❝ YOU’LL BE ALRIGHT, NO ONE CAN HURT YOU NOW ❞
( &&. come morning light, you and i’ll be safe and sound )
#rkmar17eval — just close your eyes
✦* HOLD ONTO THIS LULLABY
her hopes weren’t that high when she found out she’d be playing the guitar. the truth is for a commercial like this, the chances that whatever she actually plays ( if they really needed her to truly play ) won’t air but in the moment, it’s not about that. it’s about four trainees desperate and waiting for their turn to be an idol and not a model like this. the opportunity’s great, but this isn’t what they signed a two year contract for. this isn’t what all of them renewed for. as much as she entertained the jokes about what song to play, there’s one that stays in the back of her mind when trying to decide. this isn’t for the camera.
this time, this moment, this song is for them.
just close your eyes, the sun is going down
you’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now
come morning night, you and i’ll be safe and sound
this is for balance. fingers strum against nylon strings and she sings if only for the lyrics to warm them like the fake fire they’re meant to have built.
but the true fire here is the one within their souls. the stages they’ve stood on. the ones they’ve lost. the ones denied them for so long. all four signed within the same year. all four destined for more.
even when the music’s gone . . .
just close your eyes, the sun is going down
you’ll be alright, no one can hurt you now
come morning night, you and i’ll be safe and sound
all their hopes lie on the music existing, but in this opportunity, this is the only chance they have for a song. she wanted to joke, to take this lightly, but she can’t, not when she owes them so much more than this. even if only they hear her, it’s okay.
come morning light, you and i’ll be safe and sound
If you could pirate one trainee from each of the other agencies to join your agency, who would you take from each company and why?
“Ah...that’s difficult. A lot of trainees I really admire in other companies I think are there because they belong there, like Taemin hyung or Bobby sunbae. I’ve been following them as much as I can, because I look up to them, and I think anyone who gets to debut with them is really lucky. But I think it’d be weird for them to suddenly join Nova, just like it’d probably be weird if I suddenly joined TRC or KT.
“I paid a lot of attention to the contestants from the last MGAs though. I kind of had to,” he breathes out the beginnings of a sheepish laugh.
“I don’t think anyone really thinks about how hard it was to help pick teams. I don’t know how judges on those shows do it all the time. Going through everyone’s pictures was difficult. And remembering everyone’s names--But some did stick out. I remember being disappointed that we could only pick a certain number, narrowing it down was really hard!
“Ah, this kind of feels like picking teams all over again. Seulgi-ssi was one of them,” another embarrassed laugh, “I remember her right away. I thought from the beginning that she’d be a good fit for Nova, so I’m glad she did get signed somewhere, even if I think she’s a better fit here. I think she’ll do well.
“Would it be selfish of me to want Kibum hyung from Royal?” he pouts a little, thoughtfully. “He’s really good. I don’t know much about how dancers are trained at Royal but I know he’d do well at Nova. He wouldn’t have any problem keeping up. Sometimes I miss having more people like that around. I think I was also watching Byun Baekhyun during the show, so if we couldn’t have Kibum hyung, maybe Baekhyun-ssi.
“Maybe Junhong-ssi from TRC? Ah, but he’s so tall, Huidong hyung would be mad. Youngjae hyung then?
“Could we steal Miyoung-ssi from KT? I’m only joking. She’s kind of the face of KT isn’t she? Wah, but she’s so pretty though...Maybe that guy from the contest? Kim Jongdae? Only I don’t know what his dancing is like...Probably pretty good now that he’s in KT. No, we shouldn’t take anyone from KT. They’re all too good-looking, I’d never get any screen time.”
❝ THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT BLACK ❞
( &&. like georia o’keefe said — you feel hidden in it )
#rkfeb17eval — it’s your turn to change
✦* BLACK’S A CLASSIC
déjà vu. that’s the best way to put it. it’s back to black, back to the basics and tiffany think it’s ironic. the timing. the first time had been for dream high and then the gayo performances. now it was for the commercial filming and photoshoot. her saving grace, her true solace in this, is that jihyun is in her team. kibum and junhong too. she’s blessed. her entire group comprised of people she not only likes and works well with but her friends.
but no matter what, it doesn’t save her from having to dye her hair again. even that, tiffany tries to make the best of. jessica and jennie, her beloved cousins, making the process bearable. it was one thing to dye her hair every once in a while but it hadn’t been that long, at least in her standards to preserve her hair, since she last lightened it. the change wasn’t drastic but in the time when tiffany felt like she was beginning to change, when she was too attached— toodramatic, honestly — to the concept of her hair representing that; the equivalent of “new hair, new me.” as if she can’t have that, not in this moment when everything’s chaotic at home, it’s back to the past and she knows that it couldn’t be more true.
the situation with leo brings up everyone’s old scars, cassie’s the most. for her, it’s more about her future and she tries to tell herself it means nothing— that black’s a classic.
(sms) it has !!! TT TT sorry noona seems we have both been busy
(sms) yes!! of course~ should I make it for you hehe
(sms) like old times!
( outgoing » fave barista ☕ )
✦* it’s okay ~
✦* your hours are longer than mine ㅠㅠ
✦* are you sleeping enough? ㅠ
✦* i guess you’re tall enough now anyway ㅋㅋ
✦* yes!! do you still remember?
✦* just tell me when ~
( NOVA MONTHLY EVALUATION – JULY )
– R.I.C.O by MEEK MILL ft. DRAKE // performed by J-HOPE, ZELO, LUIZY
“hyung.... hyung?”
hoseok snaps out of his thoughts, blinking slowly as he finally registers seungyoun standing in front of him. a smile naturally slides onto his face, his hand reaching out to ruffle the younger’s hair gently, “oh hey, what’s up kiddo?” and he sheepishly laughs off the fact that he’d been trying to get his attention for several minutes now. he listens quietly to seungyoun’s request, with his hands tucked into his pockets, posture as relaxed as he could pull off. he agrees without hesitation-- even if he doesn’t know seungyoun’s friend all that well. it’d be a chance for them to perform together for the first time since his underground days, and preparing for performances was something he always put all of his focus into.
he was quite adept at compartmentalizing.
while most people perform worse when distracted or troubled, on the contrary, jung hoseok shines in his determination. he concentrates all of his efforts into one thing, casting all doubts and other burdens aside. he gets along well with his two younger partners, and being around their energy is almost (read: quite probably ) infectious, and there’s nothing artificial about the bright smiles or laughter when they’re working together.
and for the days leading up to the evaluation, aside from activities, he thinks little about anything else, preferring to spend his free time practicing, adjusting, talking with the other two trainees to make sure their performance is one that would impress.
he didn’t give himself time for anything else.
when the day comes and he, seungyoun and junhong are awaiting their turn, he stands quietly, adjusting seungyoun’s hair, smoothing out junhong’s shirt-- fixing a bright smile on his face and encouraging them. he is eerily calm himself, mind still stuck in work mode. and it’s hard to believe, that he gets to perform with trainees from other companies, let alone the dongsaeng he’d watched since the days the younger would follow his underground crew around, would dance with them as hoseok watched him improve more and more. if anything, he was sincerely grateful for this chance.
and the last thing he wanted to do was let him down.
as soon as the song starts, hoseok is focused, his tiny smile that is often interpreted as a smirk resting on his face. as usual when he dances, he doesn’t think-- he practices too much, too precisely to be worried during the performance that he’ll make a mistake-- he focuses only on the here and the now and focuses the rest of his energy into staying in position with the other two. and while he’d judged himself harshly during practice-- too robotic, too sharp, too sloppy, too, too, too... too obvious -- he’s completely relaxed on stage, riding the rhythm and refusing to control his expressions, letting them come naturally.
dancing is fun, even when it’s work. it always has been.
and as he stands panting in the fading light, his eyes are focused again-- like a renewed purpose has come to life in them.
