it was not yet nine in the morning and the sky was already bright and clear, the sun beating down on the pale dirt and sand with all the promise of the unbearable summer heat that would come with the afternoon. he was running on fumes and local coffee, a few minutes more of brief shut-eye caught on the shuttle ride from their hotel, and then a few more in his makeup chair. in spite of his sparse hours of restless sleep (anxiety and excitement battling in an endless round even long after he’d started to dream), he was alert and attentive when his turn with the photographer came around. there was already a makeup artist flitting over to swipe powder over his nose, across his cheekbones and forehead, setting powder working hard to keep makeup on over the inevitable sheen of sweat threatening to break through.
it was easy to slip into the demeanor the concept brought with it, the landscape and architecture bringing an air of edge and fantasy all at once, regal yet rugged, mysterious and intimidating but still intriguing and inviting. he was in his wheelhouse now, more comfortable in front of cameras than he was around some people. he wore the wardrobe and the demeanor like a glove, uncharacteristically relaxed, sprawled casually and confidently against the fountain’s ledge in a way that gave no hint of how deliberate the appearance of that casual confidence was.
“tilt your chin up for me just a bit- there, perfect, that’s great-”
he was suddenly aware of an additional pair of eyes on him, not staff or stylist, but groupmate. he was still getting used to jungwoo’s hair, but the blond complimented the palace well, made him compliment the colors of the tiling so much that it made ricky wonder just how long he’d been standing there.
“great - i think we got it!”
ricky knew a photographer’s enthusiastic dismissal when he heard one and began to get to his feet, careful not to crease or dirty the clothing anymore than he already had during this section of photoshoot. he made his way to the waiting monitor, stealing a glance at jungwoo and passing him a timid, close-lipped smile on the way before settling in front of the screen as the man behind it began clicking through his photos.
“ah, it’s hot,” he mumbled, dabbing at his brow with the heel of his hand until a staff member approached, offering he and jungwoo pocket-sized battery-powered fans and a pair of bottled waters. then the screen flickered to another shot of many, making ricky pause.
“whoa...is that me?” his impressed surprise was genuine; it was amazing what makeup and tricks of sunlight could do, “seriously, that can’t be me, he’s too cool.”
Hosung couldn't quite believe it even with the unfamiliar climate and language floating about him. They were really here, in Morocco, to do shoot for their debut album. He couldn't fathom that Hyunbin was willing to foot the bill—or maybe he'd just bill them all later—and fly six kids plus staff overseas to prepare for their first mini album. He really was putting a lot of faith (and money) into them. It made Hosung feel proud as well as pressured to do really well so that they could achieve success and repay the company for believing in their potential.
He'd only been overseas twice—both times to Japan—so being on a different continent let alone a different country was a tad mind blowing. Hosung was only too happy to be paired with their youngest member when it came to room assignments, promptly giving him a high five when it was announced. Haknyeon was a lot of fun to be with and being together in a foreign country felt sort of like they were on holiday (even though he knew they had a schedule to adhere to).
They only had a few days to look around when they weren't busy with their prep and Hosung wasn't just about to let time slip through his fingers like sand in the wind. With his phone in hand he cuddled up to Haknyeon on the younger's bed. "Haknyan~ let's go sightseeing together," he said holding the phone and inch from his friend's face, "hyung found a list of noteworthy sights that might be interesting. Let's tell the manager we want to go somewhere tomorrow after schedules are done. Like... to Djeema El Fna, which is a really big open market space in front of the medina—the old town. Or Medersa Ben Youssef, a beautiful college with an amazing courtyard."
haknyeon’s not too sure when he’ll ever get used to this. all of this. the filming for a music video, the clothes, the well... everything. but it’s exciting and he quite likes the outfits that the stylists had picked out for him. the sun is shining down on them and he’s not too sure how many hours it’s been already.
while the directors are filming a few other members, haknyeon finds himself taking a seat beside hugo. naturally, he lets himself rest his head against the older boy’s shoulder as he observes the other members.
“this is so cool hyung,” he says, smiling to himself. everything feels amazing. “i still can’t believe they flew us out for this,” he says, and like a koala of sorts, he lets an arm wrap around the older boy. “i was so excited i couldn’t sleep at all last night! which probably isn’t good... but hyung! i’m so glad we’re filming this... and debuting together!”
It's June 30th and all the members performed both of their songs in front of their CEO, Hyun Bin. He's looking down, tapping a finger against his leg, before he looks up to give each one of you a look.
"Well… there's a lot for you to work on." The man stays still for a moment before motioning at the coaches in the room. "I knew these choices weren't the easiest but we have a time limit on this. This is your debut. I don't think I should have expected less from you. Do you?" With this, Hyun Bin stands up from his seat. "I'm not moving things around because of you. People are expecting a lot from you, so work harder now than ever. I won't be repeating this."
When he walks out, the room is empty, and it takes a few minutes before your coaches return. With them, a woman you haven’t seen before comes with them. “This here is Shin Jina.” Minsoo introduces her and the woman bows at all of you. She looks happy to be there, but overall plain. “She will be your manager starting from today. This month you’ll have a lot to do so she’ll be in charge of making sure none of you are left behind anywhere and that you go to where you need to go.”
And the month will be a long one for PER_SE. It’s on that same day that they receive their b-side songs and are told to learn all of their lyrics accordingly. These can be found on this document. The recording dates for their songs have also been decided. The boys will go in order of age. The one recording next is expected to wait in the room to make the process as smooth as possible. Once you’re done, go back to practice and tell the next one to go up.
July 6th — Pirate King; Treasure
July 13th — Shut Up N’ Lemme Go; Together
They’ll be taken to a hair salon all together on July 17th to get their hairstyles prepared for their debut. Below you’ll be able to found how each of the members is supposed to look like.
Huidong — Brown ( reference )
Haknyeon — Red ( reference )
Yuchan — Brown ( reference )
Hosung — Grey ( reference )
Jongin — Black ( reference )
Jungwoo — Blonde ( reference )
After their appearances are ready, the boys are told to pack up! For their first mini-album, all the members of PER_SE will fly off to Marrakech, Morocco, to record their music video. They’ll depart from the Incheon airport on July 23rd and leave on July 28th. They’ll be separated in rooms of two. The roommates will be Jungwoo and Jongin, Hosung and Haknyeon, and Huidong and Yuchan.
Their first schedule will be on the day after, July 24th, when they’ll have their album photoshoot. The pictures will be taken on one of the sets of their debut song music video, the over 150 years old Bahia Palace. For reference, these are some of the images that may be taken there: 1, 2, 3. After they’re done, they’ll start the recording of their music video during the afternoon.
The recording schedule is as seen below:
DAY ONE — JULY 24TH
5AM: Get hair and makeup done
6AM: Go to first filming location (Bahia Palace)
7AM: Change into outfits
7:30AM: Photoshoot
8AM: Recording of first scenes ( [Jongin&Haknyeon] 0:25; 0:31; 0:39; 0:50; 1:18; 1:40; 1:47 // [Huidong&Hosung&Yuchan&Jungwoo] 1:57; 2:06 )
9AM: Filming of first dance shots ( 1:27; 1:33; 2:11; 2:22; 2:26 )
10:30AM: Specific shots ( [Yuchan&Jungwoo] 0:45; 0:52; 1:30 )
8:30AM: [Pirate King] Recording of dance scene ( 0:00 )
10AM: Photoshoot
10:30AM: Head to last filming location
11AM: Lunch break
11:30AM: Outfit change
12PM: Specific scenes ( [Hosung&Huidong] 2:39; [Jongin&Haknyeon] 1:50 )
1PM: Photoshoot
2PM: Change outfits; hair and makeup retouch
2:30PM: Recording dance scene ( 1:14; 1:23; 2:03; 3:13 )
4PM: Outfit change
4:30PM: [Pirate King] Dance scene ( 1:19 )
6PM: Photoshoot
7PM: Thank staff for hard work
7:30PM: Head back to the hotel; eat, shower, rest
If the members would like to sightsee during their free time, they must notify their manager so she may go with them. There can only be one group of members sightseeing at a time, so be sure to organize who would like to go where. If someone would simply like to walk near the hotel, they only need to notify a staff member and then can go by himself. Sharing photos or information about their trip is extremely prohibited until after their debut. PER_SE’s debut date has been set for August 18.
Apart from all of this, you may submit between today and July 10th a stage name idea for your PER_SE muse. You may simply submit the name you’d like or add an explanation to it. These choices can be completely OOC, meaning your muse didn’t think of it but you thought it’d be cool for them to have it. These will be taken into account, but the final choice will be made by the mods.
Write one four post thread or one 300+ words solo about your muse preparing themselves in Seoul, be it about practice, or regarding hair color change, or anything else for +3 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH and +2 DEBUT POINTS.
Write one four post thread or one 300+ words solo about any part of your muse’s time in Morocco for +3 POINTS TO DISTRIBUTE AS YOU WISH, +1WK RELEVANT ACHIEVEMENT and +2 DEBUT POINTS.
The tag for this evaluation will be #perse:julyeval and posts should be up by midnight EST at the end of July 31st. PER_SE members are told not to share the information given to anyone outside of NOVA or else they’ll risk losing their place on the debut team.
PER_SE JULY EVALUATION (for the August 7 verification form)
PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]
+3 ___ POINTS
+2 DEBUT POINTS
NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:
PROOF OF ACTIVITY: [ x ]
+3 ___ POINTS
+1WK RELEVANT ACHIEVEMENT (NUMBER OF TIMES TAKEN + CURRENT LEVEL)
Hosung was excited as shit to be going on a trip overseas, even if it was for work and not pleasure—though he was sure he'd be able to combine the two. When it was announced that Nova was going to be flying them out to do their teaser shoot and music videos he hadn't quite believed it at first. But as it became apparent that it wasn't all an elaborate hoax, the scepticism gave way to unadulterated glee. He'd never been one to go on holiday trips outside of Korea, the furthest he'd ever gotten had been Japan, so having the opportunity to go all the way to a different continent was mind blowing.
And here he was, a few days before they were due to fly out, staring at his half empty suitcase in a mild state of panic. Hosung had no idea what to pack. He'd looked up where they were going and had surmised that it was a hot climate so things like black jeans were out. But how many shirts was he supposed to pack? Like, what if one shirt got dirty or smelly while they were there, then he'd have to have enough to do a wardrobe change. Not to mention shoes. He needed at least two pairs change into. He huffed, poking his suitcase with a toe before calling out over his shoulder, "Hui-hyung~! Can you come over here for a second, I need your help." Hosung made sure to put in a little whining note before sitting down with a pout waiting for the dorm dad to arrive.
he’d been nervous walking into the salon alongside his groupmates. he couldn’t pinpoint why - he’d been to similar salons before, where they’d changed his hair’s color to various extremes of the color wheel (to this day he caught glimpses of his cotton candy blue locks in the corners of his dreams), but somehow this felt different. what was dangerous about brown? nothing, absolutely nothing. and yet, the empty chair that awaited and clean-smelling smock draped over his clothes and fastened snugly around his neck made his heart speed up a little, like it had somewhere to be in a hurry.
perhaps it was because the stakes were so high, though an international samsung campaign was high stakes enough for his sensitive anxieties, that he had to frequently stop his foot from bouncing where it balanced on the silver bar below his seat. his imagination had worked extra hard during their trip to the salon: what if all his hair fell out? what if everyone’s hair fell out? what if, by some cruel and bizarre twist of fate, the towel came off and his hair was some horrible shade of green? would he be forced to debut with a crown of patchy puce bald spots? would he be cursed to draw on his eyebrows until they grew back after being lost to a bad batch of bleach? as if having to sit between jungwoo and hugo with their perfect complexions and undoubtedly perfect haircuts wasn’t enough.
“i don’t want to look ‘til it’s over,” he mumbled to the stylist through a worried pout, one he was familiar with after the multiple times she’d been in charge of his company-sponsored makeovers. she laughed as she carefully clipped away at frayed ends, calling him cute before reassuring him he was in good hands.
he was, it turned out, in very good hands, though it took him a few long moments to get used to the reflection staring back at him from the wall-length mirror facing him. the new color was certainly a big change, yet still read as understated and fashionable. go on, she urged with another chuckle, reading his mind as he tentatively reached up to touch it, to run his fingers through freshly conditioned locks. she guided him through a few quick styles, achievable with a blow dryer and bit of light gel or hairspray, chiding him lightly should he decide to let his fringe live in front of his eyes ever again.
a quick survey of the salon showed him that some hair changes were more taxing than others (he wasn’t sure what round of bleach jungwoo was on this time), and the room was abuzz with the energy a new idol group brought wherever they went. if it wasn’t real before, it was now about as real as it could possibly get.
this was so disappointing! if they were going to colour his hair, then they should’ve made it something fun! the fact that he had to dye it back to black made him so pouty and sad. his eyes were begging the stylist through the mirror not to do this. he had worked hard to achieve his ashy dark blonde / light brown with caramel twists in there for months and months. now it was all a waste. all gone. poof. for boring ass black.
he wouldn’t be so disgruntled if it was something fun and exciting, or a colour he hadn’t tried before. he had never been platinum blonde before, only briefly to dye his hair blue. he had had all kinds of brown as well, he had gone silver before, he had even done a little pink. NOPE. nothing fun like those colours, or at least off-boring. this was just boring boring. the only bright side he could see was his hair being healthy and growing better for the next while. that was something, right? and it’s not like his natural colour could look bad on him, so at least he wouldn’t look hideous.
he glances at the other boys through the mirror, admiring their hair colours longingly. haknyeon had red hair, jungwoo had blonde, hosung had silver... ah... such nice colours. hui hui and ricky had some nice, warm brown colours too. hugo was the only one with plain, natural, black hair. he was alone in his suffering. goddammit.
morocco sounds amazing. the fact that nova was going to fly per_se to morocco for debut was already amazing. if anything it has haknyeon realizing just how much money and anticipation the company has for these boys and it is, in all honesty, pressurising. it makes him want to do well, not just for his sake but for the sake of everyone that trusts in him.
their concept is one that... haknyeon thinks that maybe his fans wouldn’t have expected to see him in. haknyeon’s aware of the fact that he is, in the eyes of some, and in the words of stan twitter, a babie. they’re going for a more tough boy concept, a little... sexy as well. it’s a cool concept, something that haknyeon actually quite likes and is glad to be a part of.
amongst the preparation for the debut, comes the hair colours. haknyeon’s never done much to his hair before; he’d bleached it once but that didn’t last very long. he’d immediately gone back to a dark brown once the mgas were over and he’d stuck to that. though, the company had decided to give him red and it wasn’t in haknyeon’s place to say anything (not like he would’ve. he thought red was a pretty cool colour).
which is how he finds himself at the salon, stylists busy with his hair as he yawns a little, sleepy from having woken up so early. he tries to fight his sleep by playing video games on his phone though the few times he does get too focused on his video games, he ends up tilting his head around to much, which results in the hair stylists nagging at him. “don’t move around so much haknyeon,” they say, and he can only smile in apology, nodding his head.
it’s been a while since he’d been at the salon and he’s almost, almost, done. just a few more treatments here and there ... and ... “alright, we’re done,” the stylist says, smiling.
haknyeon takes a good look at himself in front of the mirror and he’s in... awe. he’d never had his hair this colour before, and truthfully, he really liked it. “wow,” he says, and his hands subconsciously reach out to touch his cheeks. “it’s so.. red,” he continues, blinking. “i look like...” his lips part as he tries to piece together an image, “like a cherry!”
