finally made his decision.
stepping into the nova building brings him back full circle, to when he first set foot here, during rehearsals for round one of the mgas. the room the secretary directs him to isn't so different from the practice room he spent his first week in, either, but the implications are all different. this isn't practice time. he's already practiced enough. now, it's time to show the judging panel what he's got, and that they're right to give him another chance-- that he's improved since hyun bin last saw him, and since so jisub said goodbye to him, great contestant on the mgas or not.
when they call him in, he strides in with a smile on his face, refusing to betray any of his nerves. hyun bin is much closer to him now than he ever was on the mgas, and he breaks character for a moment, just to blink in moderate awe at the man. he gets a handle on himself soon though, and he introduces himself. "hello, i'm kang daniel. i'll be singing and playing guitar today." with that, the man at the end of the table nods, permitting daniel to begin.
he strums a few random notes on his guitar, then settles into the right position, and starts, fingers gliding over the frets. he only has a few beats, leading with the guitar, before he has to sing.
yeah, maybe i'ma get a little anxious
maybe i'ma get a little shy
it's a straight-forward outline of how this audition will go from the start of the song, a confession of his current mental state, and how these things usually go for him: nerves, shyness, daniel by definition.
cause everybody's tryna be famous
and i'm just tryna find a place to hide
for a simple song, it's surprisingly soul-bearing for daniel, and of course, that's part of the reason why daniel chose it. it's relatable for him, expressing his feelings about the audition. so many people around him would jump at the opportunity to audition for nova while he hesitated, and becoming an idol is a dream for them, while it was never a thought in daniel's mind until this summer, and still not any of his goals. he's spent most of his journey with music hiding, behind a secret identity in empty enigma, stuffing all proof of his double life under his bed or in his friends' apartment. he's really hiding so much, and the past week proved he wasn't ready to change that yet.
all i wanna do is just hold somebody
but no one ever wants to get to know somebody
i don't even know how to explain this
i don't even think i'm gonna try
it is hard to explain-- the fact that he doesn't dream of being an idol, yet he's still standing here, strumming strings, singing to the best of his ability, even though the song is well exceeding the high end of his range. he just wants to show hyun bin that he isn't afraid, and that he's improved, and that he can handle vocal challenges; he'd rather take this risk than stick to a basic performance, just repeating what he already tried on the mgas, not showing anything new. it might backfire as he leans into the chorus, and has to reach for the higher notes.
and that's okay
i promise myself one day...
i'ma tell 'em all
i'ma tell 'em all that you could either hate me or love me
but that's just the way i am
he makes this song his vow, just like the words say, that one day he'll stop swallowing down his own passions and desires, and bear it all for the world to see. one day, he'll tell his parents, and he'll endure their judgment and pursue his own path regardless of their words. maybe one day, he'll unveil himself as the real person behind cameo of empty enigma, allowing his fans to merge with his own from the mgas into one pool of spectacular people daniel might never think he deserves. one day, he'll shamelessly be the true version of himself. (one day, he'll know who that is himself.)
i'ma tell 'em all
i'ma tell 'em all that you could either hate me or love me
but that's just the way i am
that's just the way i am
that's just the way i am
that's just the way i am
that's just the way i am
he struggles to reach his notes at the end of the chorus, and is relieved to slip back into the more manageable range the 'that's just the way i am's' fall in. as he sings, he tries to think of it as a mantra to himself, too-- that all of the different facets of himself make up who he really is, and that he doesn't need to try and change to fit into anyone else's boxes. it's good practice for the day he'll declare this to everyone without fear-- getting it into his own head first.
maybe i'ma get a little nervous
maybe i don't go out anymore
feelin' like i really don't deserve this
life ain't nothing like it was before
another mention of nerves, but this time it comes with a new confession, and for daniel, it means this: he doesn't think he deserves this audition. he didn't blame the judges of the mgas for eliminating them, and harbored no resentment. more than that, he thought they were right, and never expected to make it as far on the show as he did. the daniel of today isn't so different from that daniel. he has a little less fear now, minimal additional time on the bass due to empty enigma's hiatus, and a bit more vocal experience than the daniel of before. one thing is certain, though; daniel's life hasn't been the same since the mgas, and now that he had a taste of the stage as just daniel, there's a part of him that wants that again. he doesn't know if he'll ever be able to shake it.
'cause all i wanna do is just hold somebody
but no one ever wants to get to know somebody
if you go and look under the surface (surface)
baby, i'm a little insecure
a little insecure seems like an understatement, and yet, here daniel is, performing in front of a panel of judges from one of korea's most successful entertainment companies. just making it this far is enough of an accomplishment for him.
another pre-chorus where he transitions into a falsetto, more vows that one day, he'll tell them all. he launches into another chorus, smile on his face, even as his voice strains, pushed to the limits of his upper range. (maybe it was a bad choice, or he should've played the song in a different key, but it's too late for any of those regrets now.)
i'ma tell 'em all
i'ma tell 'em all that you could either hate me or love me
but that's just the way i am
am, am
yeah, this is what you wanted
oh, this is what you wanted
i am, am, am
yeah, this is what you wanted
oh, this is what you wanted all along
the bridge originally goes even higher than the song, but to save his vocal cords, daniel pitched it down, now something manageable within his range, but with the help of his guitar, the song still rises, climaxing, and then giving way to his final, shortened chorus.
i'ma tell 'em all that you could either hate me or love me
but that's just the way i am
one final strum of his guitar, and then the room is silent. the judging panel gives no indication of how his audition went, so he simply bows, then sees himself out.
✦ — a starter for empty enigma (@woojinrk, @danielxrk, @jaehwanrk, @rkminhyun), backdated to AUGUST 27TH
four cans of beer down and sungwoon is distressingly sober.
he’s supposed to be a lightweight. it’s one of sungwoon’s signature characteristics, like his short height, his powerful voice, or his regular potassium consumption. despite what he may tell people, it doesn’t take a lot of get him drunk, a fact which has ruined many department get-togethers for him in the past. and yet the one time he’d actually like to be pleasantly buzzed, he’s fully alert and in full control of his faculties. to put it plainly: this sucks. seems like the universe is done letting him run away from unpleasant things.
and speaking of unpleasantries… sungwoon cracks open another can of beer and gulps down half of it in one go. tonight is supposed to—well, he wanted it to be a good night, but the longer he stands here, the less he feels like he can keep this up for the rest of the evening. being surrounded by his friends again is great, don’t get him wrong. he’d missed them fiercely during his impromptu vacation, and hanging out with them makes him finally feel like he’s home again. but as happy as he is to be spending time with them, sungwoon’s also all-too-aware of the elephant in the room.
the more he has to grin and pretend like nothing’s up, the more he wants slap himself. his two week sojourn in his hometown changed him—or maybe the mgas changed him in ways that only solidified in the countryside. regardless, while there, sungwoon had been forced to seriously think and reflect on his life, his future, and ended up coming to certain conclusions. before he returned to seoul, he’d felt good about his final decision. it seemed like the right one for him.
less so now. sungwoon looks out at woojin in conversation with minhyun, at jaehwan and daniel laughing about something together, and feels a sharp pain in his chest. he’s—honestly, he’s terrified of losing this, of losing them, and the fear is enough to make him second and third guess his decision. maybe he doesn’t have to—maybe he can just suck it up and—but he’s done enough of sucking up and swallowing his feelings in the past two months and he doesn’t want to do it anymore, not in front of his friends.
but he doesn’t want to ruin this night for them either. it’s their first empty enigma reunion in who knows how long and it’s supposed to be a night of celebration before the bad news brigade has to fuck everything up again. sungwoon wants to keep his mouth shut for as long as possible just to savour the time he has with his friends, but as the conversation turns from random shit to when empty enigma’s next gig is going to be, he realizes he has to step in before things go too far. better to nip this in the bud and all that.
that, or he wants to do it while he still has courage.
sighing, sungwoon crushes the empty can and tosses it in the recycling before turning to his friends. “hey guys, uh. remember when i told you i had something to talk to you about tonight? well, it might be time for me to talk. before i lose my nerve.” four sets of eyes turn to stare at him and he swallows, wiping his clammy palms on his pants.
“the thing is, i—i mean, i’ve been thinking and—” it’d be a lot easier to just say this if he was tipsy. they call alcohol liquid courage for a reason, right? he could use some of that, since his evaporated a long time ago. like three minutes ago, to be precise, but it feels like an eternity. his shoulders slump as he searches for the right words; all the practice in front of the mirror doesn’t help at this moment. no matter how he spins it, he can’t help but feel like he’s letting the rest of the guys down, like he’s stabbing them in the back and leaving them for dead.
sungwoon drags a hand down his face. it’ll… sound bad no matter how he says it, so better just to come out with it. squaring his shoulders, he straightens up and takes a deep breath.
last week was a shock. they were close to the bottom and while they weren’t in last place, they still lost daehwi. it hurt losing the younger, but he hoped that they would continue to be great. then, it was all over for the former team i. they were split up into new teams. he had told his team that he was going to treat them to dinner, and that’s what he ended up doing that same night. he had heard what the netizens were saying about him. he was too old to be an idol, not talented enough. he knew that. he knew all that, but it was hell just realizing that. he wasn’t worthy of being here and yet here he was, still going on. still continuing. his personal determination knew no bounds.
so, here he was. at kt building, in an empty practice room waiting for his new team to show up. when everyone did come, he was so happy that he was with soojin again. it was nice seeing a familiar face, and of course, still feeling the effect of losing daehwi was felt but he wanted to do well for him. the song and choosing a leader had taken some time, but after several options, bad boy was chosen. he would have preferred a more vocal song like deja vu or i’m so sick, but bad boy was good too. there were many ideas thrown out and sungyeol liked it. while he couldn’t be leader again, he threw out soojin’s name claiming that “she was a big help while we were working on stuff with team I,” he honsetly really liked his team.
chungha had a ton of charisma. he had seen it when her team was performing and her dance skills were off the charts, in sungyeol’s humble opinion. somi and sicheng too were not supposed to be slept on. somi had a lot of talent. sungyeol thought about arrangements and even faces. they had to serve the visual and the confidence. as the one team member with the highest charisma and creativity, sungyeol was up to that challenge. he knew how to serve that confidence on a platter. but it was strange, they were actually clicking really well together despite being completely different. sungyeol didn’t feel as out of place as he had expected. the entire first day, Monday, was spent splitting lines, deciding the choreo, and of course the whole song choice and leader choice debate.
he joined chungha in their design stuffs. they had to choose a good aesthetic for everyone and while sungyeol’s own style wasn’t all that great (hellooo kurt cobain grunge and denim on denim fashion choices), his creativity allowed him to help out with outfits. that was something that he took great pride on. so of course, they created a pinterest account together to brainstorm ideas. they soon enough brainstormed enough ideas, for like a badass set of outfits. it was easy to find all the clothes that they needed but it took some time. he wanted to make sure that they stood out for the right reasons. they had to be one of the top teams this time. sungyeol didn’t particularly like that they were seventh even with what they managed to pull off and team a was first as though they were best (they weren’t and sungyeol didn’t think that they deserved the win.)
it didn’t mean that they didn’t spend time goofing off. they had fun. sungyeol teased soojin, somi and chungha a lot. one particular incident was that they had been talking how this concept made them feel and somi had insisted on love and a boy. he had taken this opportunity to say something deep and philosophical. “why think of love? why not think of badass shit? like you know how the main character in action movies and mangas has explosions behind them. that sort of badass shit.” he laughs, and immediately apologizes for the language since somi was a baby and chungha seemed to be glaring at him. he laughed. it was easy to laugh with them. they were almost like a family.
two days before they had to film though the episode (Wednesday, for whoever is counting), though, sungyeol was not alone. he had a toddler girl in his arms. “sorry everyone. i had to bring my girl with me since my parents are away on business and grandparents are too busy as well.” he said, laughing. he had introduced the toddler in his arms as his daughter. he walked over to the camera with a grin and before everyone else got to the practice studio, he explained the whole thing. “I’m a widowed dad, you know, and Haebin is my whole life after her mom passed away,” he feels really shy about saying this. “But Binnie will be good,” he says, and the little girl waves cutely. The blowout with the president of Miracle Corporation, his grandfather, almost three years ago now had been a fairly public affair (a lot of screaming, begging and sungyeol getting called trash ) and even before then, him and his wife had shown up at some events together so it shouldn’t have been that shocking. When everyone else walks in, he knows his daughter running around is a bit suprising but he’s got no one to take her at home and so he’s got to bring her with him for the day. after all, he doesn’t think that having a kid is that big of a hinderance. he is the oldest person on the mgas, why wouldn’t he have a kid already. of course, his teammates are all over her, cooing over how cute she is. he’s happy that his “dadhood” has been accepted so well. he motions his daughter to sit off to the side and he sets her up comfortably with a coloring book and juice box and a bag of snacks. he began practicing, taking extra care in his moves and his vocals, knowing that his daughter is watching. when break time came, sungyeol flopped next to his daughter, drinking water, and she offered him a smile. “look daddy! i made the sky pink!” she exclaimed, all proud. sungyeol looked over and ruffled her hair. “mm, i love the pink sky! does a princess live in this world?” he asked, and haebin nodded. “well, show daddy the picture when you’re allll done! i’m looking forward to your work,” he said, grinning. he planted a kiss on her cheek and went back to practice.
that’s how the rest of the day went. chungha had played with bis daughter for a bit and showed her some of their dance moves and sungyeol couldn’t help but laugh. he did some more planning of the outfits work and of course, he was filming their practice to see what they needed to practice with their stage presences as the one with the most charisma. when the practice was over, he walked over to his daughter and quickly packed her princess backpack and swung it on his back before packing his bag. she stood quietly by his side and he offered her his hand. Before leaving though, Haebin playfully smiles cutely. “Good luck pretty Somi unnie, handsome Sicheng oppa, charismatic Chungha unnie and cute Soojin unnie!” sungyeol couldn’t resist a laugh. “see you tomorrow guys… let’s go Binnie. Ice cream and then I have to take you home,” he said, leaving the practice room with the girl running after him and even ahead.
the next two days were pretty uneventful, except that sungyeol and chungha managed to find everyone’s outfits and forced them to do a fashion show. when he modeled his outfit, he blushed as chungha called him a handsome dad and told the ladies to hit him up on kakao. he struck a charming pose with a cute wink. “handsome oppa coming to save everyone~ I’m a hero!” it was all in good fun and they were having a blast.
d. day came. they had worked hard and he knew that they put their all into this. as they were waiting for their turn, soojin had pulled him aside and showed him her nails, explaining that they spelled Daehwi’s name. Feeling nostalgic about their first team performance, sungyeol pulled her into a tight hug. “so cute. let’s do well for daehwi.” he said, grinning at her.
they weren’t dead last but they were close to there. he hopes that what they did this week is enough. he watches the other performances and a part of him wants to throw up. he felt sick and nervous to his stomach. however when their turn comes, he pushes the nerves down, adjusts his hair and sighs. once again, he has to lay everything down. he’s proud of soojin and doesn’t hesitate to tell her so after she says thank you for choosing her to be leader before they go on stage. he follows his team out on stage. as their team introduced themselves (“Hello we’re 장미와 가시 ! We’ll be performing bad boy by red velvet!”) , he could hear a loud go sungyeol oppa. oh god, he could just tell that was jaehwan. it made him happy though and he couldn’t keep a smile off his face for long. they took their positions, with their backs to the audience.
once the music started thoug, it was like a switch of sorts flipped on. despite being in the back, sungyeol managed to shine regardless. there was something to be said about being really tall. it was easy to slide into the whole badass mindset. he pulled the dance moves off easily, since they weren’t too hard and dancing was his second performance skill. when it came to his turn to sing, he sang with a newfound confidence.
it was like a weight was lifted off his shoulders this week. he made all the rightdance moves and took his position in the formation for the chorus that they would sing all together. their chemistry was actually pretty decent, since in sungyeols opinion, they managed to sense each other fairly well, moving in near sync.
In the chorus he did have a line with Soojin, singing the first two lines of shijakalkke bad boy down and the first wave of whoa whoa , before hesang with soojin. it was a nice throwback to their first performance as a team.
shijakalkke Bad boy down
Whoa whoa
jigeumbuteo Bad boy down
Whoa whoa
he didn’t feel any nerves and that earlier feeling of wanting to throw up had vanished deep away. he sang his lines clearly, eager to show off all talent.
jamkkan iri wabwa neoegeman hal mari isseo
gakkai jom wa gogael sugyeo kireul natchweobwa
he didn’t have a lot of individual lines, so whenever he wasn’t singing, he was serving face. Extreme concentration and focus with a firece gaze. his kurt Cobain nirvana grunge aesthetic was in perfect realm with bad boy. then the chorus hit again and he had a few adlibs which he nailed quite well.
hollin deut nal ttarawa (nareul ttarawa)
modu hwanhohae (modu hwanhohae)
neodo got Ooh ooh
anin cheokaedo neon Ooh ooh
han beon naegireul haebolkka
neomu shwipgen oji ma
jaemieopjana geogiseo Ooh ooh
milgo danggyeobolkka Ooh ooh
shijakalkke Bad boy down
as the song went on the confidence in him soared and it could be seen in the sharpness of his moves. a few moments later, it was his turn to sing again and he nailed the notes.
sungyeol found the chorus choreography fairly simple after the multiple times they had done it. and once again, he nailed his adlibs. but he was charismatic and he could pull it off. there was a minor slip up in his dancing when he moved the wrong way but he saved himself.
the last two lines of the song were done as a group. he wasn’t nervous and he hoped that they had done enough to be a top team standing here and get mentioned more by everyone. he sang the last two lines with confidence.
beoseonal su eopseo Ooh ooh
naegen shwipji Bad boy down
they finished in the same ending pose as red velvet and they held it for a bit while they caught their breath before bowing and leaving the stage. once they were offstage sungyeol told themthat he was super proud of how they did in this week. “hopefully we can all continue and take the top!” he honestly hoped that they did enough.
two steps behind him, this was were kang joon belong. his gaze following the shape of his neck, he marched behind his highness who was illuminated by the moonlight, as he walked through the corridors in a graceful manner. the knight silently tagged along, as it was his duty to protect the prince from all harms. his silver armour shone brightly, every step made was accompanied by a dull sound and the black cape flowed in a light breeze. prince jaehwan was on his way to the royal chambers, to rest after the feast his father, the king had prepared just for him. with longing kang joon stared at the white skin that flashed up in between the royal gowns, soon this beautiful body would belong to someone else.
underneath his helmet the knight grinded his teeth, they were worlds apart, close and yet so far. all this years he had been at the prince's side, from the time of his first steps on, until now, fueling their bond with emotions and feelings which he vowed to never release, but they were about to spill, overflow within him, drown him. he stopped in his march, watching the distance between them grow. a smile appeared behind the steel armor and kang joon rised his voice. "my prince... i will retire after you find a bride." from the depths of his heart, he wished him happiness, a kind and warm queen who deserved to be at his side, and children to bless his luck.
his gloved hands grabbed at the side of his helmet, pulling it off his head, and finally facing the royal man after years behind the partition. the moonlight gently embraced his face, brightened up his amber coloured eyes. he was a knight, jaehwan a prince, and the two of them were both men. those kind of feelings towards royalty were forbidden, and without doubt he would beheaded if the king ever heard of this scandal. he closed his eyes, and bowed down, getting on one knee, his right hand wandering to his chest. "it was a honor to serve you, my prince." he said calmly, waiting for the prince to signal him to rise again.
daniel could just text sungwoon, minhyun and jaehwan about his audition with nova, but it's something he feels more like doing in person, maybe because he keeps his bass at their place and he thinks playing might clear his head and give him some idea of what to do, or maybe because he trusts their opinions and could use some advice, and all of that is better done in person than through a screen.
either way, he catches the familiar bus to their front door, and when he lets himself in, he's surprised to find the place mostly empty. then again, it shouldn't be much of a surprise-- sungwoon is probably working, and daniel has always taken minhyun for the busy type. he finds jaehwan on the couch, parked in front of the tv, and that's certainly among the least surprising things to happen in the past few days. woojin could be home and just in his room for all daniel knows; he doesn't expect a greeting.
"hey," daniel says instead, the business card he received already burning hole in the pocket of his hoodie. he doesn't know whether to start off with small talk or jump right into why he's really there, but he can see the curiosity on jaehwan's face; daniel doesn't usually come over unannounced, even if sometimes he does come over without much reason. "so, something weird happened, when woojin and i were at the lotte world ghost hunt thing," he begins. he might as well get right into it, since he'll be thinking about it the entire time he does anything else, anyway.
briefly, he wonders if woojin already told the others about his own audition, or if he's kept it to himself. either way, this news is daniel's to share. "some guy gave me this," and with that, he pulls the card out of his pocket, extending it to jaehwan so he can get a good look. "he told me to call and schedule an audition for nova."
in the end, this works out-- daniel finding only jaehwan here. for some reason, he thinks he'll be the biggest help in settling on an audition song.
he’d spotted the alpha look alike a few times at this place. each time the guy looking like he’s seen a ghost when he makes eye contact with hyunjoon without further cements the idea that he is alpha. and with most everyone he knows on mga right now, what a better time to track down the elusive empty enigma member during his free time.
hyunjoon finds himself lurking out at the restaurant that this guy works. he’s wearing a hat, and lighter colored clothing which is different from what he normally wears. hoping that the new style would help keep alpha from running away before hyunjoon can approach. yes, he realizes this is bordering stalking at this point but the teen was desperate for something to distract himself from the fact he isn’t on mga anymore, but his friends and brother are and he misses them. changmin was eliminated last round, so the teen has one of his usual friends, but the older male wasn’t always around.
so here he is being borderline a creepy fan to a member of his favorite band--said band that all live hannah montana lives and he’s figure out three of them--without a single care in the world. he spots alpha leaving and is quick to duck around people so he can follow. managing to get out just in time to cut alpha off. “i need to ask you something, it’ll only take a moment.” he says, turning on that cute thing that inho hyung says he has, and giving alpha sad puppy dog eyes.
