excited doesn’t even cover it. he’s thrilled, ecstatic to have the phone camera back in his hand, ready to show off a collection he had amassed in the last several months.
he walks the camera over to the closet, then turns it back on himself.
“so i’ve been dabbling with fashion lately, ‘cause korean fashion is really different than thai fashion. but a few months ago, a japanese friend of mine introduced me to this new style -- do you know which one i’m talking about? oh, looks like it’s well-known. ding ding ding! you’re all correct!” there isn’t an audience, of course, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be fake interactive. “it’s the harajuku fashion! it’s not really a specific fashion style, though. it’s more of a . . . ah, statement, yes. for those who don’t know anything about harajuku style, it started in i think the late eighties? people start wearing more colorful and layered clothing and---”
for a good three minutes, he babbles on about the trend’s history and what it represents: freedom of expression through fashion. “. . . never been to harajuku, and i heard from my japanese friend that, sadly, not a lot people dress up anymore . . . so i decided to revive it here!” he flings open the shared closet and does jazz fingers toward the left side, where it is notably more vibrant in comparison to the other half, which is made up with pastels and neutrals. “i call this side my sunday closet, ‘cause sunday is the only day i have enough time to put together an outfit design and go out and about.”
his fingers run through the neons before landing on a vibrant patterned shirt. “this is my favorite piece so far -- hold on, lemme try it on.”
the camera cuts off, then the second snippet starts.
he does several poses with a blue outfit before stepping closer to the camera, a full grin appearing on his face. “it’s fun, isn’t it? it’s not as colorful and layered as the others you’d see in harajuku, but it’s a start, right? truthfully, i don’t think i’ll go as far as they did, ‘cause i like kinda the -- hmm, relaxed style? yes, relaxed style. so let’s say this is relaxed harajuku fashion, or fashion inspired by the trend! but i don’t know -- maybe that’ll change with time. we’ll see where i end up, since i’m only starting out with fashion styling. who knows, maybe by the end of this year, i’ll be making my own clothes. fashion designer sao, it has a ring to it, doesn’t it?”
distantly, he catches the time.
“oops, that’s all for today! tune in next time to see what i put together from my sunday closet!!”
insoo fixes his hair as he places the camera he borrowed from the staff to do his v-live. admittedly, he’s not the type to use social media too much despite his necessity to be surrounding himself with people constantly. he had always found the social construct of it the one thing he never quite liked about stardom. so, aware that he hadn’t reached that status yet, he hadn’t bothered much from the beginning to make himself appear one way or another, opting to stay true to what he finds interesting to post or say in the few media related posts he’d done.
not one to undermine his charms, however, he finds himself falling into a comfortable position in front of it easily. he plays with a few buttons, names the video and soon, he presses live. in a matter of minutes, the views slowly grow. insoo doesn’t pay much mind to it, smiling just at the mere idea of someone taking the time to listen to him at all.
insoo clears his throat. “a, a.” he tests the sound, chuckles as he fixes his hair and inches closer with a smile. “hello everyone! ah, right now it’s-” he turns to the clock to the wall. “around five p.m. How’s everyone doing?” greets insoo. “i know not many of you may know me, so let me introduce myself before anything.” insoo rearranges his expression carefully, bowing ever so slightly in front of the screen. “Good evening, I’m Han insoo, a junior?” he scratches his head, trying to remember for how long he has been in the company. “trainee of legacy. It’s nice to meet you. My skills are drumming-” and to emphasize his points, he grabs his pair of drumsticks from his side and displays them to his viewers, waving them around. “dancing-” he chuckles as he shimmies his shoulders playfully; “and lastly, bugging this one right here-” the camera then pans to another legacy trainee, @lgcyuan to be precise. “shanshan. He’s the nicest, most handsomest hyung ever-” insoo pauses, correcting himself. “-or gege, and he’s accompanying me right now because he’s helping me learn chinese.”
shakily, insoo grabs the camera and moves about the room to make sure yuan is better seen by his public. yuan, none the wiser, is shown leaning against a couch with a book open on his lap, completely absorbed in the task. insoo is sneaky, and though yuan is aware of his presence, he doesn’t disturb him much as he crowds his space with both his arms and the camera. “isn’t he handsome? woah.” insoo marvels, scanning his friend’s face with it. he shifts the camera back to him, leaning on his friend’s shoulder. “he’s very smart, and kind, i hope you guys look forward to knowing him too!” insoo grins as he leaves his friend’s side to sit behind a table. “anyways, i just wanted to check on you guys. I know it’s been a while since i last made a v-live, i hope everyone is doing well, eating healthy, and is safe.” insoo smiles, nodding.
“this past year has been a bit tough in terms of improvement for me. I’ve been wanting to work better on my singing, but it’s been a slow thing.” he adds sheepishly, hand on his neck. “so my new year’s resolution is to not only improve on my language skills, but also to become a better, well-rounded artist.”
“but i’d like you guys to be the judge. so after this, i’m going to play some videos about me and shanshan. Hope you guys look forward to it!” insoo shakes his fist, raising it enthusiastically. he pans the camera back to yuan, zooming in his features anew. “shanshan!” he calls out. “say bye~” and before the other male is able to respond, the video transitions to a series of clips of him practicing his chinese alongside his friend, and many others.
… in which 𝐌𝐀𝐗𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐋 𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐈 becomes a better version of himself ! ( gif credit )
word count: 964
new year, new me. to max, it was a terribly overused phrase he himself had never said because it only gave him unrealistic expectations for the 365 days ahead of him. but this year, it was different. the company had tasked the trainees to create their own resolution of sorts, attempt to improve on something that they’d wished to get better at for some time. it stumped him, really - not because he was short of any ideas - in fact, there were about a thousand things he wanted to get better at. however, many of them didn’t seem realistic as max didn’t have the time or energy to devote into cramming the progress into a minutes-long video. he had to get creative.
so, as he tends to do, max bends the rules a little bit. he doesn’t know if what he’s attempting counts as a true skill, per se, but it was something he felt rather confident he could accomplish within the timeframe allowed. so, once his plan is mapped out he sets up the camera in the dance studio and beams, just as he presses record.
“ hi everyone ! ” he greets chirpily, raising his finger to poke his own cheek. “ it’s your .... ” before continuing he puts his index finger in the air, and forms a finger heart with his other hand. “ .... one and only love, max choi, here with a vlog ! ” he’s already mentally exhausted from his intro, and it takes everything in him not to cringe. a few seconds after holding the pose he deflates, looking rather embarrassed into the camera. “ that was ... really bad, right ? ” he asks the camera, directing his attention to the viewers with a sheepish smile. “ well, that’s what i’m here for today ! you all know me as your bright and shooting star max, because i put a lot of emphasis on power and aggression in my performances ! but i wanted to try something a little different, and work on my duality. so today we’ll be working on something very important - my cute factor ! ” with that, he tries some aegyo out, only before falling into a fit of laughter in embarrassment.
in his personal life, it wasn’t too hard to be cute, he never really purposefully tried to be but it coincided with his personality. during performances, though ? he was totally different. for max, it was especially hard to rehearse cute moments, and if he did it often turned out horribly cringe-worthy. as a rapper, he was more comfortable with a tough aura and that’s what had worked for him for the last year of training. but he really wanted to break out of his shell - after all, he never knew what type of concept he would debut under, and it may help him out someday.
“ but of course, i wanted to add an extra challenge in there too. i’m not too confident in my dancing, either, so we’re going to add something else to the table ! i’ll be learning the dance to one of my favorite songs by daekbok shidae - humph ! ” he then hums a short section of the song, swaying his head to the beat for some entertainment. “ anyways, as you all probably know, it’s a very cute song, and it should be really fun ! so essentially, the goal for today is work on my cute performance skills a little better. i’m not going to take myself too seriously, because i honestly think that’s the trick. anyways, enough talking ... let’s get it ! ”
the next few clips are a joke, mainly consisting of max intently reading articles on how to be cute. in one clip in particular, he can be seen trying to learn the confession song, supposedly to improve his facial expressions and become comfortable with aegyo gestures. really, it’s his excuse to have some fun before the real work begins.
the next series of clips are of max learning the dance. it begins a sequence of him energetically copying the routine of the group’s original video, only to fall over in exhaustion after a few minutes. he seems to be improving, however, and the falls grow less frequent as the practice goes on. he shoots a few thumbs up at the cameras, and says “ please keep cheering me on ! ” as he rehearses the last part.
finally, the camera switches to sit in front of the mirrors, where max is now facing with his hands at his sides in exhaustion. “ it is currently .... 3am. ” showing his phone’s time to the camera he sighs in exasperation, though he attempts to keep the energy up for the last few minutes. “ but i’ve finally learned the dance ! i’ve tried my best to show my cute spirit through this video, so please support me ! ” after getting into place, he exclaims his signature “ let’s get it ! ” before letting the music play.
he’s not a dancer by nature, so of course it’s a little difficult for him. but the dance is on the easier side, and it allows max to focus more intensely on his cuteness for this performance. his fondness for the song is evident in the way he mouths all the words, and is what made the familiar chorus’ dance easier to learn. he’s sure to put all his pre-rehearsed extra bits in there - from the pouts, to the puffing of his already prominent cheeks, and the many hearts directed to the camera. he ends the dance with a very dramatic fling to the floor, in an effort to display his exhaustion. remaining on the cold ground, he screams an accomplished “ finished ! ” and ends the video there. he’s done all that he could, and it feels pretty good.
… jaewoo pulls his hand away from the lens of the camera and light slowly seeps into the frame, the focus adjusting momentarily before it settles on jaewoo himself. he’s looking up at the screen with anticipation, scintilla in his eyes from the sunlight streaming in through the window. he’s always felt nervous whenever he has to film something for an audience, but this time, the excitement overcomes everything else.
he’s thrilled by the thought of learning something new and getting to share that experience with other people. it’s tender, almost. he’s not sure if that’s his sincerity speaking, or just the naivety of his youth. maybe both? he isn’t sure.
the red light blinks impatiently in front of him. okay, time to talk.
“hi everyone! it’s lee jaewoo!” he waves as he greets the camera, already comfortable in its presence. “one of my favorite things about being a trainee is that we get to learn a lot of new skills. for the new years, we get to pick a new experience,” he finds himself already smiling wide, overtaken by his excitement, “and i decided i’m gonna learn how to make a movie!”
he claps at the reveal, leaning back into his seat as he does so. without most of his body blocking the view now, it can be seen that he’s sitting behind a desk.
“well, actually, that’s disproportionate.” he says playfully. he lets his chair swivel a little as he gestures to the laptop and equipment in front of him. “i’ll actually learn a component of movie-making, which is video editing! so,” he shrugs to end the sentence, blinking innocently.
“my ultimate goal is to make a short film by the end of it, but nothing too grandiose!” jaewoo immediately waves his hands in dismissal, “maybe with sock puppets for actors? or paper figurines?” he grins even wider at the thought, “something like that! i guess we’ll see!”
he lets himself think for a moment, eyelashes fluttering as he shifts his gaze. he’s thankful for the weather todayㅡall clear and sunnyㅡbecause it illuminates the room well, makes for great lighting.
“i’ll start with editing a couple of clips first,” he explains, “kind of like a vlog?” he nods to himself, “yeah, like a vlog. i have some videos here that i took during my free time in the last couple of weeks, so i’ll work on those. but as a sneak peak, i’ll let you guys see some of the raw clips right now.”
on cue, the video cuts to a short montage of clips. a shaky footage of a rainbow from when it rained the other day. jaewoo dancing in a blindingly neon orange coat. hot chocolate being poured into a mug, then jaewoo with a froth mustache. him petting his cousin’s dog. jaewoo balancing a small, yellow chick on the top of his headㅡfrom when he visited his grandfather in the countryside last weekend.
and then it’s back to jaewoo, in the comfort of his room.
“i’m really not an expert at this,” he begins shyly, referring to the clips he’d just shownㅡand to video editing in general, “but that’s the point, right?”
“i don’t know when i’ll get to show everyone my output, but please look forward to it!” he bows from his seat, hands unconsciously clasped. his smile hasn’t dimmed in the slightest. “thank you for tuning in, everyone. i’ll work hard until we see each other again!”
… in which 𝐈𝐌 𝐍𝐀𝐑𝐈 becomes a better version of herself ! ( gif credit )
word count: 1,253
at first the camera displays nothing but an empty wall, no sign of a trainee in sight. however, a strand of hair slowly emerges, before curious eyes slide into the view of the camera. “ boo ! ” she whisper-yells, and it’s once the trainee doubles over in her familiar laughter that she’s revealed to be im nari. “ hi everyone ! ” she greets, bringing both her hands up to wave at the camera. she’s clearly comfortable in front of the camera, a sign of her years of both acting and similar vlogs that were sent to her family in damyang. still, her eyes are more sunk back and her voice is more groggy than usual, a sign of her exhaustion from waking up so early. she’s bundled up, her entire torso up to her chin covered with a black winter coat. it’s a little odd, seeing that it’s approaching springtime, but her next few words explain her intent further.
“ so ! when tasked with this whole ... resolution thing, i wanted to pick up a skill i’m not too familiar with but have a genuine interest in ! ” she speaks rather slowly, mindful of the way she’s speaking to ensure her jeolla dialect isn’t to prominently peaking through. i really should’ve worked on improving my seoul dialect, she thinks to herself. “ anyways, i was thinking about how i wanted the new skill to make me feel, and i’ve decided. i wanted something that makes me feel graceful, calm, like ... ” at that moment, she exaggerates her movements to make them more flowing, her dramatic interpretation of -
“ a swan ! i wanna feel like a swan, you know ? ” her eyes light up in excitement, similar to a child’s, as she envisions the gracefulness she aspires to have. “ so that’s why today ... at 6 am ... ” speaking as if she’s about to announce something very important, she shows her smart watch to her camera, the clock indeed reading 6:05. “ ... we’re heading off to the skating rink, where i’ll learn ice skating ! ta - da ! ” doing jazz hands at the camera she beams, her energy slowly rising as her body starts to wake up more. a part of the motivation for her enthusiasm was the idea that her family would be watching, though this time on a much more professional platform and on behalf of the company. it evoked a sense of pride, as it was some of her first proof to them that things were truly going good in seoul, and that she was becoming a true part of the legacy team.
“ i had to wake up so, so early today ! ” giving a loud yawn and leaning over to the camera, she tries to emphasize her fatigue. it was a bit of a bummer to have to be up so early on the only time she had off, but she figures the publicity would be worth it. sure, she wakes up around this time for school anyways, but she decides to maintain the illusion for the sake of entertainment. “ but the skating rink is pretty far away, so i had to wake up early ! and on that note - i’m gonna be late ! let’s go ! ” with that, she does the transition she sees other youtubers doing, bringing her camera to cover the screen with some self-made sound effects.
when they’re pried away from the camera again, however, nari’s in a very different setting - a large, white skating rink with a female by her side. “ this is my teacher for the day ! she’s going to help me to become an olympic gold medalist ! right, teacher ? ” the teacher gives a quiet response, but the look on her face is anything but promising. “ i’ve still got my regular shoes on, but now i’m going to to switch into skates and learn to get comfortable on ice ! ” the next clip is of her sitting at the stool, cooing at how cute she thinks the shoes look. she comments that she wants to skate more often, because of how nice the skates look on.
following that, a first person view is given as nari holds her phone which was recording the whole thing, the camera pointed to the ground. it’s clear this part wasn’t supposed to make it into the final cut, but did for one embarrassing reason. “ hey, this is pretty easy ! do you think you could record the video for me while i sk - ” all of a sudden the camera starts wobbling, and a loud gasp is heard before it begins crashing to the ground. it’s black, but only for a minute before a laughter arises, so much so that she finds it hard to breathe. once she’s sitting upright, she lifts her phone to reveal her flustered face, shaking her head in disbelief. “ okay, okay, so ! ah ... wow, what do i even say to that ? ” the natural flow she usually possesses is replaced with a taken aback sort of amusement, and all she can do is continue laughing. “ well, i definitely just fell flat on my face. maybe from now on, we’ll let my teacher take the lead ! ”
following the embarrassing moment is a montage, showing the teacher guiding her around the rink. slowly, she begins to teach simple skating techniques, and though the video is heavily cut down, the viewer’s begin to see her slow progress. there’s still the frequent falls, however, but all of them end with her giggles. they won’t see her having a bad attitude, she’s persistent on that.
“ we’re going to end the day with a very special performance ! i will be skating perfectly to one of my favorite songs, violeta by the legacy trainees ! ” it wouldn’t hurt to give her company a little promotion - she wasn’t sure she had much of a choice, anyways - but the song genuinely was one of her favorites. as she presents her performance as “ perfect ” her voice is clearly satirical, and it’s evident she’s certainly joking. “ i know i haven’t been the easiest student, but thank you for all your help today ! ” she says, gesturing towards the teacher. “ but thanks to you, i might just become the next yuna kim ! ”
the performance is ... entertaining, to say the least. of course, a couple of hours of practice don’t turn her into the olympic medalist she’d hoped for, but she’s able to do a few laps around without falling to her doom now. so she does just that, and rather than show true promise in skating she uses her performance skills to up the entertainment. finally, with a cry of “ violeta ! ” she attempts the last move she was taught - the spin. and, as expected, rather than pull off the challenging move she’s sent spinning to the floor.
just as she hits the ground with a large thud, the song ends, and only the whirring of the air conditioning can be heard as the coach looks on with slight horror. slowly, nari peers up, though her body stays planted in the ground. her look of embarrassment quickly transforms into a childish grin as she begins to speak.
new year, new trimester and, you guessed it, a new vlive prompt!
much like how trainees received the opportunity to showcase a little bit of their life in their “A DAY IN THE LIFE OF…” vlog series last year the company aims to keep up the momentum and give their starlets in the making a little space to share their thoughts with the world.
for this trimester the prompt is “NEW YEAR, NEW EXPERIENCES”. in the spirit of self-improvement, trainees are encouraged to pick up a new skill and share it with the company’s vlive audience as a way to keep them accountable, with the thought that once each trainee debuts they’ll have the chance to update the people who have been following them on their progress.
each trainee has TEN MINUTES at their disposal to introduce the audience to what new thing they’ll be working on in 2020, whether they submit one block of raw footage or curate a collection of snippets of their first attempts. possible new skills to pick up could range from a new dance style, language or instrument to getting into photography, fashion design, video editing or acrobatics.
to be eligible to +4 SKILL POINTS IN VARIETY and +2 NOTORIETY, write a 300+ word solo in form of a vlog. the content will then be syndicated by the admin team and posted in official vlive format to the lgcmedia blog.
you have until 04 april 2020 to meet the requirements and claim your points. the official tag for this event is #lgc:secondvlive.
to validate your points, please submit the following form to the points blog before 14 april 2020:
TITLE: MUSE NAME · LGC SECOND VLIVE
– SOLO: + 4 VARIETY ; +2 NOTORIETY [ LINK ]
the first vlive theme was a lot easier to record than this one. he didn't need to decide anything, aside from which part of his day would be more appealing to viewers and what to leave aside. but taking on a new skill when he barely has time for those he already has? it sounds like quite the burden in the middle of filming for future dreams and other things. but vlives are an important part of nurturing a fandom. that's how fans engage with their idols and get to know them on a more personal level. or at least, as personal as the idol wants it to be. he thinks of many new hobbies he could take on, but he finally settles on the guitar. he's... strummed a few chords before but nothing to really brag about
he feels like it's sure to melt the hearts of his fans if he can practice enough to play a love song after a few weeks. "hey guys!" he speaks to the camera once he finally begins his first recording. "so, we were tasked to develop a new skill for 2020 and i thought it was a good time to start something i meant to for a long time but never got to!" and while saying that, he leans over and picks up a guitar. "yeah, probably not what you expected, me neither. but it's about time though! i don't really have a set plan for it... i found some videos for beginners i might just follow those, then practice on my own time."
the viewers can then see a sped up version of various clips where king is shown watching the videos closely, and playing the instrument until about two weeks later. "hey again! ok so i've practice every single day during my free time, and i think i'm not doing too bad? i learned a bit of dbsd sunbaenim's love scenario. don't expect like, something super amazing, ok? i'd rather lower your expectations! he laughs, and starts playing. it's slower than the real song but he still isn't skilled enough to quicken the pace. he sings softly along, unable to look at the camera until he's finished as he's busy checking his fingers' placement. but he seems proud when it's over and he turns to the camera. "and that's it! new skill acquired! granted, it's not very advanced but i'll get there. it's a promise from me to you guys!"
this is going to be interesting, is the only thought that hyunjin can muster as the camera is set up and the room has been cleared out. there’s an excercise mat placed there, rolled out and brightly green, waiting for something to happen.
he presses record. everything flashes onto the screen, and hyunjin waves, smiling brightly, probably a trademark at this rate but its really just a subconscious reflex he does. “good afternoon everyone. how are you guys doing? i’m going to pick up a new hobby this year. we’ll see how it goes. can you make a few guesses?”
moving slightly off center, the green mat says hello loudly to the audience without needing to utter a word. hyunjin waits a few seconds before moving back in frame. “whatever you’re thinking, it’s probably in the same realm. that’s right. i am going to try being more fit.”
“i know what you’re thinking, ah, but hyunjinnie, you already practice all day, and probably are fit from that. but the truth is, i am more out of shape than you think. dancing is great choreography, but i still have to stretch more.” and probably do more weights, but that’s not the topic for today. “so i have decided to try the popular excerise... yoga!”
"now i’ll let you know. i’ve never tried it before in my entire life, so it is probably going to be a wild ride. as long as you’re here with me, it’ll be okay. i think. hold on while i look up some poses to try.” hyunjin sits back further where the mat is, so he’s no longer near the camera and his legs are crossed as he scrolls through naver on his phone.
“ah, see, some of these i do recognize, like... the mountain.” hyunjin says as he stands straight up for a few moments, probably sounding very much the amateur that he is. “okay, and the plank. we all know this one, right? probably from gym class,” he grumbles while trying to talk through his plank position. going through a few more easy ones, he lays down while he scrolls through his phone looking for more difficult ones.
“whoa, wait, what’s this? uh, shoulder pressing pose. can my legs even go that way?” hyunjin’s confidence flusters for a moment, knowing he’s being silly but hey, if the viewers can sense his earnest efforts but also that he is enjoying himself, that’s alright. as long as he doesn’t injure himself. “okay, i don’t think i’m quite experienced enough for this,” his limbs don’t even contort that way, so being a human pretzel isn’t quite in the cards for the day. “maybe i’ll go a few more notches down.
“unfortunately, that is all the time i have for today,” hyunjin heaves, as he moves back forward to the camera, sweat visible on his brow from the task at hand. “so hopefully next time, you will see that i have improved and hopefully i’ll be able to show you one of the more advanced moves properly! see you later, everyone.”
