Oct 12, 2020
[ ♦ ] ROYAL ENT @royalent • Oct 11 LUXE THE FIRST FULL ALBUM RUMOR
2020.10.17 SAT 6PM #LUXE #럭스 #RUMOR #아예 #AHYEAH
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seen from Ukraine
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seen from United States
[ ♦ ] ROYAL ENT @royalent • Oct 11 LUXE THE FIRST FULL ALBUM RUMOR
2020.10.17 SAT 6PM #LUXE #럭스 #RUMOR #아예 #AHYEAH
LUXE INTRODUCTION VIDEO
Ella / Cheri / Zoe / Ashe / Yena @rkella, @rkcheri, @rkxzoe, @rkashe, @rkyena
[ NOTIFICATION ] VLIVE JUNE 5TH, 2020 @ 11:03PM
Surprise LIVE! AND*ROMA : 춤추자! lets dance! 💎💃
the live starts with a view of one of nova’s practice rooms. meiqi shows up on screen shortly afterwards, waving for the fans and smiling brightly despite the bags under her eyes that show her obvious exhaustion. “hello, everyone!”
she keeps waving as she waits for more people to arrive. the numbers slowly go up and more comments start to fill up the chat, before she finally starts talking. “it’s me, meiqi! this is the first time i’m talking to you guys through vapp, right?”
“where are the other members? i think they should be back at the dorms by now.” meiqi glances at the door that everyone disappeared through a while earlier. “i decided to stay back to talk to you guys and impress you with some dancing! i’ll wait a little longer though, so more of you can join.”
she answers random questions for a few minutes, things like what’s your favourite starbucks drink? (cotton candy frappuccino) and dogs or cats? (both). then, there’s a fan requesting drama recommendations, and meiqi can’t help but promote one of her best friends.
“have you guys watched revenge note 1? isn’t the actress for ho goohee so cool?” meiqi, herself, has been keeping up with the episodes as they come out, watching them before she falls asleep. “everyone, please support eclipse’s anna and watch the webdrama! i promise it’s good!”
meiqi leans in closer, squinting to read the comments. “are you and anna close? yes! me and yerim-ie went to school together and we still talk a lot.” as she speaks, meiqi unlocks her phone and scrolls through her photo album. finding a cute selfie of them, she turns the phone around to show it to the viewers. “this is from the time i went to visit her at a photoshoot for a chicken cf. security almost kicked me out because they thought i was a crazy fan!”
she shows a few other pictures of her and yeri, some from high school and others from the rare times they were able to meet up. she also shows pictures of the food truck she had sent yeri on set of her webdrama, and the selfies with gourmet ice cream that she had received in turn.
after rambling about how much she loves her friend (and probably boring most of the viewers), meiqi remembers what she had initially promised she would do and quickly stands. “right! i said i was gonna dance for you guys. why didn’t you remind me?! you guys just let me go on and on about yeri!”
her laughter rings out as she disappears off camera to plug her phone into the speakers. meiqi presses play and then runs backwards as the first few notes begin to filter through the practice room’s speakers. she takes a few steps back to make sure her entire body is in the frame, and then she’s doing the infamous point dance of up and down.
she’s seen some idols get shy after attempting the dance, but meiqi doesn’t falter once. she’s in her element with this song, this concept. she knows the dance considerably well for someone who hasn’t formally practiced it. that’s not to say meiqi wasn’t blasting it around the dorms for a good week, singing into her toothbrush and dancing in her bed.
she performs it up until the end of the first chorus, before approaching the camera once again with a proud grin. “what do you think?” she asks the viewers as she settles onto the floor again, tilting her head inquisitively. meiqi reads the comments as they come: as expected of meiqi! and jfkdjsjkdg QUEEN. she laughs loudly, basking in the compliments that come in every language. “ah, wait, what did you say? dance meiqi-ne? i like that!”
“are you an olympia? yes, i love luxe! i’ve been following them since they debuted!” meiqi clasps her hands in front of her chest dreamily as she thinks about her favourite group, and now her seniors in the industry. “they have really good music and i think they’re all so pretty! one time, i met ella—i think it was last year during the halloween party. we both dressed up as royalty and she approached me first! it was kind of embarrassing though because i was still technically a trainee and i kept stuttering… but she didn’t make fun of it even once. still, i hope she doesn’t remember that.”
meiqi presses a hand to her forehead, embarrassed that she’s shared one of her weak moments. she’s still smiling, though, giggling even, because she holds the memory dear.
she remembers that she’s doing a vlive and removes her hand so that the fans can get a proper look at her rosy cheeks, and so that she can keep reading the comments.
“what other groups do you like?” meiqi strokes her chin, pretending to think. “and*roma?” she chuckles at her own (poor) joke. truthfully, she doesn’t know if there are other groups that she’s really a fan of; she might like their music or know the members, but no one can compete with luxe. might as well promote herself—though it’s stupid, considering 99.9% of the people watching this live must be fans of the group already.
“show us more dance covers!!! wow, so you guys don’t wanna talk to me, huh?” she purses her lips to hide the teasing smile, but it doesn’t quite work when she reads the onslaught of incoming messages that protest and promise that they enjoy talking to her.
to appease the fans, she pushes herself off the floor and dusts off her shorts. meiqi reaches for her phone and presses shuffle on the playlist she had prepared beforehand. it’s filled with the latest songs that she’s learned and a few older tracks that she likes.
she starts with she’z. to anyone who knows her personally, it might come as a surprise because meiqi has never been a fan of the group. their concept was always too cute for her liking, but their recent releases were right up her alley. unfortunately, she only knows the chorus for dumhdurum, so she fast-forwards the song until then, and starts dancing.
dolls by k.arma is next, another group that meiqi likes. the sophisticated sexiness of the song caught her attention almost immediately upon release. to a lesser extent than luxe’s songs, meiqi has replayed it many times, and after only a handful of times watching the dance, she had picked up on most of it. so, she performs from the beginning until the end of the chorus just as she had done with up and down.
she lets the rest of the song play at a lower volume as she returns to read comments. compliments, compliments, compliments. god, she really loves this. “so cool~ do you know any convex songs? yeah! one sec!”
meiqi searches through her music library and clicks on boom boom. she doesn’t know the choreography as well as the other songs she’s performed, but she thinks she can make it work anyways. besides, she knows the point dance exceptionally well, so she exaggerates that part with a laugh.
she’s having fun. after practicing high heels all of last month, a part of meiqi dreaded being in the practice room. she just associates it with a bad time now, but being able to dance freely to songs she actually likes is oddly liberating. and maybe she just enjoys being praised by faceless strangers who love her.
“oh! there’s also this new group,” meiqi starts once she’s completed the chorus. she taps on gorilla, and raises her voice to be heard over the music. “do you guys know de:code? i went to meet them backstage during promotions because i’ve known seonho since…” meiqi counts on her fingers, but it’s useless. “i actually don’t know. but it’s been a long time! he’s like a little brother to me, so i was shocked when he debuted with such a cool concept!”
cupping her hands around her mouth, meiqi shouts out, “a.c., i’m your biggest fan!” before launching into the chorus’s choreography.
she’s been dancing so energetically for the past half an hour or so, that she’s finally broken a sweat. her breathing is irregular and heavy now, so she rushes to turn off the music. meiqi plops down in front of the camera, making an x with her arms. “no more dancing, guys! i’m so tired!”
catching her breath, she reads through more comments. “what about per_se? i’ll learn their dances properly and show you guys next time, okay? sorry everyone, and sorry to my seniors.” she presses her hands together and bows her head in an apology.
it’s getting late now, and meiqi really needs to return to the dorms. as much as she doesn’t want to leave, wants to continue talking to fans and dancing to her heart's content, she wasn’t lying about being tired.
“i think it’s time to go, everyone. no, don’t leave? what? you guys have to sleep too, you know! not just me!” she runs a hand through her hair, all oily from the sweat of a long day spent practicing. ugh, is it obvious to the fans that she really needs a shower? she sure hopes not.
“i promise we’ll see each other again soon,” she says earnestly. even if she doesn’t plan on going live again for a while (they’re far too busy right now), and*roma is preparing for a comeback. the fans may not know it, but she can assure them that it won’t be long until they’ll see her again.
“goodnight, everyone!” just like she’d started the live, meiqi ends it with a wave and a smile. the manager confirms that it’s over before meiqi falls back onto the floor, letting the day’s exhaustion take over her body. “that was fun,” she says aloud, not listening to whatever the manager responds with. probably something about getting ready to go back to the dorms, or maybe scolding her for talking so much (has it really been over an hour since she went live?).
she hadn’t noticed so much time had passed, a stark difference to recent practices where all meiqi did was count down the hours, minutes, and seconds until they could leave.
it’s true, what they say. fans really do give you motivation.
from one to another
days later, seungah was still quite frazzled. while more often than not, she thrived in the face of productivity. this was just too much all at once and she wasn’t sure where to begin. sure, she should have been more focused on their upcoming comeback preparations ( a reason as to why they were now recording the vocals for the upcoming album today ) but all she could think about was the script smashed at the bottom of her tote that she had brought to read over when the others were busy recording their lines. she knew, she wouldn’t be the quickest to leave the studio that day, with the adlibs and high notes and what not -- but with so much to do, seungah wanted to get today over as quickly as possible.
but where did that leave her?
( it left her with the time to review her lines and internally exasperate over how she wasn’t the acting type if there ever was one, if anything she thought seolhyun suited that role in the group much better than she )
it’s why, when she spots seolhyun the moment she leaves the booth ; she’s depositing herself right next to the girl with a heavy sigh and round puppy-dog eyes, “how did you do it?” it’s a vague question at best, with a million a many answers, but seungah couldn’t care to elaborate right now. she just wanted comfort from one of her favorite people. ━━ ﹡ 𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙰 、
*-signed, hello!
like a cat is definitely his favorite luxe album yet. not everyone knows how hard sehun can fanboy, specially when given a chance, and knowing they'll be promoting along with luxe, it was a little harder to keep his fanboy self in check. he had been able to buy his own set of album, and he had been excited to bring them over. as soon as he's got free time, he goes out in pursuit and in hopes having his collection signed.
"noona!" he chirps, a bright grin on his face. "hello! it's been forever! how are you?" he greets, not forgetting to be as polite as possible. there are a lot of eyes backstage. but it's also been so long since they last saw each other, so he can't help but be a littlr too excited. they've been so busy with their own schedules these days, promotions left and right as well as the constant practice. he's happy and that luxe is doing amazingly, though. it makes him proud. he'll brag about his seolhyun noona is a member of luxe, and that he may or may not be her biggest fan.
@rkella
· · · · · · · · · DE:CODE DECEMBER 2019 EVALUATION, ✧ ┊ 3rd task 、 mv recording ( I’M FINE , WHAT TIME IS IT NOW? )
it’s not his first time on a set. baekhyun’s been on quite a lot before during his years at royal but they all were different ones. different but, somehow, still so alike -- filming for the samsung commercials, the set for royal survival where he co-hosted with kangjoon. dream knights and their first photoshoot for the group yesterday as well. he guesses he can count all those public performances he’s had as a simple trainee as well. for the backstage experience, at least.
it’s the same kind of rush, isn’t it?
all the staff running around, coordinators, stylists and makeup nunas. in this case even more staff actually, directors and producers who try to make this run as smoothly as possible. no errors, time-efficient and to get the best possible outcome. and despite this -- as mentioned -- not being his first time on a set, baekhyun’s still overwhelmed. terribly overwhelmed. it’s not easy to concentrate on anything properly -- too many colours everywhere. too many people, clothes, makeup changes. and baekhyun’s having a hard time following instructions.
it’s a lot to take in and baekhyun thought he’d handle it better due to his previous experience with filming and everything. especially after dream knight where he felt lost on set half of the time. he always managed to make his way through it but this time he’s struggling.
it was better during their first hours of filming when seolhyun was still there. when he didn’t get a second to speak to her in between shots but still had her close somehow while they were playing that game in front of camera. it put him at ease. he admired the aesthetic of the set, found a liking in those denim jacket and how his own sat a little too loose on his shoulders.
now, baekhyun’s sitting away from the turmoil with his head in his hands, massaging his temples.
maybe it’s because they’ve been at it for hours. because they started getting ready at, like, five in the morning, got up even earlier for that. maybe his brain can’t process the instructions anymore but that’s bad. he’s the leader, he should get it. should help the others if they have trouble handling any of this, should be able to explain to them whatever they don’t understand or struggle with. no one should see his distress. ( but maybe that’s actually the problem: the pressure. the pressure his title puts on him and the pressure baekhyun puts on himself. already cracking underneath it before the worst has truly begun. )
his name is being called and baekhyun’s head snaps upwards, spotting their manager waving him over with a sympathetic smile on his face.
he takes the bottle in his lap, unscrewing the cap and taking a few sips from it before he puts it on the ground and gets up, taking a deep breath and pushing the corners of his lips upwards in an attempt to look more motivated. there’s still a couple of more hours to go, after all.
[08.02.19] facetime call incoming… to kim hyojin! ❀
“oh, hyung! hello!” picking up suwoong’s call, his eyes slightly widen in surprise at the sudden communication. not sure about the occasion, hyojin finds himself shyly hiding his face with his free hand, the other taking the phone and trying to hold it at an angle so that it showed only part of his visage. “sorry… i wasn’t prepared!”
this time around, he’s dressed rather casually, with his circular-rimmed glasses and a recently washed purple sweater, hair a little bit tousled but still neat in the typical, organized hyojin fashion. admittedly, he didn’t expect to be called in the middle of the day, especially during practice when everyone was undoubtedly preparing for their new stage. it’s a little obvious how flustered this makes him, but he manages to quickly comb his hair with a few fingers, rub the drowsiness out of his eyes, and adjust his glasses, before slowly removing his hand with a sheepish smile.
“how are you - oh, everyone, hello~” craning his neck to spot a few familiar figures at the corner of the video frame, hyojin gives a little wave at them, smiling sweetly.
thankfully, his department worked from home on most fridays, giving him a sense of respite from thursday’s antics for the past few weeks. for the first time in a while, though, he’s been able to sleep in, something that took far more priority over the mixed feelings about this week. it’s surreal enough that they had placed first, a victory he’s sure he’ll hold close to his heart for quite some time, because it meant that his teammates had gotten what they had worked so hard to deserve. after a good night’s rest, though, it feels like a distant memory now - at the same time, it feels a little strange not waking up early in the morning to go to the practice studio. glancing at the analog clock perched next to his laptop, he realizes he probably would have already been a few hours into practice by now.
waiting for suwoong’s response, he listens attentively, nodding along and laughing gently at the other’s animated, friendly words, glad that the older male seems to be fine and getting along well with the rest of the team. thinking about it, hyojin himself wasn’t too perturbed by his elimination, having prepared for the future with wary eyes and treating every stage as if it would be his only and last one. the thought that perhaps his time had already been far overdue ever since the trios stage makes him more grateful than bittersweet or discouraged.
( but when he thinks about it more and more, sometimes he wonders if taeyang would have made it farther. maybe that spot wasn’t meant for him. )
“oh, a cake?” noting the sweetness of the coaches for bringing in something to the remaining team members, hyojin feels moved by the thoughtfulness of the mentors. they were all quite kind, and he’d be lying if he said he wasn’t lucky to have been part of such a well balanced and conscientious team. “they pretended to drop it, huh? oh no...” his eyes narrow in sympathy at the story, and he pushes back a yawn with bleary eyes.
patting at his cheek lightly, scolding himself for being still tired from having woken up so late in the day, he rubs at his eyes again. his body still aches from weeks of practicing dance, completely unused to the feeling, and it’s almost like a wave of sleepiness had washed over him for all the time he’s been awake today, hunched over his laptop to try and catch up on the work he had to do.
he finds himself slowly snapping out of it with suwoong’s brightness and the welcoming nature of the other members, quite touched to find that they still thought of him as a member. it’s not that he didn’t miss them, but it’s the realization that they didn’t erase him from their minds entirely to focus on the next performance that makes a warm, fuzzy feeling fill him up.
as such, when suwoong offers to “feed” him some cake through the phone, hyojin plays along affectionately despite finding it humorous, opening his mouth and pretending to take a bite, before eric manages to prevent the cake from hitting suwoong’s phone. holding back a laugh, hyojin thanks the other for his attempt, promising to make the team sweets in return.
with that, he makes sure to ask how practice is going, listening carefully and encouraging them to the best of his ability. soon enough, their time comes to an end, and hyojin gives them one last wave, flashing them a little finger heart.
“make sure to take care of your health! team royal, fighting!”
❀ GIFTS ;
[08.05.19] care packages + notes!
after having dinner with kyungsoo, hyojin made sure to send him off with a few surprises in tow - namely, four individual paper bags filled with snacks, including vitamin water, chips, nuts, and freshly made cookies in each one. they all have individual sticky notes stuck inside each bag with little messages for each member. for the coaches ( @rkcheri, @rkwon, @rkella ) are also cookies in a separate, larger bag, each one receiving two cookies packaged in a wax paper sleeve, their names written individually in hyojin’s neat handwriting on each one.
( hot pink sticky note) to suwoong hyung: @rksuwoong
suwoong hyung, hello! this is healing voice hyo who wishes you and the rest of the team the best! i know you’ll do great, and that you’ll destroy the stage with your charisma and talentㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠㅠ i’ll be watching eagerly from home to see you win and to cheer you on~ take good care of yourself and enjoy the snacks! i’m one call away always!
- hyojin
( light blue sticky note ) to soo-ah: @rkkyungsoo
hi, soo-ah! i know you just saw me not too long ago, but i hope you’re continuing to eat well and practice well~ you can do it! it’s good to practice a lot and seriously, but make sure you’re not overworking yourself so your condition is goodㅠㅠ please take good care of suwoong hyung for me as well~ fighting!
- hyojin hyung
( lavender colored sticky note ) to vocal princess heejin: @rkheejin
hello heejin~ i know we didn’t get to talk much over the week, but i believe in you as much as everyone else! your singing is really legendary;; like every other stage, you’ll do well on this one, too, so i hope you have lots of confidence going in! looking forward to see you performing on the big screen~
- hyojin
( light yellow sticky note ) to bright sunflower eric: @ericxrk
eric, hello, hello~ i won’t make it too serious or depressing, but i’m sorry i wasn’t able to keep my promiseㅠ i know you’ll continue to do well, though! i hope you’ll be able to do more stages that show your full potential and skillset. i know you’ll do well~ cheering you on always!
- hyojin
‧ ₊ ˚ ♡ MGA SEASON FIVE, EPISODE SEVEN— THE FINALE!
• • • astro’s all night ❪ 0:30 — 4:21! ❫ + she’z luv ❪ 0:00 — 3:58! ❫ royal flush's queen of hearts w. kyungsoo, suwoong & eric
there's anticipation prickling at her skin, shivers running up and down her spine the longer time ticks away, and heejin can't help the way her nails dig harshly into her palms— it's all to ground herself, all done to serve as a reminder that this is real, that she truly has come this far.
it's a reminder of her impending future, now glimmering just beyond the horizon as if to tease.
the finals.
heejin had made it all the way to the finals.
the very thought of her imminent success, of all the hard work she'd put in over the last month or so ( nights rendered sleepless in favor of soothing throbbing muscle aches, vocal chords soaked in honey to relieve and mend, heart shaken and shattered only to be put back together by warm hands and yearning gazes ), brings a wistful smile to her lips. there would be no denying her talents now, no sense in keeping her from what she'd done well to earn— what she felt she rightly deserved.
triumph looked beautiful on her, that much heejin was well aware of— the way it'd sat atop her head like a crown, chin high in her poised stance, eyes shining with excitement as a content grin spread across her lips the very moment her team was revealed to have put on the best performance during the semi-finals. that feeling of pure victory, of not only her efforts but the efforts of her teammates as well, of being rightfully acknowledged had been everything.
in that moment, heejin couldn't recall ever feeling as high on stage as she had then.
it serves as motivation immediately. she would finish this competition with a bang, go out with the same lasting impact she'd had with youth of flowers as they took charge of the stage.
it was the final stretch now, and heejin would be damned if she let herself fall and leave with nothing for her efforts.
♡
there's a clear contrast to be seen in their dynamics in comparison to the week before the moment they come together for another week of practices, the air far calmer and easier to breathe, bodies forgoing tense shoulders and careful words in favor of pleasant familiarity and ease. it's an unexpected change, at least to heejin it is, but it's a change she's more than grateful for— she no longer feels as if she's a simple stranger working amongst fast colleagues, no longer feels the strong urge to keep her distance, to only let them in on what she wants to let them in on. no, it's as if a switch had been flicked, their presences alongside hers in their practice room appreciated.
it had been different last week— then, the only thing on her mind had been doing what she needed to in order to ensure her own safety once the final round of eliminations came around, wanting to coast high above the conflicts that seemed to come on after another between the majority of them as best as she could.
however, now, mingling about with her team as they geared up to begin preparations for their final performances together, heejin wanted to do more. she wanted to do more than just do what she needed to do, wanted to do more than simply offer civil smiles and work without even a little bit of fun. after all of the rocky roads they'd traveled with one another only a few short days prior, she felt they deserved at least that much, especially after proving how well of a team they could actually be once conflicts were out of the way.
they had proven they were a force not to be underestimated— having a little fun here and there to make up for lost time was valid.
that fun, surprisingly enough, begins with cheri.
the rush of emotions she feels the moment the older woman walks through their practice rooms door, a surprise celebratory cake held in her hands, cause heejins heart to pick up in its pace— it catches her off guard ( and, judging by her teammates' reactions, it catches them off guard as well if suwoongs eager rise to his feet was anything to go by ), her brows shooting up, hands clasping together in her own bubbling happiness. it's just as she, herself, begins to get up from where she's sat, head down as she quickly adjusts her slightly wrinkled shirt that she hears a sudden plop.
her heart wrenches in her ribcage, head quickly snapping up, eyes immediately bouncing around in search of the cake that'd been in cheri's hands only a few seconds ago. the lower her eyes travel, the more her lips begin to pull into a saddened frown, shoulders deflating as her hands unlock themselves from one another and fall limply at her sides— it's a sad sight to see, already melting ice cream and cake bits unpleasantly smooshed and scattered about the floor, and if it wasn't for the heavy disappointment beginning to take root in the pit on her stomach, she might have found the older woman's reaction to her mistake rather odd.
maybe that's why, as a second cake is suddenly brought in by ella and wonwoo, the first momentarily forgotten about as heejins mouth falls open slightly in shock, their prank is more effective than it might've otherwise been. of all the people in their group to pull a stunt like this, heejin wouldn't have pictured cheri begin its main orchestrator, but maybe that's why it worked so well— this was something she'd never have seen coming.
it's only later, the mess from the first cake having long since been cleaned up, utensils in hand as they all dig into the second cake, that heejin feels herself, ones again, in higher spirits. even when the prospect of calling hyojin, their fallen member, is brought up, she finds herself easily wearing a pleasant grin— while the loss of a member had been inevitable at this point, she wouldn't deny that it'd surprisingly made her sad to see him go ( just like the rest of them, hyojin worked hard to ensure the success of their performance— as the judges had pointed out, however, at least he would be the one to leave a winner in some sense of the word ). during the call, as jokes are made and the mood is kept as light as it can be, heejin can't deny that she's happy.
it surprises her, but she knows, within herself, that it's true— sat amongst her group, cake being enjoyed to the fullest under the caring and watchful eyes of their coaches, heejin is happy that this is the team she'll be seeing the competition to the end with.
as the call ends, they're brought back to their reality— song choices.
the idea of having to put on two performances is a daunting one, especially when both needed to include choreography, something that'd proven to give them a bit of difficulty when it came to their more vocally focused members ( heejin being included in this ). the task, however, doesn't intimidate her the way it might have a few weeks ago. no, with their win from the semi-finals, heejin knew she would be fine— they would be fine. though it may not be by much, she was aware that she had improved some when it came to her capabilities as a dancer, and that she would only continue to improve. what worried her more was the prospect of needing to put together two different performances.
if the task had been to simply one-up what they'd done last week with one last stage, she felt that'd be more doable, having the full week to put in the intense focus needed to ensure everything, again, was perfect. now, however, their time and focus needed to be split between making sure two separate performances were perfect.
as song ideas are thrown around for what their first performance would be, the tone once again needing to reflect that of royal, heejin can't help but think of sphere, the company they'd need to revolve their second performance around. choosing something for royal had been the easiest thing, a unanimous agreement towards all night settling that early on, but sphere proves to be more of a challenge. it's hard for them to all agree on what song to go with, two more boy group choices up in the air, and for a moment, heejin isn't sure if they'll be able to decide. it's only after prompting for opinions from their coaches that they're thrown a curveball— rather than do a song by a boy group, cheri suggests thinking of possible girl group songs.
at the thought, a whole new realm of possibilities seems to open up in heejins mind.
she hates how she'd never even thought of proposing something more feminine for them to do, the overwhelming testosterone emanating from their group causing her to think that going along with things that leaned stronger and more masculine might suit them more than making the boys try to conform to something they might not be comfortable with ( sure, she was a pretty girl, one who could be cute or elegant when she needed to be, but not everyone had that talent ). silently, she's grateful for the way it causes their conversation to do a complete u-turn, providing her with the possible chance to show off more of her own charms the way she had at the beginning of the competition.
with more discussion and options being thrown around, they finally decide on a song for sphere— a song by one of the companies senior artists, luv. heejin can't help the way her excitement only grows as their choices are finally solidified, her eagerness for their sphere stage eminent, and she's ready to get to business.
if only she'd known earlier that business meant doing intense workouts in the form of squats, all in preparation for their all night stage, courtesy of coach ella, only for coach cheri to have them work on their harmonization skills...while still doing squats.
by the time the day ends and she's back home in her room, readying herself for a much-needed shower, heejin feels as tired as she looks, and that's saying something, seeing as she looks like she's been run over by a truck.
it's the final stretch, heejin— it's the final stretch.
♡
if there's one way heejin didn't want to be welcomed to the practice room so early in the morning, her legs still aching from the squats they'd been made to do the day before, a hand raising to rub the last dregs of sleep from her eyes, it's by being scared.
well, by attempting to be scared.
she can't help the way a single brows lifts itself the moment she opens the practice rooms door, suwoong jumping into her field of vision, and she catches sights of kyungsoo lingering off in the corner the former had jumped from with something akin to amusement playing at his features. it's a childish prank, one heejin hasn't had the thought to try doing since she was in middle school, but it's one she doesn't protest against as suwoong quickly tugs her along with him back to where he and kyungsoo had previously been hiding. she does, however, roll her eyes playfully. "you do know you're not exactly quiet, even when you try to be, right? if you couldn't scare me, what makes you think you can scare them!" her words fall from her lips in a hushed rush, but still, she follows along.
she eats her words, however, when the next person to walk through the door, poor, poor eric, is scared by them within an inch of his life.
ok, so maybe they could scare the coaches.
the wait, however, proves to be longer than they'd originally thought it'd be. the longer the four of them are stood there, huddled closely together in order to stay as hidden away as they possibly could, heejin can feel her legs cramping, the need to shift her weight from foot to foot strong. it's only as she begins to roll one of her ankles gently that the door finally opens, and while she doesn't jump with the same enthusiasm that suwoong and eric seem to have, choosing a more laid back approach like kyungsoo, heejin still yells with the intent to startle.
she watches on with a wide grin, arms crossed loosely at her front, and it takes everything in her not to laugh out loud too hard. sure, this little prank was all harmless, done simply as payback for the one the coaches pulled on them, but they're still their coaches— they're authority figures, possible future seniors, and heejin wouldn't let herself be seen as too eager to pull a fast one. not so subtly, she points a finger in suwoongs direction, brows raised, a silent declaration that this was all his idea. quickly, however, she dissolves into another gentle fit of laughter as they help their coaches recover and the day proceeds as they'd originally planned.
it's another day of intense preparations, workouts starting right from the getgo, but the burn is less intense than it had been the day before, so heejin takes that as a sign of improvement.
as the next day progress', they take slight detours— it doesn't surprise her when suwoong approaches her in secret, proposing the idea of secretly shopping around for outfits their group could wear for their stages, his acknowledgment towards her being one of their more stylish members doing nothing but strengthening her pride ( in all honesty, he was correct— to heejin, style was important, no matter the event or occasion. you never knew who you'd see anytime you stepped out of your house, so it was always better to make sure you looked nice on the chance you were suddenly in the presence of someone important. heejin also wouldn't deny that suwoong seemed to have a good read on style himself, so naturally, it made sense for them to take up the task if anyone was going to ).
it's easy to piece together certain looks, both of their outfits coming together quickly. she's happy that yellows, especially the pastel yellow they'd decided to stick to as the main color point of their luv outfits, are still so popular this late into summer, the tennis skirt she'd found pairing nicely with the simpler white blouse she'd latched onto early on in their search.
she's proud of what they're able to find, especially when it comes to erics cute sweater vest, an absolute steal of a find, one they'd practically ripped their hair out in order to find, but they do it despite the odds. kyungsoos attire, however, is where they come to their disagreements— with judgemental stares, heejin does her best to do away with all of the horrid pieces suwoong enthusiastically shows her, her disbelief growing more and more the worse options seem to get. her rejections, in the end, fall on deaf ears, however.
heejin can picture the scene easily as they make their way back to the royal building, kyungsoos protests towards suwoongs choice in clothes for him only a short ways away.
oh well, she had tried.
they run into kyungsoo sooner than they'd planned, however, completely taken by surprise as they watch him put on a solo performance on the streets. her confusion is met by suwoongs equally as confused glances, her head shaking at his questions. "he never mentioned he was gonna be out here to me, either," she speaks, turning back to watch their teammate. her head bops gently to the rhythm of his song. "maybe he wanted to get in a little extra practice performing for a large crowd?"
it's a shot in the dark, one made with pure curiosity.
when they see him again in the practice room, thoughts of his performance as long since forgotten in favor of watching him try and wrestle himself away from suwoong, heejins eyes bright with amusement as they argue over the outfit suwoong had gotten for him, just as she knew they would.
maybe, however, the ruckus is worth it once kyungsoo begrudgingly has the outfit on, kyungsoos face saying it all.
damn, heejin really hoped all of this would be aired.
♡
on tuesday, when suwoong suggests yet another prank, heejin already feels tired.
with them being this was into the week, their practice still going strong for both of their routines the closer saterday gets, heejin has her doubts with trying to pull another stunt. it's not that she doesn't want to, exactly, she just doesn't want them to fall into this sort of routine— of them allowing themselves to get so easily distracted, putting the practice they needed off to the side in favor of pulling joke after joke. sure, they were generally funny, but they had a goal to work towards.
she decides she'll go along with it in the end, however, once she hears how small it'll be. it's harmless in comparison to the stunt they'd pulled before, nothing involving jumpscares. while it does take away from real practice time, it doesn't do so by much, and by the time they've generally got it all down, heejin feels good.
the next day, as the put the plan into action, heejin is sure to keep her face as close to stone as she can, not wanting herself to be the one that gives them away before they even start with a loose grin. as suwoong does the talking, telling the coaches of their sudden want to change their sphere song choice, she gets into position, standing beside kyungsoo in the center of the practice room, suwoong and eric at their sides, the two of them begin to sing. their voices fill the space, ppap falling from their lips as the other two begin to dance. as kyungsoo and heejin finish their lines, erics otamatone suddenly filling the void they've left as they all dance. it's then that heejin finally cracks a smile, letting herself laugh at the sight of their coaches showing their own amusement.
it's all fun and games until they're made to return to their normal practice, morale at an all-time high.
♡
taking the stage for the first of their two performances, heejin is as confident as ever, the four of them stood together as they give their introductions. their voices sign off in unison, clear for the audience to hear. “hello everyone, we are royal flush!”
once it's time for heejin to give out her individual introduction, she does so with a beautiful smile, hands coming together to form a cute heart. "i'm jeon heejin, you're queen of hearts!" with them all having spoken, they quickly get into their starting positions, and the mood of the stage is set right away, just as it had been last week. different flowers and foliage alike decorate the stage, placed with absolute care and balance, flower petals and deep blues playing on the screens behind them to help with the ambiance.
they're visions in white, pure and sweet, and while they all begin on the floor, their expressions already reflect the dream-like effect they hope to give off wonderfully despite only one of them being seen right away— as the music begins and they move with an almost effortless feeling, graceful in their delivery in order to help paint a picture, heejin is sure to give it her all from the start. as kyungsoo opens with his vocals, performing his part with ease, heejin is more than glad for ellas insistence on squats earlier on the week— it makes the rise they all perform as kyungsoo walks across the stage far easier than it would have been otherwise, all of them falling to their knees except for suwoong as he sings his part.
as they all spread out, rolling across the floor to get to their spots, heejin rises with controlled ease, her voice smooth against the slowly picking up beat, eyes finding the cameras with ease. her voice holds strength, however, and not a note is missed.
전하지 못한 얘기 밤새 들려줄 테니 눌러 봐 지금 sending
as the beat picks up more, suwoongs voice finishing off the pre-chorus, kyungsoos lines coming in as they move across the stage, heejin is glad they'd change the spin jump to keep things more controlled. moving to the center, she begins the first part of the chorus, her voice stronger than it'd been before to match the intensity now present.
니 목소린 간질간질 간질 하게 들려 맘이 포근포근 포근하게
moving into her next position, she's sure to keep her movements as fluid as she can as suwoong and kyungsoo do their own parts back to back, doing her best to keep her facial expressions in charge— her eyes say a thousand words despite her silence, gaze holding the camera as they face it, the dread squat move they'd practiced time and time again showing itself as they do it in unison, something that'd taken them a lot of time and dedication to master. she's glad her legs no longer shake as it's done, letting herself move fluidly. when they'd first began learning the dance, certain gestures relating to the crotch area had been a bit much to heejin, but now, she does them as if they're nothing, mirroring the boys, but allowing herself to be a bit softer with it for her own sake.
moving on to erics rap, it's up to everyone not singing to move as a unit, matching the intensity of his rapping as they go along. soon enough, however, heejin take the attention once more.with her vocals, smooth as ever.
아무도 모를 얘기 네게만 해 줄 테니 더 늦기 전에 sending i can't wait, i can't wait, i can't wait
this time, however, she takes on the whole verse, suwoong voice underlying her own with a brief part of his own before he and kyungsoo once again take charge of their own, one singing part of the chorus, only to hand it off to the other to finish it.
as she takes the center to finish off the chorus, the boys falling to their knees slowly as they dance together, heejin lets herself throw a gentle wink to the camera, her side profile on display for only a moment, a feature she knows is a killer.
그저 밤새 듣고 싶은 것은 니 목소리뿐이거든
as the next rapping portion begins, this one shorter than the first, their dancing takes it down a slight notch, allowing them the freedom to move without needing to push themselves too hard, but still showcasing fluidity and unison in their bodies. it's all about the timing, about the rhythm of the song, together working hand in hand. making their way to the floor move by move, traveling along it as the go, heejin prepares herself, rising from where she lays as she sings once more.
어느새 고운 숨소리 속삭이듯 잠이 드는 너
unline the original choreography, however, heejin doesn't simply stay stationary as she delivers her high note. no, as her vocal pierce through the air, strong and clear, she makes her way across the stage, nearing suwoong. she feels him take her wrist loosely, just as they'd planned, letting him pull her farther in as her note fades off, and he delivers his own line, their killing part completed as they hold one another in a lenient embrace. parting from one another as they move into the last portions of the song, heejin gives beautiful adlibs the entire way before she sings once more.
잠이 들 때 듣고 싶은 것도 니 숨소리뿐이거든
as they shout together one last time, confetti shoots into the air, fluttering prettily around them, the stage, and the audience. the song reaching its end as they deliver their finishing line, they move as one to find their ending pose positions. singing the performances final line, heejin give it as much heart as she can, head tilted slightly as it all comes to a close.
그저 밤새 듣고 싶은 것은 니 목소리뿐이거든
♡
by the time they take the stage for their final time, the mood and tonal shift from their first stage is already apparent— gone are the all-white ensembles they'd worn previously, their outfits this time consisting of the pretty pastel yellow and white clothes she'd gone out to buy with suwoong earlier in the week.
as they introduce themselves for a final time, both kyungsoo and suwoong being given the time needed to give light explanations as to why they picked this particular song, they set off into their formation, taking their starting positions. as their track begins, so does heejin, taking the opening vocals.
기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv 설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv
in comparison to everything else they've done during their time as a group, this is by far the least intense ( maybe even the least interesting ), but to stand out and take charge hadn't been the point of this songs choice. no, they'd already proven they could impress viewers, had already shown their strengths in a variety of ways, taking on challenges and bettering themselves as days passed. now wasn't the time to blow people out of the water. now was a time for reminiscing, remembering the good times they'd had over this season, and seeing just how far they've come.
her voice is sweet, but with a certain heaviness to it, clear in its tone as she delivers her lines with ease and kyungsoo sings next. following in the vein of not trying to blow people minds, heejin had been happy for the songs easier choreography in comparison to all night, the moves doable without much of a hassle, providing them ample time to learn it perfectly in order to give them the time they needed to perfect their first performances dance. now, they move together with ease, and as the song progress with heejin singing small lines hear and there underneath her partners' main vocal lines, heejin comes to the center once more the begin the chorus.
기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv 설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv
moving through the chorus, a small breakdance is done without fail, heejins body moving along to the beat with a gentle hop to her step, eyes finding the camera to give it a wink as the hit their final move, the next verse starting up immediately as they take their next positions. again, her voice chimes in here and there during certain parts of the song, taking the back seat as the boys do their parts.
this time, however, instead of her next lines being the start of the next chorus, she takes of the beginning of the pre-chorus as they form a skewed line across the stage, heejin being most in the foreground as they dance. head tilting from side to side with each step, she's sure to make her eyes slightly larger, brows furrowed gently as she sings.
너와 나 너무 행복했던 그 시간 서로를 마주 볼 때면 yeah
then, after eric takes the attention as he sings and finishes up the pre-chorus, heejin comes back to begin the chorus once more.
기억하나요 우리 함께 했던 시간 l.o.v.e luv 설레이나요 한 땐 모든 것이었던 l.o.v.e luv
as the bridge begins, the song building up lightly as suwoong and eric sing, only to come together right before heejin walks through the center, her hand takes hold of the flower that'd been carefully pinned to her shirt before they'd walked onto the stage. taking slow strides towards the front as she sings, the flower in hand, she tosses it towards the camera as she strongly holds out the last note in her line.
넌 나의 기억 속에 추억 어딘가 그렇게 남아있죠
then as they move about and find they're places for the final chorus, they let their voices come together in a unified shout, prompting the audience to dance along with them for this final stretch, a way of including them, those who'd watched them through the season and gave them the support they needed to do well. "do it with us!" it's meant to be a special moment, one that doesn't fail at making heejins lips turn upwards gently into a smile, eyes scanning the crowd as they do, in fact, join in. it's a wonderful moment, one she's not sure she'll ever have the pleasure of enjoying in this way ever again, but she won't let thoughts like that bring her down.
not now, when there was nothing left for her to feel but happiness.
as the song comes to a close, the four of them sing the songs ending line together, coming together for their last finishing pose together. a heart made up of their arms, heejin and eric making up the top of it while kyungsoo and suwoong join their arms to form the point below.
her chest heaves with exertion, taking deep breaths as they hold their pose, but heejin doesn't mind the aches she feels beginning to take root in her bones. no, she would never mind if they were a result of this, a product of the time and work she put in to her time on stage.
no, heejin wanted more of it, because to feel that meant she was doing what she was meant to do.
this was where she was meant to be.
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