After promoting as three individual units for a little over a year, co-ed kpop group Triptych finally comes together as a nine-piece with their first extended play, EXHIBIT A, released on April 2nd, 2016. The EP features 5 new songs as well as each sub units debut song.
△ TRACK BY TRACK.
1 ] LA LA LA
The leading title track of this album and also the first song they had ever made as OT9. The song is light-hearted and easy to dance to with no super deep meaning!
Triptych wanted their first single as nine to represent their vibe as a generation, and this upbeat song with slightly goofy lyrics makes a perfect statement to them as artists and individuals.
Written by members Teo, Nia, Yen, and Ura.
2 ] TURN UP
After that fun-loving title track, Triptych brings in their more identifiable ‘edgy’ energy back with this hip-hop influenced track with the roster being made up of Triptych’s rappers (members Zim, Eli, Asa, Cal, Van and Ura.)
Turn Up is a hype song meant to excite listeners. Much like LA LA LA, the supergroup stayed away from deep topics this era.
Written by Zim, Eli, Asa, Cal, Van and Ura.
3 ] SO GOOD
The third track on this EP has claimed the throne as the ultimate self-hype song. With the intent to empower their listeners, Triptych’s vocalists take to the mic to deliver a song that will make listeners feel unstoppable.
The members that participated in this track are Nia, Yen, Zim, Teo, Ura and Van made an appearance at the bridge.
Written by Teo, Nia, Zim, Ura and Van
4 ] TRUE
This is the first song on the EP that has actual sentimental meaning. This song is dedicated to Triptych’s supporters, Artych, who have shown so much support over the last year and have brought the co-ed group to great heights.
All 9 members feature on this track to bring a sentimental twist to the track list.
Written by Teo, Eli, Van and Nia
5 ] FULL MOON
The last new song on the EP is also sentimental, as it talks about how the nine members of Triptych will always stick together, no matter what happens. Even though Triptych’s lineup is always expanding, this song promises not to loose sight of what matters to them the most: their friendship.
Written by Teo, Van, and Eli
△ THIS ERA.
This era was really fun to experience if you were an Artych. It was so weird for them to see all 9 members promoting and performing together, but it also felt like Gen 1 was finally complete.
LA LA LA, their title track, won them 5 consecutive wins on MCountdown, Inkigayo and The Show, breaking their record of having 3 consecutive wins (S.O.T debut)
EXHIBIT A charted on Billboard World Albums chart at number 40.
EXHIBIT A charted number 13 on Gaon Album Chart.
LA LA LA was number one on Melon for two weeks.
LA LA LA was also nominated for song of the year due to the popularity of the song but unfortunately did not win.
Triptych won the new artist of the year award at the 2016 Gaon Music Awards next to Blackpink and NCT127.
They also got to perform at MAMA 2016 as OT9.
Exhibit A was released around the time of NCT’s debut and almost instantly fans started drawing comparisons between Triptych and NCT.
Triptych tried their best to show support to NCT when they could, because they understood how damaging comparison could be. This sort of sparked the “Triptych and NCT are cousins” inside joke that NCTzens and Artychs seemed to share.
And this joke kinda wasn’t just for giggles? NCT and Triptych had a LOT of interactions this era. Eli and Taeyong became close this era and Yen started being more expressive with her friendship with NCT’s Yuta, Doyoung, and WinWin.
The Tribong was released this comeback as well! The lightstick is a really basic design (a three-sided pyramid in a clear dome with a black or white base). Fans were kinda like “wtf is this” because there were so many unique fan-made designs and the official design was just... ugly.
△ FANDOM BEHAVIORS.
Artychs were kinda going crazy this era and their size nearly doubled.
Triptych hit instant success with this EP and it was starting to become really popular, which kind of went to Artychs head a little bit.
At the very start of the era, Artychs and NCTzens had a bit of beef due to the groups similarities.
However, these interactions became much friendlier after Triptych and NCT were seen being all friendly with one another.
A new wave of asayen moments were delivered so for the first time the phrase ‘asayen’ started TRENDING ON TWITTER. THE EMBARRASSMENT, LUV.
darkness was often associated with melancholy nights, cloudy minds and the tiring loop of life. but at three a.m, two people enjoyed the company of one another. all their worries melting away as they spent their nights with laughter and music - two friends who savour each other in the devil’s supposed hour, their feelings soft and of the brightest of colours. they were just friends who enjoyed the company of one and another.
oliver’s profile.
playlists that aid the picture: one and two
⟶ the prelude
❛ one, the desire to be perfect. ❜
❛ two, who do you love? ❜
❛ three, it’s okay to give up. ❜
Vice makes their biggest comeback yet with their 7th Mini Album and last “Coven” installment; Coven: Sorcerer. The third and final ritual begins. The last step is to act upon your reflections. They are now more powerful than ever before.
𝓣𝓡𝓐𝓒𝓚 𝓛𝓘𝓢𝓣
1. Sorcerer
2. Higher
3. K.O.
4. Black Out
5. Bring It
𝓟𝓛𝓞𝓣
The teaser shows a slow motion clip of the seven Vice boys walking down a hallway in their house in slow motion, all looking very serious. Each member has a colorful aura surrounding them. M.H is surrounded by dark purple, Geonwu has a grey blue glow to him, Woodie is glowing maroon, Cyth is surrounded by a forest green glow, Seokyu is glowing gold, Ji is emitting a dark pink color, and Kane has an orange glow. When they get closer to the camera, their auras become so bright that it’s blinding. The screen goes white, a snippet of Sorcerer starts playing. The release date is displayed.
The video is focused on the final showdown between Vice and the evil spirit. Vice are clearly stronger than they were when they first started the series. All seven boys carry themselves in a more dignified and self-assured way. They make their way to a field where the spirit is waiting, dark energy curling up from the apparition like smoke. The scene keeps switching from the dance routine - taking place in the same field - and the battle between Vice and the spirit. The dark spirit breaks into 7 parts, each one taunting a Vice member. Throughout the fight, Vice relies on each other heavily to help defeat the seven spirits. A lot of action scenes are over-dramatized for entertainment purposes, but the special effects budget definitely was upped for this video, which may be why the video itself takes place in one location and only has two alternating scenes.
Eventually, the spirits are all defeated when Vice links arms and makes a blasting motion, which parallels with the dance routine. Once the spirit is defeated, the filter on the video is changed to a brighter one, and the field looks greener. The twenty seconds of the video are purely dance-focused.
𝓢𝓨𝓜𝓑𝓞𝓛𝓘𝓢𝓜 & 𝓓𝓘𝓢𝓒𝓤𝓢𝓢𝓘𝓞𝓝
This whole era has been a bit more light-hearted than Darkness Era, therefore the symbolism isn’t as deep. However, the members did offer some insight on the wrap up of this era:
“This era may seem really similar to the first era, Darkness.” Minho, better known as M.H, shares. “It still follows the theme of self-discovery and self-love. I think the reason why we revisited this underlying theme is because progress is never linear. We get better, then get worse again, and then get better again. We want Virtues to know that whatever they are going through, don’t be discouraged. Keep trying your best.”
“Relying on others is what got us through this plot line.” Seokyu reflects. “In the last era, the original members kind of worked separately and the fall out was sufficient, but it wasn’t as powerful as this one. I think this once again proves that Vice is stronger together.”
“You already have unlimited power within you.” Woodie insists. “The members just had to put a little bit of effort in. Once we did that, we had as much power as we needed to defeat our demons. If there’s one thing you take away from this era, it’s don’t doubt yourself and never give up.”
𝓔𝓡𝓐 𝓝𝓞𝓣𝓔𝓢
They finally got their first win this era! Yes!!! Sorcerer gave Vice 5 Music Show wins!
Virtues like to think it’s because they spammed “Stream Sorcerer” under every single tweet, post, and youtube video. Virtues RAN twitter during Sorcerer era.
This album did so well that it got an all-kill on Melon unexpectedly. Literally no one saw this coming.
The boys went out to celebrate their first ever all-kill by taking themselves, some friends, and the company staff out for drinks in Hongdae. Geonwu gets a little too drunk and throws up in the streets, which is shown all over social media within the next 48 hours.
This video sort of gave Vice a little bit of a controversy, since a lot of people were criticizing Geonwu for drinking. It blew over pretty quickly once Geonwu made a public apology on VLive and stressed the importance of safe drinking (he really had to force those words out).
This era Virtues stopped being a neutral fanbase and started to beef with other fanbases. Mostly ARMYs and EXO-Ls, despite EXO-Ls being friendly with Virtues up until then.
The official lightstick was released this era: The Poison Apple! (a green poison apple with a bite taken out of it surrounded by a clear plastic dome.) It was designed by Kane and fans treasure it because of that.
Vice also went on their first world tour this era! They visited America and got to see Minho’s city: Boston.
Woodam also started hooking up with Saehyun, who you might remember as the Super Junior fan who saved them at the airport in 2011. Saehyun is now Vice’s professional photographer for their tour and while on tour... Woodam ends up sleeping with her on multiple occasions.
SUMMARY: Songgye makes friends with someone he never thought he’d talk to: Hoyong.
SERIES: NEW DECADE [HBHT20]
GENRE: Blooming friendship, some emotional stuff too.
PAIRING: Platonic!Songgye + Hoyong
WORD COUNT: 1.5k
WARNINGS: none? if you can spot anything that might be triggering, let me know!
A/N: this one’s a long one. I just really wanted to build up Songgye and Hoyong’s characters & got carried away. Enjoy!
Songgye wondered if his patience had melted as he gained years or if these kids were extra annoying.
“If you angle your head like that, I’m not going to be able to get a clear shot!” Kyungchul, who was supposed to be the leader of their practice, whined to his friend Hoyong.
“Dude, what do you wanna do? Hold my cheeks?” Hoyong rolled his eyes. “You can make it, just use your lungs to propel the air.”
“Alright... You can’t yell at me if I get water on your shirt though.” Kyungchul prefaced before bringing his water bottle up to his mouth, tipping his head back. Once his cheeks were filled with water, Hoyong opened his mouth wide, squatting a little bit. Then Kyungchul did the grossest thing Songgye has ever witnessed. Kyungchul spit the water out from his mouth in a fountain-like curve, the water splattering into Hoyong’s mouth.
Daisuke let out a low ‘ooh’ of amazement, his cellphone recording the whole thing. Longwei chuckled and stopped stretching to watch the horrific act. Was Songgye the only one deeply disturbed right now?
Jaehwa cleared his throat, causing Kyungchul to stop abruptly, spilling some water down his chin.
“Kyungchul, maybe we should resume practice.” Jaehwa advised. Kyungchul wiped the water from his chin and swallowed whatever water was left over.
“Right.” Kyungchul clapped his hands together and rubbed them anxiously, just now realizing that the attention on him carried a different weight now that the show was over. “Let’s uh... Let’s do Mirotic again.”
“Good idea.” Jaehwa smiled. Jaehwa moved towards his position and everyone else followed in suit.
After running through the routine for Mirotic several more times, putting emphasis on the parts they struggled with the most, Jaehwa finally suggested to Kyungchul that they end for the night. Kyungchul then dismissed everyone.
Songgye, on the other hand, was not going to go back to the dorms with everyone else. He wasn’t able to focus when all of them were practicing together. There was just too much going on. He wanted some alone time to really get the moves down.
When the other boys left, Songgye started the music up again, breaking down one step at a time. He was about an hour into practice when the door opened. Surprised, Songgye jumped back, halting his movements. In the doorway was a messy-haired Hoyong.
“Jesus,” Songgye placed a hand over his heart. “You scared me.”
“Sorry! I’ll practice next door! Sorry!” Hoyong bowed several times as he backed out of the practice room, closing the door behind him. Songgye shook his head, but resumed his practice.
Only thirty minutes had passed when Hoyong stuck his head into the practice room again, a sheepish smile on his face.
“Hey, hyung...?” Hoyong called out from the doorway. Songgye sighed, stopping his movements again.
“Yes?”
“Can I practice in here with you?” Hoyong asked, his voice a little higher pitched than normal.
“What’s wrong with the other room?” Songgye asked, only realizing how rude his tone was after the words left his mouth.
“Nothing! I just... It’s late and being alone in that big practice room... The lights sometimes get a little wonky, you know?” Hoyong hesitated. Songgye let out another huff of air. Unfortunately he knows exactly what Hoyong was talking about. The practice room next door was lit a little dimmer and always seemed a little gloomy at night.
“Yeah, I know.” Songgye nodded. “Come on in.”
Hoyong exhaled deeply, like he was holding his breath this whole time. The younger boy scurried in, closing the door behind him. He placed his stuff on the opposite end of the wall from Songgye’s belongings. Then he took over the other side of the dance room, focusing on his own routine.
Another hour or so passed. Songgye had practiced not only the HBHT20B routine, but the two other routines he had to know for HBHT936 and HBHT1314. Exhausted and sweaty, Songgye waved goodnight to Hoyong, who was still practicing, before heading to the showers.
Songgye sighed contently as the warm water hit his sore muscles. He started humming the tune to Mirotic, having it be stuck in his head after listening to it all day.
“Jogeum dachyeodo neon, kwaenchanha Oh,” Songgye sang, lathering shampoo into his hair.
“Neon nareul wonhae, neon naege ppajyeo,” Another voice sang along with his own. Songgye froze, his blood turning cold with shock. He slowly peeled back the curtain. Sitting on the sink, kicking his feet and still singing along, was Hoyong.
“Hoyong.” Songgye frowned, arching an eyebrow. Hoyong stopped singing, his legs still swinging back and forth.
“Yes, hyung?”
“What are you doing?”
“Waiting for you...” Hoyong gave a weak smile.
“Why?” Songgye asked bluntly.
Hoyong sighed, looking up at the ceiling. “I’m hungry and I want to go get something to eat at a convince store, but I’m afraid of the dark. And it’s not like there’s anything good at the dorm because Taehyung went shopping this week and he only buys whole grain things. If I wasn’t afraid of the dark I would already be at the convince store by now but I’m terrified and you’re like, six feet tall and strong so you feel safe to walk with at night because I don’t think anyone would mess with you. Me on the other hand...” Hoyong finally looked back at Songgye. “I have a perm.”
Songgye bit his lip. After a speech like that, he couldn’t turn the kid down.
“Fine. Give me five seconds to wash my hair.” Songgye offered.
“Sure. I’ll wait here.” Hoyong resumed his leg kicking, humming TVXQ under his breath.
Songgye has never seen anyone inhale tteokbokki so fast in his life. He was convinced he was going to have to reach across the picnic table and give Hoyong the Heimlich maneuver any second now. But Hoyong seemed to be very skilled in shoveling rice cakes into his mouth. He didn’t even cough once. In about five minutes, the empty cup of tteokbokki was placed down on the table with a dull thud.
“Woo!” Hoyong grinned. “That was so good. You should have gotten some, hyung.”
“Nah, I’m fine.” Songgye pursed his lips. In all honesty, he just wanted to go home so he could get some shut eye before practice in six hours.
“Whatever you say.” Hoyong shrugged, standing up from the picnic bench. “I know I’ve been really annoying tonight. You were really nice to me though. Thank you.”
“Yeah, it’s nothing.” Songgye shook his head, standing up as well. Hoyong tilted his head at the older trainee, his eyes scanning over the facial features that were illuminated by the street lights above them.
“What?” Songgye asked.
“You seem sad.”
“Just tired.” Songgye insisted.
“No, like... You have that look on your face all the time.” Hoyong frowned. “Like, even when you’re hanging around Jaehwa and Saito.”
Songgye hesitated. Suddenly the younger boy seemed a little bit more intimidating now that he was analyzing him. He shifted his weight, debating on whether he should just start walking home or not.
Then Hoyong exhaled. “Sometimes I feel like that too. Like, grey.”
“Grey.” Songgye repeated the word. He had a hard time believing that this little ball of light ever felt dulled, especially compared to his previous actions of the day.
“Yeah. Like you feel like you sink into the background, like no one sees you, or cares, or understands.” Hoyong shrugged, looking at the ground. “You just gotta remember that loneliness is a choice. Someone’s always going to listen. You just have to, like, find them.”
Songgye let the sudden dump of emotion sit there for a moment, unsure what to do with it. He’s never been good at comforting or conversing about ones emotions.
Hoyong snapped himself out of it, straightening up instantly. “We should head back. I’m getting sleepy. I’m sure you’re even more tired than I am.”
The two finally made it home safe and sound. Hoyong was right, no one did mess with Songgye, except for maybe Hoyong himself. Besides the jumbled mess the younger had left Songgye’s brain in after psycho analyzing him outside the convince store, Hoyong had tried to make Songgye laugh the whole way home.
When they reached the dorms, it was almost four in the morning. They had to wake up for practice in about four hours.
“Do you want me to walk with you to your room or can you handle going down the dark hallway?” Songgye asked, not intending for the question to come out as condescending as it did. Thankfully, Hoyong didn’t notice.
“I can do it. Thanks though.” Hoyong whispered with a grin. “I’ll see you in the morning, or uh, in a few hours.”
“Good night, Hoyong.” Songgye whispered. Just as he turned on his heel, he heard Hoyong hiss his name again.
“Hyung?”
“Yeah, Hoyong?”
“I may be younger and act childish, but I can handle a lot.” Hoyong spoke into the darkness. “I’m good at being a friend.”
Songgye’s eyes widened and he was once again at a loss of words. He swallowed thickly and nodded his head before realizing that Hoyong couldn’t see him in the dark. “Thank you, Hoyong. I’ll keep that in mind. Goodnight.”
“Goodnight.”
TRIVIUM is the third and final unit to debut from Triptych’s first generation with their debut mini album PART 3. With a significantly more hip-hop and rap-focused sound in comparison to the two previous Triptych units, TRIVIUM brings a new layer of talent and meaning to the super group. Covering hard-to-swallow topics like gender roles and societal double standards, TRIVIUM hits hard and makes waves.
△ TRACK BY TRACK.
1] BERLIN
The decision to make BERLIN their debut song was a power move. Not only does the song have a very distinct and recognizable sound that drags listeners in, but it sets the vibe for TRIVIUM’s energy.
All three members had a hand in writing this song.
The line distribution can be found here
2] SAVAGES
In this hiphop-influenced track, TRIVIUM has a back and forth debate between rappers Van and Cal over if human nature is inherently good or evil, giving examples of highs and lows in society.
Doubled with a strong chorus, thought-provoking versus, and irony twisted into more than a half the lines, this song can be seen as an ironic commentary on what people see as ‘right’ and ‘wrong’.
Written by all three members.
3] WHO I AM
Trivium talks about their past and how it had shaped them into who they are today. This song is like the last goodbye to their old selves, ready to let go of the past and move on.
This track also acknowledges that admitting ignorance isn’t something that you should be ashamed of, as you can only change as long as you’re willing.
Written by all three members
4] BACK OFF
Ura, the only woman in this subunit, took it upon herself to write a feminist anthem for their album. It’s basically a response to all the times Ura has had a man be patronizing towards her. Van and Cal act on the track as supporters, but the song is mostly Ura focused.
The first song on the album where you actually hear Ura rap and get to see her lyricism play out. One of Ura’s lines mentioned snapping kneecaps. Everyone’s afraid of her now.
Written by Ura
5] BITE
This song is all about wanting someone that’s not good for you, but you keep coming back.
The non-gender specific pronouns in the song show that this song can be about any type of relationship, regardless of gender or if it is a romantic or platonic relationship.
Written by Van and Cal
6] MEN/WOMEN
All about gender roles and how they’ve hurt them as they’ve grown up. Since they are the first co-ed unit from Triptych, they took it upon themselves to address double standards/gender roles.
This one caused a bit of a discussion, especially since it directly calls out the double standards in the kpop industry.
Written by all members.
△ THIS ERA.
So... Trivium easily got the most attention out of Gen 1.
Mostly because they’re a co-ed duo that covers topics that aren’t discussed super openly.
But also because they’re really good rappers. Like, all of them. And their stage presence is really intense.
Ura doesn’t rap as much as she would have liked to this era, as they needed her on vocals to break up the tracks a little since neither Van or Cal can sing very well.
Trivium were given the title ‘un-idols’ - which is both a term of endearment as well as a critique, depending on who uses it - because of their unwillingness to play up the role of a significant other at fan signs as well as their general aura.
Idols are supposed to be like... ‘perfect’ at all times, and Trivium just doesn’t do that? Like they wear the worst outfits to the airport, fansites have pictures of them waiting in line for street food (and then chowing down on said street food), and the way they talk to fans is so casual?
This attitude turned off some fans, but it brought in a whole new wave of support, especially from international fans who felt like Trivium were relatable.
The most popular member this comeback was easily Ura. Not only was she the only girl, so she visually stood out, but she was the one that often went viral for fan-zoning fans who asked her to be romantic with them.
She also received the most criticisms, but she really didn’t care. She wasn’t going to make herself uncomfortable for the sake of others.
Cal got a good amount of attention too because of his accent and his looks. Cal has a very slight British accent when he says certain Korean words and people just... lost it over that.
Van kinda sunk to the background this era, but he doesn’t really mind. He just wanted the kids to have fun and have their time to shine. :)
As far as numbers go, Trivium breaks records for Triptych by gaining 10 million music video views in the first 24 hours as well as having BERLIN chart on Melon upon release.
△ ERA FASHION.
I promise this is the last era that Triptych wears color-coded outfits. I promise. The company was trying to see how the color-coded concept would work and gen 1 was the guinea pigs.
When Artychs saw how lacking Trivium’s debut outfits were.... they almost rioted at HBH. They already were accusing HBH of picking favorites and not giving Trivium equal treatment.
But the truth is... Trivium picked their debut stage outfits. Yes, they’re bland, but Trivium wanted their debut to feel like friends were finally meeting up for the first time, hence the casual clothes.
The button up shirt fits tho.... that made a few bitches go feral. That was an exquisite serve.
The award show fits were nice too! Ura stunned bitches pulling up with her short blazer dress and fishnets. Van had really cool dress pants with designs on them and Cal wore a color that wasn’t black! It was monumental!
As far as hair goes, Ura had short black hair with wispy bangs.
Van had black hair and almost always wore a wide headband on his hairline.
Cal’s hair was usually just styled into tousled brown curls and called a day.
△ FANDOM BEHAVIORS.
I’ve explained triptych stan culture before (basically the fandom is kinda divided? like some fans only support certain subunits, others support all of them, etc.) but I think Trivium was what really made that divide clear.
Trivum just sounds different than S.O.T and Tromme, there was gonna be people who didn’t vibe with their style. But that’s kinda the point of Triptych, to like.. get different sounds involved in their discography.
And some gross fans didn’t like that Trivium made it clear that they don’t want to be sexualized by fans, so they just decided to ignore them and focus on S.O.T and Tromme, who hasn’t spoken out about being sexualized by strangers online.
People also started calling Van a ‘smol bean uwu’ (hello 2016) and started like... infantalizing him?? even though he’s a grown ass man??? does he LOOK like dan OR phil to any of you????????
Fans also started calling Cal a fuckboy and played him up as this big meme just because he’s goofy. I will never forgive y’all for that.
Pick Mes hated Ura because if anyone’s ‘one of the boys’, it’s Ura and they were jealous. But she literally has to be one of the boys. It’s apart of her job.
But the artychs that do stan Trivium are probably some of the chillest people ever. They are literally just vibing. Trivium stans are dubbed as the ‘stoners’ of the fandom as a joke.
And OT9 stans overpower solo stans by a LONG SHOT, so don’t worry! Trivium received more love than hate from artychs. There were just a few bad eggs that ruined shit.
TITLE: But How
SUMMARY: Ura meets NCT’s Qian Kun at Yen’s birthday party.
PAIRING: Ura + Kun (NCT/WayV)
GENRE: Building relationship?
WORD COUNT: 1.2k
A/N: i’m a wee bit unsatisfied with this so like... i might be changing some things later but i just wanted it out of my drafts jdfshg
SUMMER 2016
“Chiayu, seriously, just go talk to him.” Van said sharply under his breath, nudging his friend with his elbow. “You’re going to burn holes into the side of his head and ruin his perfect side profile.”
Ura nudged her leader back, rolling her eyes and turning her body away from Qian Kun and the two other NCT members he was with. When Yen said she was inviting some members of NCT to her birthday party, she didn’t think Yen would invite the cute one. How was Chiayu going to shoot her shot while wearing a feather boa?
Yen had rented out a small club in Hongdae for the evening and invited almost every idol she has ever spoken to, and told them to bring some of their friends along too. There was an open bar, which was taken advantage of about thirty minutes into the party, and almost everyone was drunk. Except for Qian Kun and Ura. Chiyau doesn’t think the cup in his hand has reached his lips once since being here.
“I can’t go talk to him. He’s sober and I’m not drunk enough.” Ura shook her head.
Van’s eyebrows furrowed. “That’s not a healthy mindset.”
Ura sighed, stealing another glance at Kun, who was clearly struggling to keep up with the conversation around him, laughing a beat behind everyone else. The rookie finally brought the plastic cup in his hands to his lips, wincing slightly at the taste.
“God, he looks miserable.” Ura sympathized, understanding what Kun was experiencing. It was hard to follow conversation in such a busy setting when you’re still learning the language that was being spoken.
“Then go save him! Be his night in shining armor! Sweep him off his feet!” Van encouraged, his eyes twinkling in the pink and purple light that cast around the club.
Ura inhaled deeply, knocking back the rest of her drink. She handed the empty cup to Van and started making her way over to Kun.
Ura approached the group of NCT members, praying that her confidence would last long enough to start a conversation with the vocalist.
“Hey, Ura! Nice seeing you!” Johnny yelled over the music.
“You too! Enjoying your night?” Ura responded cordially. Kun was leaning in closer, his eyebrows furrowed as he strained to understand her over the music.
“Yeah, Yen really knows how to celebrate.” Taeyong nodded.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Ura asked Kun in Mandarin. Kun blinked a few times, the shock of being able to understand someone clearly catching him off guard.
“Yeah, I’m having a lot of fun.” Kun smiled. Ura felt her stomach flutter at the sight. She smiled back, nodding her head.
“Good, I’m glad to hear it.” She said sincerely. Johnny tapped Ura’s shoulder, bringing Ura’s attention back to the group.
“Hey, we’re gonna run to the restroom, does anyone else need to go?” Johnny offered. Taeyong furrowed his eyebrows.
”I don’t need to-” Taeyong started. Johnny gave Taeyong a look that clearly was telling him to be quiet.
”Anybody?” Johnny asked again.
“Do you need to use the restroom?” Ura relayed to Kun, knowing that it was hard to hear over the music.
“No thank you.” Kun said in Korean. Johnny nodded before dragging Taeyong away, leaving the two of them alone.
“I wasn’t expecting you to know Mandarin.” Kun admitted.
“It’s one of my party tricks.” Ura said sarcastically. Kun chuckled, bringing his cup back up to his lips, taking a sip. His eye twitched a little.
“Here,” Ura gestured to the bar. “I’ll get you something that doesn’t taste like battery acid. It’s kinda painful watching you try to gulp whatever that is down.”
The pair of them made their way to the bar. Ura requested two cocktails for them. She handed the colorful liquid to Kun, who looked at the glass a little apprehensively.
“Isn’t this a little... I don’t know... Feminine?” He arched an eyebrow.
Ura arched an eyebrow in response. “Does that matter?”
“Nope.” Kun affirmed, quickly taking a sip of the drink. He blinked a few times, surprised at how good that tasted.
“This doesn’t even taste like alcohol.” Kun said, observing the drink in amazement.
“See?” Ura smirked, feeling accomplished. “But be careful, feminine things pack a punch.”
“Yeah, I don’t doubt that.” Kun said honestly, giving Ura a slightly weary look, as if she’d punch him herself if he said anything she didn’t approve of. Ura couldn’t help but grin a little. She always found it amusing when people found her intimidating.
Kun took another sip, his eyes scanning the dance floor. He swallowed his drink and gazed at Ura with a sheepish look on his face.
“You don’t dance, do you?” Kun asked.
“Not really.” Ura admitted. “Do you?”
“No. I mean, professionally, yeah. But I don’t really do...” Kun’s gaze darted over to the dance floor, where Asa was jokingly grinding on a mortified Doyoung while Yuta and Yen laughed their asses off. “Whatever that is.”
“Me either.” Ura laughed, observing the scene with a twinge of sympathy. “I almost feel bad for Doyoung.”
“He’ll be fine.” Kun shook his head. “He’ll just cringe every now and then when he thinks about it.”
Ura and Kun both chuckled, an awkward silence starting to fall over the two of them. Ura could feel herself losing whatever confidence she originally had. How was she going to carry on conversation? What do they talk about? She didn’t really think this far.
Kun looked like he was getting restless with every passing millisecond of silence. Ura felt bad. It was almost like he was back at square one, except he probably would have been more comfortable with his group mates. She noticed that Kun kept stealing glances at the dance floor, despite his claim that he wasn’t interested. Ura wondered if he only said that because she said she didn’t dance like that either.
“Hey,” Ura nudged his arm. “We should go dance anyways.”
Kun’s eyebrows shot up. “You think?”
Ura chuckled. “Yeah. I mean, everyone around us is drunk anyways. Who cares if we look ridiculous? Compared to them,” She nudged her head at their friends. “We’ll look spectacular.”
Kun couldn’t find an objective, so he let Ura lead the way to the dance floor, weaving her way into the center of the dance floor, nudging past her drunken group mates and friends.
Even though they had an awkward start, by the end of the night, they were shouting the lyrics to the songs at the top of their lungs together, spinning each other around, and letting loose. Ura couldn’t remember the last time she felt so carefree. It was refreshing and exciting. It felt like the two of them had entered their own little world, shroud in multicolored lights.
The illusion was popped when Doyoung’s hand landed on Kun’s shoulder.
“We gotta start heading back.” Doyoung yelled over the music to Ura, looking sorry. “Our manager just called us.”
Kun nodded sadly, giving Ura an apologetic look as Doyoung started to tug him away by the arm.
“Wait,” Kun called out as he backed away. “Stay in touch, okay?”
“I- Yeah!” Ura called, caught off guard by the sudden end of their time together.
Kun gave her a small smile before disappearing into the crowd, being dragged away by Doyoung. Too late, Ura realized she didn’t have any of Kun’s contact information. Her heart sank a little, the reality of them meeting again suddenly becoming very slim.
tw:- mentions of suicide, sexuality questioning and suicide note.
❛ je voulais que nous marchions ensemble,
mais la nuit est venue tôt. ❜
trans of prelude.
❛ i wanted us to walk together,
but the night came early .❜
eunhye says this in the beginning before her voice rings out to sing poem, the song is written by her during a dark time in her indefinite hiatus from the limelight. during that month of numbness, she fell into a sort of relapse where the young woman remembered all the people who’ve died from suicide in her life. especially her childhood best-friend, Leo - he was only seventeen when he unfortunately took his own life just a year after her debut with red velvet. leo was a young boy who had many aspirations and dreams, and often spoke to eunhye about his struggles within society and socially.
he felt out of place, especially since he was introverted and liked boys. at the time, society was harsh to the one who loved just like everybody else and in his suicide note: he addressed eunhye with a hand-written poem, thanking her for all the love and warmth she brought to his life.
eunhye released this song in remembrance of our lost loved ones, a topic everyone tries to stray away from. we all have a loved one that’s passed and we miss dearly, we often think of where their beautiful souls are in the universe, can they hear us? are they in peace or still in turmoil? all these questions ran through eunhye’s mind while writing this song, but she stuck to one theme:
poem would be a song about the love we hold for a lost loved one as well as the memories and happiness they brought to our lives.
TITLE: Initiation
SUMMARY: The Trivium members receive ‘initiation’ by S.O.T and Tromme and complete three tasks in one night.
GENRE: Friendship, humor ig
PAIRING: OT9, R3D OT3, BLU3 OT3, Y3LLOW OT3.
WORD COUNT: 3.k
WARNINGS: Swearing, initiation process (but no one gets hurt)
A/N: this is the longest thing i’ve written for triptych lmao. i was thinking of breaking it up into parts but whatever. if you read the whole thing, thank you!! i hope you enjoy!
“I am not participating.” Ura frowned, crossing her arms defiantly. “I just won’t show up. If they want me there, they’re going to have to pry me from by bed.”
Van gave Ura a pout. “C’mon, they can’t do anything too bad. They’re our friends, they just want to have some fun to celebrate our debut.”
“We all know that the only reason why they’re doing this to us is because Cal is annoying and they want an excuse to bully him.” Ura rolled her eyes.
“Hey,” Cal frowned.
Ura scoffed, ignoring Cal’s protesting whine. “It’s a little childish, don’t you think?”
“I think you’re being a little... adultish.” Cal fumbled the fake work, his eyebrows knitting together for a second of confusion before continuing. “Plus if they’re going to roll me in honey and feathers, don’t you wanna be there to point and laugh at me?”
Ura sighed, unraveling her crossed arms. The two older groups invited them to an ‘initiation’ night at the boy’s dorm this evening after Trivium got back from their last activities for promotion. Ura thought it was bullshit, especially when she knows that neither S.O.T or Tromme have ever gone through initiation themselves. However, Van and Cal seemed to think of this as a great team bonding opportunity. Even though she didn’t want to be made a fool of in front of her new members, she also wanted to be there in case she needed to intervene to save her friends from bodily harm.
“Fine." Ura grunted. “I’ll go.”
Teo lit the last candle, shaking out the match. Around the boy’s living room were dozens of candles. The other six members sat in a semi circle in front of Trivium, all with blankets draped over their heads and shoulders.
Ura shifted uncomfortably, watching as Teo took his seat on the edge of the semi-circle, right next to Asa.
“Trivium,” Eli spoke, raising his hands. “You have completed your debut promotions successfully, ringing in new fans and opportunities for the group and the company. Even though these are great and appreciated accomplishments, you still have to pass initiation in order to be accepted by us, the founders.”
“The founders? We’re just as much of ‘founders’ as you are.” Ura arched a skeptical eyebrow. Eli lowered his hands slightly, not expecting the opposition to his statement.
Zim pushed her blanket away from her eyes. “Just go with it, Ura. We’re aiming for dramatic, not accurate.”
Ura rolled her eyes. ‘Dramatic not accurate’ might as well have been Triptych’s whole concept.
Eli continued, raising his hands back to their original height.
“We have called upon the Kpop Gods to help us find the proper trials. First, you will do The Crawl to judge your strength. Then we will do The Beam of Balance, to test your agility. Then we will preform The Heist as a group, to test our compatibility.”
“Do you accept your challenge?” Yen asked, a grin under her hood.
The Crawl was kind of stupid, if you ask Ura.
The members had gathered their electronic wires and shoe laces and taped the ends of them to the walls in the hallway. You had to crawl on your stomach under the wires and string and get to the other side. The obstacle? The other members of Triptych were standing in the doorways of bedrooms with handfuls of flour, ready to pelt you with the white powder as soon as you got close enough.
The first trial was over and done with after about ten minutes. Van took the shortest amount of time, only taking about a minute to get through. Ura took about three, because she kept stopping to blink flour from her eyes. Cal took roughly six minutes because he managed to wrap a cable around his neck and needed Teo to unravel it for him.
Covered in flour and dust from the floor, the second trial began. The members had brought up two boxes and one wooden plank (that Asa said they found behind the company building after practice). The goal was to see how many ‘original’ members you could knock off the balance beam using brooms to throw their balance off.
Ura actually enjoyed this round. She was easily the one to beat out of all of Trivium. Van let Yen knock him over in the first round, earning him a collective boo for refusing to play rough with a girl. Cal was decent until Nia got on the beam and knocked him over with one good shove. Ura managed to knock down almost everyone, except for Eli, who was the last person she had to face.
The nine members collected themselves, shaking hands and resolving faux arguments about the fairness of the game. When they all calmed down, it was time to start the final round: The Heist.
Ura thought it would be another game, but she was gravely mistaken. When Triptych said a heist, they really meant it.
“We’re all going to split up into our designated color teams and sneak into the company to find some sacred HBH objects. Yellow team,” Eli announced, looking at Zim and Van. “The three of us will be stealing... Hak Bonghwa’s travel mug.”
“The one with the frogs on it?” Zim clarified.
“That’s the one.” Eli confirmed.
“Easy.” Zim nodded.
“Blue team,” Eli turned to Asa, Yen, and Cal. “You will be stealing... HBH producer LeeBoi’s Supreme sweatshirt!”
Asa, Yen, and Cal wrapped their arms around each other’s shoulders, uniting as a team.
“Red team,” Eli addressed, turning to Nia, Teo, and Ura. “You’ll be stealing... Vice’s First Win trophy.”
“Wait, why do we get the most difficult one?” Teo complained.
“Just admit you’re scared of Vice and don’t want to upset them.” Asa teased.
“I am not-” Teo started to protest.
“The items have been chosen from the Kpop Gods. We cannot change them.” Eli said dramatically. “The first team to collect their item and bring it back here wins!”
The corporate floor was eerily quiet at night. Van has only been called up here a few times. Once to go over his trainee contract and the other to sign his idol contract with Hak Bonghwa.
Moonlight filtered through the large floor-to-ceiling windows, casting long shadows of the three idol’s figures as they inched closer and closer to Bonghwa’s office.
“What are the chances that he left it unlocked?” Van asked.
“High. He trusts all his workers a little too much.” Zim responded in a hushed tone.
They reached the office, which was completely dark except for the light emitting from the city lights outside. Eli reached for the door handle with his sweatshirt over his fingers, careful not to leave any finger prints. Just as they suspected, the door opened.
“Alright.” Eli straightened up. “We just got to grab the mug and we’re out of here. He probably has it in his mini fridge under his desk.”
Van furrowed his eyebrows. “How’d you know that?”
“He always makes himself an coffee before he goes home. He chills it over night in his minifridge so he has a coffee first thing when he gets to the office.” Eli shrugged. “He told me all about it when I was early for practice last week.”
The three idols made their way to Hak Bonghwa’s desk where the minifridge was concealed. When they ducked down to open the fridge, they were met by a small round face peering up at them.
“AH! CHILD!” Zim yelled, jumping backwards.
“Shh!” The child pressed a finger to his lips.
“Who the hell are you?” Eli asked, his eyes wide.
“Hak Donghyun.” The boy responded matter-of-factly. “Who the hell are you?”
“Language.” Eli stuck an accusing finger out to the child.
“Aren’t you Hak Bonghwa’s kid?” Van asked, crouching down to the child’s level. From under the desk, Van could see that the kid set up a small campsite of blankets, video games, and mini snacks from the vending machines.
“Yup.” Donghyun grinned. “You’re not supposed to be here.”
“Neither are you.” Zim reminded him. “How did you get in here?”
Donghyun pointed to the ceiling. The trio looked up to see a vent with the grate pushed aside.
“I know all the vents. It’s helpful. You should learn them too.” Donghyun shrugged. “Anyways, my dad’s travel mug is in the fridge. Don’t touch my Gatorade supply or I’ll tell on you.”
The three idols looked between each other in disbelief, but were careful not to touch the kid’s Gatorade as they removed the frog-print travel mug from the minifridge.
“Thanks, Donghyun.” Van said to the kid, who was now engrossed in a video game.
“I want a signed album, though.” Donghyun looked up from his video game. “If I don’t get one by tomorrow, I’ll tell everyone you broke in and that you swore at me.”
“I didn’t swear-” Eli’s eyebrows furrowed.
“Deal.” Van cut his friend off. “We’ll see you tomorrow Donghyun. Have a fun night.”
“Thanks. You too.” Donghyun grinned, resuming his game as the three idols left his father’s office.
“Where the fuck is it?” Yen hissed, checking behind the studio’s sofa. “Don’t tell me his musty ass finally decided to take it home to clean it.”
“Hey, Mi, relax, there’s no way LeeBoi would do laundry, that’s way too out of character.” Asa soothed his friend, coming out of the recording booth empty handed. “If it’s not in here, it’s gotta be in a locker somewhere.”
“A locker? There’s hundreds of lockers in this damn building!” Yen complained.
“We can split up?” Cal suggested. Both Yen and Asa frowned at him.
“No, we should stay together. The whole point of this exercise is to build bonds with each other.” Asa reasoned.
“I think the ‘whole point’ has changed to who can come in first place.” Yen disagreed, crossing her arms. "I don’t want to split up, but I also don’t want to lose to Eli. He’ll brag about it for ages.”
“Alright, so how do you wanna go about this?” Asa questioned.
“I mean, isn’t the trainee floor off limits to anyone without a trainee ID?” Cal wondered. “So LeeBoi’s sweatshirt must be in a locker on the main practice room floor.”
“And knowing him, he’d probably want to take the least amount of time getting from The Dungeons to the locker. So he’s probably stored it somewhere on the third floor.” Yen hypothesized.
“And LeeBoi is a pretty predicable person.” Asa nodded in agreement. “Alright, to the third floor we go.”
The trio entered the boys locker room and started opening up all the unlocked lockers. No sign of the producer’s sweatshirt. Yen was starting to get frustrated now. She flopped herself down on one of the benches and rubbed her temples.
“I can’t believe we’re going to lose to everyone. We’re even losing to Nia... Moon Yerin! This is the worst day of my life.” Yen complained melodramatically.
Asa sat next to her and tried to make her feel better by cracking dumb jokes and rubbing her shoulder. Cal felt like he was intruding on a personal moment, as he felt every time Asa and Yen drifted off in their own little world like this. Feeling awkward just standing there, he took one last walk around the lockers.
Suddenly, something very strong hit his nostrils. The obnoxious cologne scent wafted into his lungs, making him gag a little. He back tracked his steps and breathed deeply. Coming from a locked locker was the unmistakable smell of LeeBoi.
“No way... Guys!” Cal exclaimed over his shoulder at the pair. “I think it’s in this locker... come smell it!”
Asa and Yen came over, pressing their noses against the metal grates in the locker door.
“Holy shit, that’s gotta be it.” Yen’s eyes widened, her waterline tearing up from the stench.
“But how are we gonna open the lock?” Asa questioned.
Cal’s eyes fluttered to Yen’s hairstyle; a high-risen slicked back ponytail. Yen backed away.
“We’re not using my head as a battering ram.” She said sternly.
“What?” Cal furrowed his eyebrows. “Bro, no. Do you have a bobby pin?”
The two gave Cal space as he worked on the lock with Micha’s bobby pin. After about three minutes, the lock finally popped open.
“Dude, that was kinda hot.” Asa said under his breath in amazement.
“How did you learn to do that?” Yen asked as Cal removed the lock.
“I lived in London.” Cal simply shrugged.
“That’s a little cryptic, but okay.” Yen blinked, opting out on asking more questions.
Inside the locker was the Supreme sweatshirt they’ve been searching for in all it’s smelly glory. Cal took it out with two pinched fingers, holding it away from him.
“Alright, let’s dip. I don’t wanna hold this sweatshirt for longer than necessary.” Cal suggested. The trio silently agreed and fled the locker room, barreling towards the elevators.
“We’re dead, we’re dead,” Teo muttered under his breath like a mantra. Ura gritted her teeth, fighting the urge to tell her group mate to be quiet. Thankfully, she didn’t have to.
“Injung, chill. We’re just going to run in and then out.” Nia said, trying to sound calm.
Ura wasn’t really sure why her teammates were so worked up about breaking into Cyth’s recording studio. After looking around the trophy case in the main hall and realizing that Vice’s First Win was not there, they knew there was no where else it could be besides Cyth’s studio in the basement.
Ura let them lead the way, knowing that both of them wanted control over this situation. She didn’t mind going with the flow. There was nothing to worry about anyways-
“What are you three doing?”
The three Triptych members turned around. Walking towards them was Cyth, a coffee in his hand. He arched an eyebrow at them, taking the straw of his coffee into his mouth. “Not trying to break in, are you?”
Teo let out an anxious chuckle, instantly straightening himself up. “Haha, what? No. We wouldn’t do that.”
Cyth looked between the three of them, taking a gulp of his drink. Then he let out a sigh and shook his head in disappointment. “I can’t believe it. I’m the worst senior ever. I never taught you guys how to properly sneak around the company after hours.” Cyth gestured to Nia with his coffee.
“Your whole form was completely off. Your body was so tense, it gave the guilt away.” The rapper turned to Teo. “And you... what was that pained laugh, bro? I thought you only reserved that for the unfunny jokes Minho tells at company gatherings. That hurt.”
Teo looked guilty, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand.
“The only one who didn’t look guilty was Chiayu.” Cyth gestured to the youngest member. “What are you guys trying to swipe?”
“Your First Win Trophy.” Ura responded.
“Ura, don’t tell him that-” Teo started to scold.
“Take it.” Cyth shrugged, walking past them to open his studio door for them. The pair followed him inside, watching as he reached up and brought down the first place trophy from a shelf above his set up.
“How long are you guys going to need it?” Cyth asked, handing it to Ura.
“Only for the night. We’ll return it tomorrow.” Ura responded.
“Can I ask what for?” Cyth wondered.
“We’re doing initiation for Trivium.” Ura answered, ignoring Nia and Teo’s warning glances.
Cyth chuckled. “Damn, you guys are really doing the most. In that case, tell them Ura had to sneak into the studio while you guys distracted me.” Cyth said to Teo and Nia. “Make your maknae look good in front of the others.”
Ura grinned at her two members, who looked a little awestruck. She couldn’t enjoy the satisfying moment, however, because her eye caught the clock hanging above Cyth’s door.
“Shit, it’s almost two! We gotta get back to the dorm.” She swore. Ura turned to her senior one more time.
“Thanks for helping.” Ura nodded.
“Hey, no worries, it’s all in a day’s work, being the best senior and all.” Cyth winked.
“The Kpop Gods have spoken... and the winners are...” Eli motioned for the rest of the members to create a drum roll. Everyone banged their hands against the floor.
“Team Red!” Eli cheered. Nia, Teo, and Ura wrapped their arms around each other, a victorious smile on their faces.
“No fair, we would have won if Ura didn’t side check me in the hallway!” Yen complained, showing the rug burn on her kneecap. “Isn’t that a violation of the rules?”
“We never said no to inflicting rug burns.” Nia grinned smuggly. “We won, fair and square.”
“What do we win?” Ura asked curiously.
“You win...” Eli motioned for another round of drum rolls.
“A free from chores coupon! You won’t have to do chores in your dorms for the next month!” Eli cheered, holding up three post-it notes with “FREE FROM CHORES - ONE MONTH - ONE TIME USE” written on them. He handed them to each member of Team Red.
“Well, this was exciting.” Nia smiled, standing up from her spot on the ground. “But we also have practice at 10am and it’s almost four now. I suggest we all get some sleep before practice.”
The members all groaned, but they rose to their feet as well. Everyone exchanged hugs and good nights before the girls left the boys dorm, heading across the hall to their own dorm.
Ura and Yen entered their shared bedroom, preparing for bed. While they were changing, Ura cleared her throat.
“Hey, I’m sorry about shoving you.” She apologized.
Yen grinned, shaking her head. “Don’t be. It made the game spicy.”
“Spicy?” Ura frowned, not understanding her friend’s use of slang. Yen shook her head.
“Give it a couple of weeks and you’ll be talking like me too.” Yen promised. “All my friends do eventually.”
With the promise of finally belonging, Ura was able to drift off peacefully that night, thanking herself for agreeing to partake in initiation after all.
