hiiii !!!! it’s i damm! here with some news / questions ? i’ve decided to turn off anon since i’ve gotten some anon asks that made me (hmm) a bit uncomfortable? so thus i want to ask that if anyone is uncomfortable with coco as a fc that they just avoid/ignore rkcoco. i don't want to change her faceclaim at this time. please either come off anon or send your concerns to a mod please. thank you!
He felt sorry for the makeup artist who was giving him touch up. In hindsight, perhaps he should have put in a bit more effort and got more than a layer of...what’s it called, bb cream? He showed up to the audition bare faced because he didn’t know how to do it and figured it would be better to show up with a naked face than a clown one. His cousin Suwoong saw him and offered his assistance. Kyungsoo got some sort of cushion cream patted all over his face and his cousin messed up his hair a little, also unbuttoned/untucked his shirt to give him ‘flare’. The hair, he ended up smoothing back down before he got on the stage, and the shirt he tucked back in but the bb cream got to stay.
Suwoong’s product was probably good but Kyungsoo still managed to sweat off 75% of it by the time the performances were over. The makeup artist had to re-do everything and by the time Kyungsoo was seated in the interview chair, he was...at least 10% better looking.
How do you think you did?
“I definitely gave it my best shot,” he said, reminiscing. There was a lot of cheering when he got on that stage, actually, and hearing his name being shouted by a whole bunch of people gave him courage. “It is nice to have a supportive audience, I didn’t expect it, but most of that is probably my cousin’s doing.” He heard Suwoong shout out ‘YEAH THAT IS MY COUSIN KYUNGSOO’ even all the way on the stage. His friends, Kyungsoo supposed, decided to join him in cheering. Thankfully they all quieted down by the time he started, or else it would have ruined the serene atmosphere Kyungsoo was trying to create for his performance.
What did you think of Suwoong’s performance?
Oh god, of course they’d ask for him to comment on Suwoong’s performance because family bantering probably made good television. “Well, um...” Quick, he must think of something nice to say. Kyungsoo kept his smile pleasant as he scrambled for find positive words of praise to throw on his cousin’s...exquisite trot dance performance. He shouldn’t lie, especially when there was a possibility the camera caught his expression during Suwoong’s performance, which was a mixture of shock, terror and just general what the fuck. Yes, that expression must have looked super out of place on his usually calm face but Kyungsoo really couldn’t help it.
Before the performance, he’d gently patted Coco’s knee and told her it was his cousin coming up next and clapped for Suwoong as he did his introduction. After, well, he wish he never told her he had a cousin.
"He certainly...moved!” He was still struggling to find praise. The interviewer, amused by his obvious discomfort, decided to help him out by asking if that was how Suwoong usually behaved. “Yeah, that’s him. My cousin is confident as he is eccentric. He often twerk in the kitchen when he’s bored and alone. I think he is...uh, a happy person and that happiness can be infectious. He is not afraid to perform and only too eager to show off his moves. I, very much admire that about him.” Kyungsoo managed to force the last set of words through his lips, putting emphasis on the word admire even though it pained him.
Please let’s move away from the topic of Suwoong now.
Were there any performances you liked?
Oh, an easier question. “I like a lot of performances. I will admit, I paid more attention to the dancers because I have very little talent in that regard. Taeyang was great and so was Yena, but I think my favourite dance performance was from Hoseok. Maybe I am biased but I’ve seen Hoseok dance before at the community centre. He was doing a girl group cover and teaching some other people as well. It is good to have leadership and dance skills.” On television, it didn’t hurt to praise the competition because it made you seem kind. Kyungsoo decided to direct most of his praise towards the dancers because they weren’t his direct competitors like the singers were.
“I liked Tzuyu’s song choice, it really suited her voice.” He slid in the compliment casually near the end, supporting the girl who had his kitty’s favour.
Were there any performances you didn’t like?
See, if he shitted too hard on people, he’d seem like an asshole. If he said nothing, however, it would make him appear insincere. Kyungsoo would bet some people who wanted to appear extra humble would say themselves and talk about how they could have performed better, but he wasn’t into the idea of that. Why put yourself down when you are already in a competition where you might receive harsh criticism that’ll try to destroy your confidence? No, they should focus on building themselves up in preparation for all the difficulties that may be ahead should they pass.
So Kyungsoo shall be fair.
“What happened to Haruto was a shame. I think he was really nervous and that affected his performance.” That was the honest part. Now to say something gentler to smooth things over. “But nervousness will fade with time. If given the opportunity to move forward, I am sure he will gain confidence.” In that regard, Haruto could learn from Taeil, who didn’t exactly have the strongest performance but he certainly rapped with confidence.
an interview? it isn’t that he hates them, but he’s never been that fond of them - he’s always worried he’ll slip up and say something wrong. he used to have to do them once or twice with his band for random youtube interview channels. those were a lot less formal than the ones for the mga’s seemed to be, going by the interview during the first audition stage.
so, when he’s called off into another room, where he gets poked and tickled with makeup brushes for a couple minutes, he’s trying his hardest to calm his nerves, though his hands wringing in his lap, clammy as seems usual during this process. however, once his makeup is done to the makeup artists standards, the woman who led him into the room, who has a kind smile (at least compared to the interview lady from the previous audition stage) raises a clipboard with a smile and asks if he’s ready to begin - he nods, smiling a small, clearly nervous smile.
“so, guanheng, how did you feel when you heard you’d gotten a callback?”
he’s not entirely sure how to answer, if he’s being honest. “i was... surprised? though i guess most people must have been - it’s hard to believe in your own capabilities until someone else sort of... draws back that curtain for you... i guess.” it’s a dumb answer to a frankly rather dumb question, but he supposes he could continue. “but, of course i was glad, and excited.” that’s what they want to hear, right? there’s some truth to that, though not as much - he was glad, of course he was, this was something he was excited about, and wanted to do well in.
“what was your reaction when the judges were revealed?”
should he answer truthfully, or not? he decides for a slightly softer version of the truth. “well, in all honesty, i didn’t have much of one? y’see i’m rather new to being a fan of this sort of music; this industry. so up until recently i probably couldn’t have told you any of their names, besides maybe tiger jk. but i know them now, of course, i did my research!”
“and, how do you think your performance went?”
“well, i would hope.” he answers instantly, with a soft chuckle. “it went pretty good - at least for how i practised it. of course, how well i did is really up to the judges. i hope they think i did well too, and i hoped the other contestants watching enjoyed it too!” he always wants to make people enjoy his performances, even if he’s not always as sure of them as he could be, the main thing was that he enjoyed himself, and that his audience enjoyed themselves too.
“were there any performances in particular that you liked?”
“i really liked minkyung and taeil’s! oh, and that heejin girl! she definitely caught my eye! i’m a bit of a sucker for guitar players - oh, i should mention coco, too. yeah i liked them both!” he recalls the performances, smiling as he thinks of the ones he remembered clearly.
“what about performances you didn’t like?”
this question he frowns at. “not really. of course, i had my favourites, but no one really stood out as significantly bad to me, even if it was just for my taste. i appreciated how much effort everyone put into their performances, so to single someone out and say i didn’t like their performance wouldn’t feel right to me - im just glad if everyone had fun!”
“and what did you think of hwang yeji’s performance?”
it takes a while to remember who the name belonged to, and when he finally realises it was a dancer he hums. “i’m... not a great dancer myself, so i was pretty impressed - to me she looked like she really knew her stuff, her body was all.. strong but liquid at the same time. it’s crazy i wish i could dance. i guess i’ll have to learn if it make it further.”
“so, who do you think is certain to move on, or someone who you think will be eliminated?”
“again, i really can’t say on the elimination front, since everyone did so well, and i’m not really qualified to be judging. i’m biased for guitar players so obviously i’d love to see heejin and coco to go through! for someone i think is bound to go through? possibly that daniel guy? i’m pretty sure i saw him talked about online last year - he was in this last year right? anyway, i’m sure he’s got experience, so he’s bound to get really far.”
“thank you, that’s all!”
he’s ushered back to his seat in the studio, finally able to relax a little again, though not for long, when he realises now all he has to wait for is the judges decisions, and his heart begins to pound.
this was, without a doubt, the most ambitious thing he had decided to do for his youtube. only last month he had decided to branch out into trying to dance and rap at the same time. but even compared to that this was a hard swerve in the opposite direction - taking out the rap completely and focusing on the dancing instead.
if this worked out, this was going to be one of the best covers he had ever done. but first, it was the work of trying to find people to do this crazy idea with him. the song was not popular and not many people had listened to it. not to mention they whole song was done incorporating the use of heely’s as well. dancing was one thing, but dancing with a wheel on each foot was a completely different story and there were most likely to be falls.
it took some time to assemble enough people, by either approaching them at school during lunch breaks and by putting out some feelers through twitter to see if anyone bit. and they did, before too long, he had five willing volunteers to try and get this dance cover down so he could upload it. the deadline was set to the end of feburary and for a very long time hohyeon wasn’t sure if they were going to reach that goal. it was hard enough to learn a dance, even more so trying to learn how to use heely’s as well.
as expected, there were quite a few falls, hohyeon managed to sprain his wrist at one point after completely collapsing on it, but he powered on through. he knew this was going to be hard and was not about to give up.
the mastery of the shoes on his feet came slow, but with extra practice in them by just going to school wearing them and wearing them out, he started to feel comfortable in them. his mother still thought he was crazy for wanting to do something like this, but the ever supportive woman she was had no intentions of stopping him and was always there to patch him up if he happened to fall and get hurt.
weeks and solo and group practices later, hohyeon was comfortable enough that they were all good enough to start recording this video. right from the start they had decided to share the more acrobatic parts of the dance between the willing members, not wanting one person to just do them all. it cut down on arguments and was also just easier to learn one complicated move instead of multiple of them.
the day they were going to be recording this, hyeon made sure to arrive bright and early, giving him enough time to set up the camera he had borrowed from school properly. even as he moved around the room to make sure everything was set up he found himself just wheeling around instead of walking. he’d come to love having wheels on his feet, it was far easier than walking for him and now and he wouldn’t be surprised if he found himself wearing heely’s more often and just zipping around the place.
slowly the other five started to trickle into the room and, once they were all assembled and warmed up, the real work began.
he had been hoping to just get this over and done with during one run through, but o course that was just wishful thinking. almost as soon as the music started for the first time, hohyeon managed to put a foot wrong and completely messed it up meaning they started once again. and they just kept going, hohyeon didn’t want to stop until everything was completely perfect. no mistakes or slips or one person moving before everyone else, even if it was just by a second. this was going to be perfect and it was going to be glorious.
when the music started again for what felt like the hundredth time, hohyeon started moving his head to the beat, pushing away from the wall with his hands with the others, wheeling towards the middle of the room. he was determined not to make any mistakes this time, this was going to be the perfect version he wanted and he had confidence in the others to do it. he admired them and knew they were talented dancers, so he really shouldn't worry about them.
the music just moved through him, full concentration on what each of his limbs were doing, trying to do most of the dancing on the balls of his feet to avoid the wheels in his heels until he needed them. it was strange, feet heavier thanks to the extra weight, but it was something he had grown used to.
when they reached the first chorus he really started to get into things, seamlessly following the movements, keeping in time with the bodies either side of him. though he was tired from the previous attempts, feet starting to ache and sweat forming on his brow, the teenager pushed through all of that. he just wanted to nail this so one day he could look back on this and be proud of what he had accomplished. and he could rely on the five others around him to put in their best efforts as well. he was glad he had decided to do this as a group and not just a solo cover. now he people to rely on and he was sure this was not the last time he was ever going to talk to them.
a smile started to form on his face, completely enveloped by the movements, the sound of the music drumming in his ears, the sound of the in rhythm footsteps on the wooden floor under his feet. just the sound alone was enough to help him keep going, putting in maximum effort until the very last beat of the music. though he could never completely zone out, having to be careful as he wheeled around not to crash into anyone else. thankfully, they were doing this on a flat surface. he had learned the hard way how hard it was to wheel around on a bumpy and uneven surface.
though he was taking this seriously, it was still rather fun. he almost laughed at one point as he spun around on his wheels, moving to his next position. there was an almost freeing feeling which came with this choreography, almost addictive.
the song was reaching it’s final moments now, and hohyeon had not put a foot or a hand put of place the whole choreography. and the teen was determined to finish off strong, keeping his eyes focused on the camera at the front filming all of this as he did his last couple of steps, putting the top of his foot down to stop his movement forward, folding his arms across his chest in what he thought was a cool pose to finish, a smile on his face and chest heaving with the effort he had just gone through.
dance had always taken a back position in his list of things he loved doing, rapping remaining right at the top for years now, but just doing this was making him think about that, made him start having other thoughts about how seriously he wanted to take his dancing as well.
it would be something to consider once this was all said and done.
“my family. because they chose me. we’re not blood related but they kept me all this time despite me being me so really it’s all the self-worth i need.”
Lee Coco’s MGA5 Callback (Interview)
Mentioned - @rkkyungsoo, @rkxuxi, @rkguanheng, @rkchoutzuyu, @rkxkikwang, @rktaeil, @rkxsnh, @moonbokrk, @rkyeosang, @rkaisha, @danielxrk, @rksuwoongQuote - “Give love, and then you might receive love”
Thanks to everybody for doing such great job
An interview. Once again an interview. Answering questions has never been a talent of Coco’s, she always worries too much about whether she answers correctly or not. She sits quietly in the room alone with a big smile placed on her face, she plays with her long hair. She had short blonde hair once and she liked it very much, however everybody she knows prefers her with long hair and for her hair to be any shade of brown, by now she has colored her hair any shade of brown there exists in the world. Perhaps she’ll do better in the interview than with her performance? Not that she did bad in her performance, at least she doesn’t think she did too bad. But for her its easier to get attention and win peoples’ hearts and love while talking instead of singing. While talking she gets the chance to really show her cute side.
How did you choose your song?
That’s the first question. She pouts her lips and looks at the ceiling as she thinks of an answer, it wasn’t too hard to answer, she already knew the answer, but she knows that she looks cute while thinking and making the expression she makes, so she takes the opportunity to act cute.
She knows the song from the movie Coco, a movie which she had only watched because her friends suggested it and it had the same name as her. She watched the movie in Korean, and to be honest she had never even heard the Spanish soundtrack before she was informed that she had passed the audition and had gotten this far. She could’ve just chosen to sing the song in Korean, but that wasn’t what she wanted. She wanted to show her Spanish speaking talent, show something the viewers hopefully hadn’t seen before, she wanted to surprise those who watched and heard her perform. That was her goal throughout the MGAs, to continuously show something new and surprise whoever watched her, she hoped for lots of screen time, she knew that would make the ones around her proud, and that was what she wanted, to make people proud of her. She looks straight again and shows a smile on her lips, she scratches her neck before finally deciding to answer the question. “I like the movie Coco, it’s title is the same as my name, I think that’s funny” she chuckles shortly before continuing “I sang in Spanish so I’m not sure if anybody understood what I sang so I’ll quickly explain the lyrics. It’s a song about love, whether it’s with your family, pet or significant other, it’s about true love always connect us, it even says it in the chorus. Amor verdadero nos une por siempre, that means; true love connects us forever. I like that, the thought of love being the strongest thing in the world and the thing that connects us, I think that’s why I chose the song I chose, because the lyrics are nice” she smiles brightly at the answer. The answer was far longer than intended, perhaps she should’ve said something short and cute, but talking about love also makes one seem innocent and therefore that was her choice.
Were there any performances you liked?
Oh. That was an unexpected question that should’ve been expected. Of course they were going to ask her to talk about others, it was surprising they asked who she liked and not who she disliked, don’t they want drama? Coco knows how this business works, the MGAs most likely are out for getting more viewers, and drama is something that usually will get a show more viewers. Coco is not going to be a part of drama, and if she is then it’ll only be to make others seem bad, not at all does she want to seem like a bad person. She wants to seem nice, cheerful, innocent and cute, therefore being nice to others is a must. To be honest she didn’t watch most of the performances, were they too boring then she would just think about other things, or else she would be busy thinking about how she would do or how she had done, however she did watch some performances and she would mention those who she liked most out of the few she had seen.
“Well I think I would like to mention Kyungsoo first” she paused for a bit, wondered if the two were going to pretend they had never met before while on the show or not, she knew Kyungsoo and surprisingly she knew a lot of the other contestants too. The world really is small. “I’ve never heard the song he sang, so I don’t know if he even sang the right lyrics, but I think he did a really great job. His voice fit perfectly for the song, at least I think so. He really does have a pretty voice” and once again she pauses before pouting her lips and showing a sad expression “I’m jealous” she says. To be honest she only mentioned him because they knew each other and he had comforted her in a difficult situation, she did enjoy his performance but she hadn’t watched much of it, while he was on the stage she hadn’t managed to watch him very much because the thought of whether he knew of her grandmother’s death or not bothered her.
She has a second name in mind, but she stays quiet for a second, the name in her mind sounds too unfamiliar and weird “s-sushi. I think his name was…” she bits her lips, her confusion will hopefully make her look ever cuter even if it’s unintentional. “Yeah sushi… I think I need to mention him. I was really surprised when I saw him perform, I don’t think anyone could forget his performance. He really rocked that outfit, I think I might need to ask him where he bought that shirt” a short chuckle escapes her mouth before she continues “but not only was his outfit amazing, everything was really woah. I really like dancing myself and I think I could learn from him, I think singing and dancing might be my two best performance skills, but I’m not sure if I could do both at once, I’ve never tried. But he sang and danced at the same time! I really admire that” she ends her comment with a big smile on her lips, she did enjoy his performance and thought it was very well, but she’s not sure if she would ever have the courage to ask a stranger for help.
“Oh I also need to mention Guanheng!” she burst out, she has already talked a lot about two, but she needs to mention this guy too. “You did well” she says in Chinese as she shows a thumbs up, Coco doesn’t speak Chinese, but she speaks around six words ‘you did well’ and ‘I love you’, and she feels the need to show off her Chinese skills “I’m not sure if he’s Chinese, but his name did sound Chinese”. “He sang and played an electric guitar if I remember right, he performed history maker, right!? I really like that song and I think he sang it well—” and then she goes silent for a second “wait—” again a break. “The guy I talked about before? His name isn’t sushi, it’s Xuxi, isn’t it? Oh my god I’m so sorry!” she bows slightly and covers her face with embarrassment, sushi did sound weird. “Oh my god…” she gulps before then again speaking “oh but I was talking about Guanheng, wasn’t I? Oh yeah I really enjoyed his performance”
“Tzuyu just like Xuxi sang while dancing, I really admire those two that they can do that” Tzuyu is a friend of Coco’s and honestly she was surprised to see Tzuyu. Never in a million years had she suspected that Tzuyu would be a good dancer and singer, was she honest then maybe she was a bit jealous of Tzuyu, how Tzuyu managed to sing while dancing, not that the dance was the hardest in the world, but she still danced while singing. Coco has never tried dancing while singing, but she just assumes that she’s bad at it “Tzuyu did very well, she has a very beautiful voice, I’m surprised she sings so well”
“L-lee Kikwang I think his name was? He also sang while dancing. I was honestly very surprised when I saw his performance, I don’t think he has the best singing voice, but I think his dancing definitely makes up for it. Out of all of the dancers I’ve seen today, he’s totally in top five, or maybe top three! I was seriously entertained by his dancing, I wish I could see his dancing on repeat, I want him to teach me how to become such good dancer! I really like dancing, and I hope that I can compare to his skill” she smiles brightly upon ending her comment, jealousy is something that comes easily to her, and is she honest she hopes they won’t cross paths because she fears she would get too jealous of him.
“I think I need to mention Taeil too? He’s a friend of mine, but that’s not the only reason why I’m mentioning him. I was the one who convinced him to try out for the MGAs, and see how far he has gone? I knew it was a good idea” a short chuckle leaves her as she tucks a tot of hair behind her ear before continuing; “it seems as if he has practiced very hard, and I think that’s what makes a performance great, when you can see they really want it” to be honest she had no idea whether or whether not he had practiced hard, but because she had dragged him into this she felt the need to compliment him. “I’m sure that he’ll improve a lot throughout this season”.
“I know I’ve already mentioned a lot of people, but I have a few more people I need to mention! Someone who really needs to be mentioned is Hyejoo! I hope everybody mentions her because she showed some really wild skills. When she walked up on the stage I had never expected her to rap, but then she opened her mouth and showed the wildest rap ever! I’ve never tried rapping before, but I’m 100% sure about the fact that I’m bad at it. She’s really wild! If I ever want to rap then I’ll be sure to ask her for advice” her face lights up when speaking about the girl, she sure was very amused by Hyejoo’s performance.
“Jang Moonbok… I think that was his name, right? He was in the last season too, if I remember right. His hair is so pretty! I’m really jealous!” again, a short chuckle leaves her before she continues “I know his hair doesn’t have anything to do with his performance, but it was what caught my attention! Because of his hair I paid extra attention to him! And I’m really glad I did! He both sang AND rapped, right?! That was truly amazing, that dude really has talent. I don’t remember much about him from last year, but that must mean he has improved, mustn’t it? Because he grabs my attention now, that he didn’t do last year”
“Another rapper I would like to mention is Yeosang, or was he rapping? I think he did a mix of rapping and singing, and it was really cool! He really stands out from the crowd, I really enjoy his way of rapping, if he ever made an album, then for sure I would buy it” the never-ending smile continues on her lips as she speaks about the male, honestly? Maybe she was a bit jealous of how unique his method of rapping was.
“I know I’ve mentioned a lot of people already, but there’s are more people I want to mention… Yoorim, I think that was her name, I’m not very good at remembering names, but she left a strong impact on me, she really did a great job! I don’t know why, but when people can sing and dance and do it greatly then I just get so entertained! Yoorim did a really good job with both, I still have yet to sing while dance, but seeing her perform? It really just makes me want to try it!”
She feels tears pressing on as she is about to speak about the next and last person; Daniel. She watched the MGAs season four and she cheered him on, all while he was on the show, he was truly her favorite. “Daniel…” she holds a short break before continuing “he has really gotten good, it’s great to see. I’m a big fan of his, I think he’s really cool and he has a lot of talent. I’m both happy and sad that he has joined the MGAs again, I think it’s good he has come back so he can show how much he has grown, however it feels weird to kind of be competing against him? Regardless of whatever I think he did really well, I hope everybody will support me as much as I supported him last season” and then she ends of her comment with a smile.
Truly she did not think she would mention this many people, but oh, a lot of people did do great. “Sorry for talking so much. I think everybody did great, but these were just some of my favorites”
Were there any performances you didn’t like?
Oh. Of course they were going to ask that, she should’ve expected it, shouldn’t she? Well she had mentioned quite many she had enjoyed watching, and probably there were more people she disliked than she liked, but she wouldn’t mention that many, that would just make her seem rude.
The first name who came to her mind was Lee Suwoong, she widens her eyes upon thinking about him. His performance had surprised her, it was memorable. It wasn’t that it was bad, it was just… Weird? But oh well, weird things are sometimes good, aren’t they? Or maybe he joined the MGAs to make a fool out of himself? That could be it too, if she remembers right Kyungsoo had told her that Suwoong was his cousin, and she was quite surprised at this fact because they did not seem the least alike. Though even if his performance hadn’t been her favorite, she wasn’t going to mention his name, she had her nice reputation to keep. “Nope, I think everybody did their best, and that’s what matters” and with that she sends a big smile in the way of the camera.
Who do you think will be eliminated today?
Her smile which she had been so good at keeping slowly faded upon hearing the question. Why would they ask her something like that? If she answered the question then wouldn’t she just seem rude? Or perhaps that was what they wanted? It would make sense, she had been nice so far, she had kept a smile through the interview, and she said every word with her cute voice, she did her best to maintain her cute, kind, innocent and soft self. But that probably wasn’t what they wanted, they probably wanted to crack her and make drama by showing her true self but was she honest then this was her true self, well in a way. Normally she didn’t speak with her cute voice all the time, but she did do it often, normally she would also be a bit more mature, but everybody seemed to think cuter her was better, so that was the reason for why she acted so cute on the show. But even if they wanted to make her look bad, she wouldn’t let them. “I have no idea, you can never predict things like these. The MGAs are really unpredictable” and then again the smile returns to her lips.
And it seems that, that was the final question. Perhaps some of her answers were too long, but long answers could be good too sometimes, who knew? Perhaps they would time-lapse it or something, or show a video of people falling asleep, if they made a joke out of her long answers then that would gain her attention too.
And once again she needed to show her signature move, it was what she was supposed to be known for. “Please” the word leaves her mouth as she sticks out her left hand and shows a thumbs up “support me” stretching the word like a kid while stretching her right arm and showing a thumbs up with that hand too.
And now it’s over, she managed to do her second interview.
Lee Coco’s MGA5 Callback (Performance)
Performing - El Latido de mi Corazón - Luis Ángel Gómez Jaramillo (00.04 - 01.58)
Quote - “Win it all, make them fall for you, give your best”
Thanks to William for teaching Coco how to play the guitar
Oh. OH.
She passed? She managed to get pass the audition, hadn’t she? Out of several people to pick from, she and 99 other contestants were the ones who had passed. Oh. This was quite pleasant, wasn’t it? It was like in middle school, under the talents shows, she was always the one to win, perhaps she could be the one to win in this too, couldn’t she? Well hopes shouldn’t go too much up, she hadn’t joined to win, she had joined to have fun, winning wasn’t what was important, it shouldn’t be. Of course she was going to continue giving her all, continue to show something new, to surprise whoever was watching, even if winning wasn’t necessary, shouldn’t she at least try to win? Honestly Jangmi had been even more excited than Coco had, everybody had been more excited than her, she had still yet to tell her brother, but he could wait. Mother and father had given her a lot of compliments, they were sure she would do great on the program. Jangmi and her other friends seemed perhaps too happy, they were fully sure about the fact that Coco would win the whole show. Coco wasn’t so sure about winning the MGAs, she had seen the last season, and she knew talented people joined competitions like these. But if she remembered right then the MGAs aren’t all about talent, charisma and grabbing people’s attention and hearts can be just as important, and that’s something Coco can do, get all the attention she wants and making people fall for her soft and cute personality.
Surprisingly there were quite many faces she recognized, and the person she sat next to was also a familiar face; Kyungsoo. The guy who had come and visited her grandparents, however they weren’t home and he ended up visiting her instead, he had given her a sandwich then and she had in her mind given him the nickname ‘sandwich guy’. It felt comfortable sitting next to someone she knew, however it did also start making her think a lot. Of her grandmother of course, did he know what had happened? If not, should she tell him? Her grandmother wasn’t around anymore, and the thought made her sad, for a second she felt tears pressing on, but that couldn’t be happening, her cheerful and cute personality was what she was supposed to be known by.
Normally she’s quiet and shy, that she can’t be while on the show, sometimes maybe, but that’s only off stage to support her cute image, on stage she’s got to show her everything. She walks up happily on the stage with her guitar in her hands, as she stands on the center of the stage she lets go of the guitar and lets it hang by the strap around her shoulder. She knows the judges, but only from the previous seasons and Jangmi, one thing she knows however is that she should impress them if she wants to go further than just this. She looks at the judges for a second with a big smile on her lips before stretching out her arms and waving her hands, just like a child happy to see someone they have missed. “Hii ~ “ and like a child she stretches the word to sound cute, cuteness comes naturally to her and she doesn’t the least mind acting cute, while she knows a lot of people judge those who act cute, she also knows a lot of people fall for the child-like people. And then she puts a tot of her hair behind her ear. She steps a bit forward to the microphone before talking, she puts her mouth close to the microphone as she looks up and shows her cute puppy eyes “I’m Lee Coco, I will be performing one of my favorite songs from the movie Coco” she smiles brightly at her own words, the cute voice already turned on when she stepped into the building, and she’s not planning on letting go off it until she steps out again.
And then she takes the guitar in her hands again. It was her brother William who has taught her how to play, he himself plays too, but he’s far better than her at playing the instrument, maybe if he was in Korea he could’ve given her advice and helped her learn the song, but he wasn’t and there wasn’t anything to do about that. She studied Spanish in high school and lived in Spain for three months, she still has friends from Spain and regularly speaks Spanish with them, her Spanish skills are rather good, at least good enough for her to sing in Spanish. If she remembers right nobody has ever on the MGAs sung a song in Spanish, hopefully her choice of song can surprise the judges, if not, then hopefully they like her voice, her personality, and her guitar skills.
She looks down at the guitar at first as she plays is and then she looks up again, showing an innocent-looking expression.
Dirás que es raro lo que me pasó
Parace que anoche te encontré en mis sueños
Las palabras que dije se volvieron cancion
Versos que tuyos son y el recuerdo nos dio
The first two lines goes with ease, they have a sentimental feeling to them, and Coco knows how to fake sadness, she sings the words as if she means them, with sadness in her heart and eyes. The song isn’t sad at all, she knows that, she has no idea about whether people understands what she sings or not, but hopefully they think she sings beautifully enough. The two following lines are not as sad as the first, slowly as she sings a smile shows on her face, a small and cute one. She asked her Spanish friends for help with the pronunciation, and as far as she knows she pronounces the words quite greatly, if not then most likely none of the judges speak good enough Spanish to notice.
Una melodia bella que el alma taco
Con el ritmo que vibra en nuestro interior
Amor verdadero nos une por siempre, en el latido de mi corazón
Amor verdadero nos une por siempre, en el latido de mi corazón
The smiles grow bigger on her lips as the song continues. She plays the guitar with ease, even though she would’ve preferred if her brother had been in Korea to help her, she knows how to play a guitar by herself, she has done it for multiple years, and playing a guitar might be one of the few things she’s good at.
Ay, mi familia, oiga, mi gente, canten a coro nuestra canción
Amor verdadero nos une por siempre, en el latido de mi corazón
Ay, mi familia, oiga, mi gente, canten a coro nuestra canción
Amor verdadero nos une por siempre, en el latido de mi corazón
The smile grows even bigger, if that could even be possible. She plays the movie in her head, thinks of all the love she has ever gotten, she needs to express the love and happiness in the song, and she does her best to do so. Coco knows that she is no Celine Dion, but hopefully she’s good enough, hopefully she can win them over with her charms, her singing and guitar skills aren’t the only important thing right now.
And then the song comes to its end, she exhales loudly once, high tones aren’t something she’s very used to, hopefully she sang good enough. Once again she lets go off the guitar and lets it hang around her neck. She has made her own signature move of hers, it’s a strategy, it’s like Jihoon from Produce 101, he got his ‘save you in my heart’ and she got her ‘please support me’, her move is something people can remember and connect her to. She sticks out her right hand first and shows a thumb up “please” she says with a loud and cute voice “support me” she continues as she sticks out her left hand.
Her performance has come to an end, and she’s satisfied, hopefully the judges are too.
She had a few of those, online friends, friends she had gotten unexpectedly over SNS, she had grown close with a few of them, and when she moved to Korea, she tried her best to meet up with them. Just like Tzuyu, they had become friends through SNS, and when Coco moved to Korea, they finally had the chance to meet each other.
Coco was excited to finally meet Tzuyu, she really was, but she was also shy, utterly shy. First of all, she was insecure about herself, what if the other didn’t like her in real life? And what made the whole situation worse was how Coco was supposed to race this other girl, how had the two even gotten that idea? Coco isn’t good physically, she’s good at acrobatics and gymnastics and maybe a little dancing, but everything else she is bad at. She couldn’t even kick a ball if it was right in front of her, and she can’t even catch balls. So why she agreed to this idea, she really doesn’t remember.
But excited she still was. And she had tried her best to take some clothes on that she was good in running in (still caring mostly about how she looked however), and then she stood still, waiting for the other to show up, excited and nervous.