#rkdreamhigh

[kibumrk]

DREAM HIGH: In Concert! pt. 2 hosted by: royal's kim taewoo, comedienne park kyunglim, and royal trainee kim kibum !

Not long after the awards segment, the second talk segment starts. In this one, the other two hosts pose a question to all the actors, asking them to please share some funny stories from the set. Kibum was warned of this ahead of time, since he is, technically, one of the actors, and he's expected to answer this question as well. However, the others go first, which is perfectly fine with Kibum because he needs some time to figure out how he wants to word his story.

It actually doesn't take long to figure that out, so he thinks to himself for a moment during Hongbin's story. Looking out at the large audience, he ponders the fact that none of them know that for the last however-many years, he's gone by Key, and has only allowed a few choice people to call him Kibum. Now, with the company introducing him as Kim Kibum, he has no choice but to let others use the name, and he's forgotten how nice it feels to be called by his real name. He wonders, now, why he spent so long hiding it, why he's been so uptight about people calling him Key.

He doesn't have much time to think about it, because within a few seconds he has to pay attention so that he can make sure to laugh and smile at all the right times. He figures he'll think about it later.

When they finally get to him, he smiles and launches right into his story. "Okay, so since my character was only in a few episodes in the beginning, the only way I could stay on set after that was as an intern. So really, that just meant I was running around getting people coffee or doing little jobs here and there. But still, I had a lot of free time on set, so one day, I found Jieun -- Song Jieun, another Royal trainee -- in an empty dance room on the school set. Neither of us had to be anywhere for a while, and since we were both having kind of bad days we had a dance party. We probably looked really stupid, since we weren't even doing choreography: all we did was jump around and stuff," he laughs, hoping that would suffice.

The other hosts seem to enjoy it though, as they do a couple of wiggly dance moves to demonstrate. "Yeah, like that!" Kibum laughs, before repositioning himself to do a John Travolta disco move. "And this, too," he says, moving his hips slightly as he points his finger up and down. That gains lots of laughs from both the audience and the people onstage, and he does a few more silly moves before stopping himself, his hands coming up to cover his face in embarrassment as he laughs. 

"Would you believe that my specialty is actually dancing?" He asks, still laughing. They only linger on him for a few more seconds, though, before Park Kyunglim moves it along to the next performance. Kibum hopes he didn't focus too much on himself, but when the comedienne tells him he did well as they walk offstage, the worries slip from his mind, to be replaced by a sense of pride. 

This is turning out to be much easier than he thought it would be, and for the first time since the beginning of this project, he's glad that he didn't have to be a background dancer, because none of them are getting this kind of attention.

[rkcheri]

her head felt like bricks; long, ebony tresses were like stiff curly-q's on a poodle, done up and away from her face. the face that felt so heavy, so very heavy. concealer, foundation, eyeshadow, false-lashes (added to her already long curls), cherry-apple cheeks, and firetruck red lips; she was like a clown basking in the limelight. she was sweating, breath heavy, her feet were growing blisters, and her palms were easily lost in another's as she walks across the stage, their steps leading her to where she needed to begin. several minutes, it ends. applause and cheers. names are called, words are said, darkness falls and jihyun is whisked away, left to change into another set of clothes and made to twirl and dance; sing and jest in a way that was so rehearsed that something about it had become to feel robotic.

one step, two, then three and four. a twirl, a fake laugh, a smile and darkness again. was this what performing felt like? it hadn't felt like this months before; was it the long days that were getting to her? the nonstop practices -- the perfected routines that couldn't be botched, tony definitely would have her head if she skipped a beat again.

was this what a year of training had led her to?

applause breaks her concentration. it's hard to see, lights blind her -- cheers defy ears from listening to anything said by the hosts, she thinks she hears key but it's hard to tell above the thundering clatter that were palms against their counterparts. she squints, blobs of black and blue, white and grey make up her vision. they're people, she's sure of it. they're applauding, she knows it. it's only then, when arms round her slender torso and her body bends at the waist does it come to her. 

she was almost expecting the director's harsh yell of 'cut!' but it never came. 

this was the end, an end to a wonderful opportunity.

[ex-rkluhan]

the noise around him is muted--directions, instructions, hurried voices, last second changes, nervous laughter, idle chatter--they all sound as if he's encased in a glass box filled with water and it seems so surreal. his eyes can't seem to find a focus, the curtains, faceless heads, rushing bodies, flashes of gold, silver, splashes of color, but nothing seems to stand out. his heart races like he's running a marathon, and he has to force long, even breaths in order to avoid feeling light-headed.

this is it.

all throughout filming dream high, luhan has never felt like he's been introduced to the public eye, has always felt like his presence was easily forgotten and overlooked. he'd expected it, of course, wanted it when he'd auditioned, so to be standing there now, just moments of standing on an actual stage, in front of a very real audience that he could actually see...to put it simply; it was overwhelming.

it's his very first time standing on a stage, not as the little orphan child just trying to scrape money together so he can eat, nor as the mischievous playboy busking so he can make rent, but as lu han, royal trainee, a man with a dream and the determination to make it.

sure, it's no debut stage. he's not singing an original song or performing original choreography, and he's certainly not the main focus, nor the second main, and probably not even the third--he might as well still be labeled as a background dancer--but it's a stage, and he's about to showcase his best talent in front of who knew how many. he's about to show the world what he can do, about to confess, not with spoken words, but with the fire in his eyes and the passion with which he danced, that he has a goal to become the next world star.

but even more important than that, luhan's about to fulfill one of his longest standing promises he made years ago with the person who matters to him most. he's about to make his public debut with his best friend.

he snaps out of his stupor and takes another long breath, willing himself to shake off whatever's got a hold of him. the first thing he sees when his vision clears are brown, earthen eyes and a warm, familiar smile accented by a dimpled cheek. his heart doesn't slow down, but it skips a beat instead, and reminds him he's still alive, breathing, about to go on stage and reveal his barest intentions and biggest dreams. he nods his head, sends a smile right back because he can see the nerves written into yixings bones, and mouths, "this is it."

they're called on stage next, and the group of boys line up to take their positions. luhan slides up behind yixing and discreetly places a hand on his waist, the other taking the other male's hand in his and giving it a firm squeeze before letting go, lets his touch linger, and lets it go. just before they go on, he whispers a few words of encouragement and takes his place on stage. his place, and no one else's.

and he dances. he performs. he bares his soul with every movement of his muscles.

"this is it, xing."

"we've done it."

[rkrxcky]

` g r e e n room { daehyun&ricky }

Once his dance number had finished, he’d found a spot in the green room completely out of the way and remained glued to it, his eyes switching between the monitor on the wall showing an audience member’s view of the showcase and the English workbook he’d mostly forgotten about. He’d scrolled through his Twitter and Instagram feeds, checked his texts and the latest celebrity news (his friends’ most recent close calls had him admittedly albeit irrationally paranoid that his name would turn up next), anything and everything to avoid having to think about progressive verbs or how the stage makeup felt like it’d melted through his skin and into the very core of his existence under bright lights that weren’t focused on him for nearly long enough. But he soon grew bored of reading the same tweets, the same messages, seeing the same pictures of cats and sunsets, cringing inwardly at the same overexposed photographs of actors and singers and comedians under the same withering headlines. He shifted in his seat and turned his attention back to the stage monitor, never fully relaxing, because he’d never fully relaxed the entire time he’d been a part of the Dream High cast. It was one thing to know he was training twenty-four hours a day under the watchful eye of his coaches and instructors and his intimidating CEO. It was another thing entirely being surrounded by trainees from other companies, who were his rivals just as much as they were friends, knowing their CEOs could always be lurking just around the corner.

The main cast looked impeccable up on stage, answering press questions in ways that would come out professional and perfect no matter how the editors would try and skew them, only scandalous or vaguely provocative where they were told to be. They were unfazed by the rattling waves of hundreds of camera flashes, with perfect public smiles that didn’t always reach their eyes and briefly rehearsed answers that the fans would eat up; they looked as tailored and as glamorous as television stars should, they looked like the people Ricky wanted to be, and the whole time he couldn’t help but think he could do it all better. Even Hongbin, who he’d spent the past several weeks admiring and looking up to, even Tiffany, who was perfect and beautiful and worshipped by his roommate, even Taemin, his own personal superhero, did not escape his scathing resentment, and all he wanted to do was disappear into one of Nova’s practice rooms for hours or days and dance until he couldn’t feel his legs anymore. But he was stuck in an empty green room, glued to a chair, buried under makeup and costumes and hairspray and the weight of his own bitterness listening to his new friends be more successful than him and he was grateful that no one was paying attention to him, because even he wasn’t sure he could act his way out of this mood. Or maybe he could. Maybe he just didn’t want to.

"I'm fine," he automatically answered with some form of weary politeness when someone (he only glanced briefly at the figure, too busy wallowing in his own jealousy) asked, "I'm just tired."

[haseulrk]

Melody || Solo || RKDream High

Her stomach was all in knots and she was literally just going to be on stage for a few moments.  The night of the Dream High concert had come quicker than she had thought it would have, but in a way it was both a blessing and something that made her more sad than she would have imagined it would have.  She had to stand backstage, listening to the other performers singing, which was great, because a lot of her friends were in the main cast.  It was amazing to her hearing them perform, especially Tiffany.  She really had hoped that her first time out on stage after becoming a trainee would have been with Tiffany by her side, but she was more proud than anything else of the girl she had a crush on.  She had done so well in her role as Baekhee, and Taeyeon truly believed she deserved all the praise in the world, even if she was a bit biased.

Soon it was their turn to go out on stage, Daehyun, Sunyoung, and herself kicking it off, their practiced harmony filling the hall with their voices.  It was exhilarating, getting a chance to show how much she had improved since the last time she was on stage in front of a large amount of people back at the first MGAs a year before.  They would break up some lines between the three of them, then exit the stage.  It was over in a flash, and it left Taeyeon wanting more.  She needed to debut.  She needed to be on that stage in front of those people.  She needed to sing.

[rkjxy]

starlight ☆

the lights were pretty. 

the way they spark up whenever the stars of the drama graces the stage. it was entertaining -- seeing everyone's talents personally instead of watching it in front of the television. she knew firsthand from her jieun eonni that majority of the actors and actresses were trainees from kt and royal. the amount of talent that they all have come down to inspires joy. how it looks as though all the training they have been through paid off. that no matter how hard, no matter how tiresome, it will be all worth it. joy couldn't wait enough for the same feeling to dwell inside her, 

she watches everyone with a sparkle of happiness in her eyes. singing along to words she remembers, clapping along with the audience, and laughing at the right parts during the talk session. it was all a blur how she was able to attend the concert. she vaguely remembers an online advert then hearing it from someone at school. she remembers falling in line, in her school uniform after school hours to acquire a ticket. and then she was there; in the midst of many people enjoying the performance set before them. she was intent on coming for the primal reason of being able to see her oppas and eonni. there was daehyun, yixing, and jieun. they were all proving her how amazing they were in their own respective fields, giving her all the more reason to admire them. 

few hours before the day ends, as the performances comes to close, as the casts of dream high bows their head signaling the end of the concert. she moves alongside the many people, a lightweight, happy feeling within her. she wasn't disappointed. she came in with a smile, coming out with a smile yet again. everyone did their best and she couldn't have been any more grateful to have witnessed it.