initially, seungcheol had been worried about this month’s evaluation. working with people he hasn’t had prior contact with is, in short, kind of terrifying. of course, it’s worked out well in the past, and he does have to meet people through some kind of interaction, but that’s the problem. seungcheol’s never been good at approaching people first; first impressions aren’t his strong point. stuttering his way through an introduction to someone who likely lost interest in what he had to say after he stretched his name out for a lengthy eight seconds more than it should take to clearly pronounce, isn’t exactly the most confidence building experience. but what would happen if he couldn’t find enough courage to approach someone quickly after the announcement? everyone would already have partners and he’d fail the evaluation before he’d even begun— a shame, really, after he did so well proving himself last month (at what cost?) that he’d fall to his knees at the thought of talking to people first.
still, it seems someone spares him, and he’s not sure how word got to baekhyun of who he is, but he’s incredibly grateful. so much so is obvious in the smile stretching his lips as he enters the practice room, bowing in greeting. “h-hi. s-s-sorry if I, uh— kept you w-waiting.”
🎼 love line — hyorin, bumkey, jooyoung — ft. @tenrk & @jaehyunrk
as the month was drawing to a close, dawon tried not to think about the questions she still didn’t know the answers to. for what felt like the first time in her life, she had absolutely no idea of what to do—no idea of which way to go. she wishes that there were a way for her to glimpse into her own future, even if only to learn if she’d have any regrets that she’d hold down the road. she knows that it’s impossible, and she knows that she’ll never have all the answers—so maybe it’s for the best if she tries not to dwell on any of it.
pairing up with jaehyun and ten had proved to be a great choice. in dawon’s opinion, not only were they both extremely talented, but easy to work with as well. she’d even go so far as to say that their song choice was close to perfect, as she thought it suited each of them rather well. she was still slightly nervous, however, and despite doing well in practice, she can’t help but worry over whether or not she’d make a mistake during the actual evaluation.
Oh~ (Hey) Say you are mine
(Yes you are) I’ll be on line
지금 니 마음을 말해줘
I never lie about my mind
듣고 싶은 그 말을 말해줘
the fact that she’s starting the song makes her slightly nervous, but she’s determined not to let her teammates down. she tries to remember her street performance days earlier, when she was able to perform freely without the constant worry of being evaluated—it had been so fun, and she had enjoyed it with her entire being. if she could only get into that mindset, maybe, just maybe, she could enjoy this performance just as much.
Baby, I’m on line
Get on my love line
너는 지금 어때
니가 좀 말해봐
We got a love line
We got a love line
내가 널 부를 땐
넌 어딨는거야
the others did a great job of harmonizing, in dawon’s opinion, and it was more than enough to give her a temporary confidence boost. while they were only just beginning, they were off to a good start—if they could do this well for the rest of the performance, she’s certain that they could each walk away knowing that they had done a great job. while doing well in a single evaluation may be a small victory, dawon was willing to take it.
난 너만의 radio
들어줄래 나의 stereo
우리 둘만의 story goes
그냥 듣고 있어
돌려 말을 하지마
누가 듣던지 말해봐
나랑 뭐 하고 싶어
Our love line
for a moment, jaehyun looks to her and smiles, and it confirmed what she already knew—they were doing a good job, and, most importantly, they were having fun while doing it. until recently, it had been so long since she had genuinely enjoyed a performance, and she can only hope that this is a sign of great things to come. they made a good team, she thinks, and their voices complimented each other well. she offers ten a smile of her own, hoping that her teammates felt as good about the performance as she did.
흔들리지마 (no never)
나만 바라봐 (들리니 내 마음)
as he sings, dawon realizes that she’s a big fan of jaehyun’s vocals—she’s slightly disappointed that they hadn’t collaborated sooner (though that could easily be attributed to the fact that they hadn’t known each other for very long). maybe the three of them could cover something again in the future, or maybe it was just wishful thinking—only time would tell, but she hopes that they’ll collaborate again someday. ten and jaehyun both seemed very talented, and it was an honor to work with them just this once.
Baby, I’m on line (On line~)
Get on my love line (Love line~)
너는 지금 어때 (Oh baby)
니가 좀 말해봐 (내게 좀 말해봐)
We got a love line
We got a love line
내가 널 부를 땐 (부를 땐)
넌 어딨는거야
she’s relieved that she was able to focus on practicing for this performance in peace. the month of august had been rather complicated, and her thoughts never remained focused on one subject for long (much to her discontent). she absolutely despised having so many life-changing decisions looming over her, and her constant struggle of coping with jiae’s departure only made things that much more confusing. arranging the performance had proved to be a much-needed distraction when she needed it most, and she’s more than pleased with the people she was able to work alongside.
그냥 듣고 있어
나랑 뭐 하고 싶어
Our love line
she’s nodding, a genuine smile present on her lips as she continued to get into the music. it’s somewhat sad knowing that it’d be over soon, though she can’t bring herself to feel too much disappointment; at least they were enjoying it while it lasted (she was, at least). besides, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about potentially making a mistake once it was over and done with.
Baby, I’m on line (Oh~)
Get on my love line
너는 지금 어때 (어때)
니가 좀 말해봐 (Baby tell me)
We got a love line
We got a love line (Oh we got a love~)
내가 널 부를 땐
넌 어딨는거야 (Ma babe)
why couldn’t things always be this way? she had so much to think about, so much to do—yet, for whatever reason, she was able to temporarily forget her problems as she was able to do what she loved, singing. maybe it’s the positive energy she receives from her teammates, or maybe it’s her newfound confidence that things will work out for the better—she honestly isn’t sure, but she can only hope that the confidence will last.
난 너만의 radio
들어줄래 나의 stereo
우리 둘만의 story goes
그냥 듣고 있어
돌려 말을 하지마
누가 듣던지 말해봐
나랑 뭐 하고 싶어
Our love line
as the song finally approaches its end, dawon finds herself smiling. she’s pleased with their performance, and she can only hope that her jaehyun and ten felt the same way. it was the small victory that she had sought after, and, although several stressful events lied in the near future, she allows herself to enjoy this moment for as long as it lasted.
professional networking is a skill that comes with age, gets better with age -- like fine wine, aged cheese. he’s no stranger to it, definitely. what with his family’s dealings in both medicine and law, networking and communication was and still is key. there’s no doubt in his mind that he could have been successful had he gone that route, pursued being a surgeon or something.
but being an idol. hell, even being a trainee is something else entirely.
constant contact and small talk with others, constant surveillance under watchful eyes to make sure that everything’s clean -- professional.
he sighs -- but smiles right as the music starts, right as the part decided for him comes crashing into reality.
what do i do? i can’t acknowledge this
how you easily forgot me and are so happy
it’s too cruel, you’re a cruel woman
i never knew this till now, i’ve been deceived
it’s a price to pay to give away some of his personal freedoms. but he would do it and give it up twice more to achieve his dream. while others might think that signing the dotted line on a binding contract might be so suffocating, taeyong thinks that signing is just a formality when he’s been so committed to making his dreams happen already for as long as he can remember.
it makes no difference to him. now he’s official. at he’s not worrying about the next opportunity he’ll get to put himself forward. at least, not for the same reason as before.
i haven’t forgotten you yet
whatever i do, your smile won’t get erased
there’s no way, this doesn’t make sense
i wanna believe that they saw wrong
he realizes that he hasn’t rapped in so long, that his voice has been getting used to vocal warmups instead of the ache he gets in his head trying to get rhythms and flows in his head.
it’s refreshing, reminds him of himself in the near past. he remembers how enthusiastic he was, how absolutely set he was on being a rapper. the thought is sad, somewhat.
but he knows that now, he’s getting serious about his career. now, he’s thinking of the future ahead of him while still fondly looking back into the past. now, he’s training to be something big, someone that is just radiating with talent to fill.
he’s still a triple threat in his own book, in his own right.
it’s all a lie, i’ve never done that
even though I try so hard
i can’t forget these feelings
to leave my phone background
as an old photo of us
it’s a waste of real love
he’s learned from the once strangers that he met during the course of the evaluation that realism and goals need to be achievable -- that sometimes you need to age and mature like fine wine, like aged cheese. being both the youngest in age and youngest in status as a trainee gave him a bit more excitement, a bit more swing in his step.
and of course, there’s nothing wrong with that. it’s lucky that he still has, he’ll still treasure being excited for monthly evaluations, for training, for dancing until his sides hurt, for getting vocal warmups stuck in his head after hours of practice.
he’ll treasure that. and he’ll treasure the wealth of knowledge from more established trainees.
he feels like he’s going to need them in the near future.
okay guys! especially trainees! i’m trying to make a list of what trainees need a partner for august evals, to make it a bit easier than looking through the whole dash to find someone, or not knowing someone will do another or someone being missed, if we have a list, i thought it might be easier. so first! let me know if your trainee needs someone, i’ll put them on the list and second, if your muse has one already, but could do another, we can put you on the list as well.
the only information i need is, trainee name, company and any notes you want to add, like if they have one but will do another, or if they have a group idea.
♚ AUGUST EVALUATIONS
place: the seoul zoo
outfit: red on red
members: @jaehyunrk & @rkdawon
… performing LOVE LINE by HYORIN, JOOYOUNG & BUMKEY
to say ten was nervous would be a massive understatement. of course, having his best friend there with him on stage helped a little bit, but at the same time, it was jaehyun, and ten knew that jaehyun had an amazing voice. from hearing dawon during the times they’d gone over the song together he knew she was insanely talented as well, leaving him as the weakest link.
unlike before he was signed to trc, ten’s got some faith in his own voice, having been complimented on his tone and control by the vocal coach during his vocal training. that isn’t to say that he’s confident - if anything it’s the opposite still. he doesn’t think he has an amazing voice, at least not yet, which he worries will let jaehyun and dawon down slightly.
he knows the lyrics, and he thinks he’s got a good ear for harmonising, but it’s purely the fact that he doesn’t think his voice is really strong enough to hold up beside two incredible vocalists. so over the past month he’s practised harder than he’s ever practised before - something in him still feels a tightness at the thought of letting jaehyun down, and he can’t help but hate that part of him.
ten likes the song, and he likes his lines, yet as the day of the evaluation approaches his nerves tighten and tighten until they feel as though they’re strangling him. it takes a full hour to get himself to a calmer state on the day of the evaluation, and he feels like cursing at himself for getting to worried about it. it’s not a particularly difficult song; no hard high notes or incredible strength needed in his voice, yet he’s more nervous than he’s been before for an evaluation.
not because he thinks he’ll mess up, but because he doesn’t want to let jaehyun down. he doesn’t want to be so clearly the worst singer among them - he wants to stand out in his own way, but it seems so impossible when seated beside two of the best trainee singers he knows.
once on the stage ten introduces himself last, bowing low to the audience and throwing out a bright smile and simply giving himself a second to take in the feeling of being on stage again.
it does the trick.
seating himself beside jaehyun and dawon he holds the mic firmly in his hands, looking between them and smiling reassuringly before the music starts, and their performance is underway.
it starts with his softer adlibs and harmonisation, complementing dawon’s voice.
“hey... yes you are... 말해줘 ... I never lie about my mind,”
then the chorus starts and ten finds himself excited for how the audience will react to all three of their voices harmonising.
“on line… love line... 어때… love line… love line… 부를 땐,”
ten taps his knee and sways slightly to the beat as jaehyun and dawon’s voices blend beautifully, and it’s hard not to get distracted just listening to them - they really do sound great together. but soon it’s his turn to sing with dawon and he wonders whether their voices sound as nice together as jaehyun’s and dawon’s do.
돌려 말을 하지마
누가 듣던지 말해봐
나랑 뭐 하고 싶어
our love line
( don’t beat around the bush
just tell me, who will hear?
what do you want to do with me
our love line )
the focus falls onto jaehyun alone, his voice standing out so beautifully it reminds ten of the reasons he once felt more for him that simply friendship - it still stings to think about, but not as badly as it used to, he’s moved past that part of his life, and he can appreciate jaehyun’s voice without it bringing back painful memories.
but then it’s right back to ten fitting in his voice around dawon’s, making sure he stand out, but not so much that he drowns out the other voices.
“no never... 들리니 내 마음 ... 니가 없인 이제 내가 아닌 날,”
then the chorus once more with jaehyun’s voice standing out prettily beside ten’s and dawon’s.
the bridge comes in once more and ten takes that moment to glance out over the audience and smile a small smile before he fits right back into the song alongside dawon’s powerful vocals.
돌려 말을 하지마
누가 듣던지 말해봐
나랑 뭐 하고 싶어
our love line
( don’t beat around the bush
just tell me, who will hear?
what do you want to do with me
our love line )
then it’s ten’s favourite part, where he harmonises with jaehyun’s voice, the differences clear, but ten thinks it makes both voices stand out, ten’s soft, while jaehyun’s is stronger, almost hard, but not quite.
no matter where you are (you are)
어디에 있던지 (ma baby)
널 만질 순 없어도 (Yeah)
still I’m here with you
i can feel you (anytime)
(tell me) 한번 더 말해줘
날 간지럽혔던 목소리로
( no matter where you are (you are)
wherever you are (ma baby)
although I can’t touch you (yeah)
still I’m here with you
i can feel you (anytime)
(tell me) Tell me again
in the voice that tickled my heart )
his voice, though soft, he thinks, maybe compliments the song and it’s groovy vibe. it’s something almost unexpected, yet not jarring in it’s unusual aspect. his voice is fit for backing others up, yet he’s not quite sure how well he’d do singing alone yet, which is why having jaehyun and dawon alongside him helps boost his confidence, the worry of disappointing them fading fast as the song nears its end.
돌려 말을 하지마
누가 듣던지 말해봐
나랑 뭐 하고 싶어
our love line
( don’t beat around the bush
just tell me, who will hear?
what do you want to do with me
our love line )
on last time through the bridge and the song comes to and end, leaving ten grinning brightly, the thrill of performing now settled in his bones and leaving him perfectly content. it went well, he thinks, looking out over the audience, his eyes shining with glee.
the month was long but it wasn’t unpleasant. she made three new friends by the end of the month. it was nice to get to know her group better. everyone was gentle, encouraging out of her shell that she’s regressed into in the recent months.
if sohee had to guess, she’d say this evaluation was a lesson on working with others. she always supposed it would be easier to “trade” trainees when all five majors companies are under the same larger company. she could only imagine that it meant that they might be swapped across companies for debuts. it was a way to force people to be more open to those they’re not used to. the newfound flexibility was nice. sohee and her group didn’t really have trouble getting along.
it makes her wonder if others had any difficulties. although she doesn’t think anyone really would – other people were able to choose who they were working with. regardless, sohee doesn’t regret her group mates. in fact, she feels rather close to them.
the division of parts was easy. their strengths were clear from the get-go. they played off each other the best they could to fill the gaps in performance capabilities to make up for it. extra dance practises, more vocal practises and a lot of attention to coordination. the dance was a good co-ed song but it took quite some practise. they weren’t who sohee was used to – she was less likely to be as outspoken as she would be with anyone from trc.
to say the very least, getting dressed that day for the performance was exciting. being with people she wouldn’t normally perform with made this feel a bit realer in a sense. they looks cohesive like a unit dressed in a similar theme. of course they weren’t perfect (how could they be with only a month of practise?) but sohee wasn’t unashamed of their skill level.
being on the spot with people you’re not used to is a bit awkward to moving around with. spacial awareness is always a bit off. they were no longer awkward together, at the very least. they weren’t exactly in unison. they weren’t the image of perfection. but they improved a lot.
there was some nervousness with singing live – there always was, really. it’s not that she feared that she would bomb the performance; it was more so that she was nervous to always fall subpar. she wasn’t sure how the judging went with a lot of these evaluations. not a lot of feedback was given (and she swore the only people ever allowed to spectate evaluations were the most emotionally void people ever).
did they care? maybe not. but sohee always tried her best.
it wasn’t a difficult song on the sole definition of vocal range. it was pretty standard. but combining it was a little bit difficult. she won’t shy away from admitting some breathy lyrics on her end. in all, she wasn’t disappointed with herself or her temporary group.
● SPHERE EVALUATION: 난 멈추지 않는다 : I WON’T STOP
SAM KIM & KWON JINAH KIM JINWOOK & LEE JIHYUN
what i am now is not myself
summer months are traditionally lazy but have this year been defined by tension. long july nights fumbling with choreography. jinri’s broken wrist. a night in the emergency room. false brightness buzzing through the phone lines to soothe his parents. facing his failures and re-enrolling in classes. jinri and luna in constant turmoil, jinwook helpless to ease their decisions. above all else, there is restlessness.
seolhyun is auditioning too, and jegal seoyoung, and who knows else from all of the faces he’s grown accustomed to greeting in the hallways every afternoon. the first new girl group in years, from any of the five companies under samsung. so much change on the horizon.
we start everything all over again
jihyun is a blessing, and at the same time brings a sense of finality to this bubble ready to burst. it’s her last evaluation before the royal survival show begins — why do they always meet at the endings? since the mgas last year, they’ve hardly interacted at all — not nearly enough compared to how fondly jinwook still remembers his half-week stint under royal entertainment and coach jihyun’s guidance.
regret that can’t be taken back, let’s get it together
he regrets not reaching out sooner, and more often. she’s just as lovely to work with as he recalls. laughter often fills their practice times as they pass the rap lines between themselves, before their unanimous decision to cut the part entirely. in retrospect, it feels an honor to spend this precious time with her.
the weight of the guitar in his lap, jinwook on a stool in front of a panel of familiar instructors, he looks to meet jihyun’s eyes. her perch mirrors his, and he smiles as he taps a count against his guitar. the song is fitting, not only by arrangement — two singers and two guitarists, jihyun’s vocals stronger than his, jinwook picking up the trickier instrumental riffs — but in sentiment as well. something melancholic, regretful. something purposeful and resolute.
is jinwook happy here? it’s something he asks himself regularly, and maybe that is a telling sign in itself. at the least, he’s become comfortable and perhaps complacent as a trainee. with so many lives shifting around him, it feels in his best interest hold steady, be consistent. it’s what he’s best at. but he’s beginning to think 'progressing’ is a better descriptor: everyone progressing around him and jinwook static, stuck in old habits and old paths of thought.
he’s never been sure how to go about fixing this, but he senses change on his horizon, a bubble about to burst. it starts like this — they take one step forward:
i’m losing control
what’s wrong with me?
hurry hurry boy
i want you
♥ ( team & @seolhyunrk @rkeunae @jihoonrk @rkkaeun )
jieqiong finally, finally had the honor of working with none other than the eunae. and she must say, she likes her way more than her mother - but that wasn’t exactly much to say.
the group she had fit into wasn’t hard to work with, a rather diverse and talent group of individuals jieqiong’s sad to say she’s just now had the pleasure of meeting. the girl was glad she didn’t end up getting stuck with anyone else - this month’s evaluations could’ve gone a lot worse. but she’s glad to say it was going pretty well despite them not being too familiar with one another.
they all had agreed to focus more on the dancing of brave girl’s hush rather than the singing. there was no rap, which could be difficult for the ones who based more in that category. but they had decided to split up the lines evenly and help each other out. wasn’t that what a team was for?
when it came down to the day of their performance, jieqiong was absolutely bouncing in excitement.
the white sheets completed the choreography ( she was always a sucker for props ) and the heels gave that extra push to make the whole performance that much better. talented dancers in heels? now that’s a show.
the group got into their positions for the start of the song, jieqiong rocking back and forth on the edge of her heels as she felt both nerves and excitement coarse through her. she took a deep breath, adjusting her mic before whispering words of luck to the others - quieting just as the music began.
