It’s a little while until their daily practice session for the evaluation begins, but Moonbok’s already in the room. He idly tucks a bang behind his ear as he peruses the line distribution. He hums the melody softly under his breath until he comes to his part, then he begins to sing out loud.
He could do with the practice, after all. Since the MGAs, he hasn’t actually sang for a performance at all, either just rapped or danced. This is a slightly new experience, but one he’s enjoying.
Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the door opening and he raises a hand in greeting as he continues to sing. Not that he’s trying to ignore whichever of his teammates has entered, but he’s hit his stride now and he can’t just cut himself off in the middle of a verse. Though once he reaches the end of his part, Moonbok looks up to greet his teammate properly, grinning when he realizes it’s Daniel.
Even by just looking at the younger boy, Moonbok can tell that Daniel seems to be in a much more comfortable headspace that he has been over the past few months. He’d always actually wanted to talk properly to the younger boy, to help him though whatever issues he’d seemed to be going through at the time. But between evaluations and Moonbok’s own depressive episodes, he’d never had the chance to broach the subject with Daniel.
Something he’s ashamed of and hopes he can make up for.
As it is, Moonbok quickly clears a space for the other boy to join him at the table, grinning even more brightly when Daniel takes a seat.
“Sorry for not saying hello properly, I’d just managed to figure out the proper key to sing that line in.” he admits bashfully, toying with his hair a little. This singing thing is still something he’s going to have to adjust to. “How are you handling the evaluation so far? It’s all going good, right?” he probes delicately, hoping for an opening in which they can sort through any issues positively.
After all performances are done, trainees are told to wait quietly while CEOs and coaches of all companies gather in a corner of the auditorium with their notes to evaluate the performances and pick the winners of the day. It takes them around fifteen minutes to discuss everything and after some debate they all seem to agree on the names.
Trainees are now instructed to go on stage for the results and from up there is clear that not all CEOs are happy with the outcome. Hyun Bin is the one with the microphone. “We expected more of today’s performances but it seems like most of you tried to play safe.” The first words are not the most encouraging, but he continues. “I won’t go into details right now. The coaches will do their best to share our thoughts later when you’re back to practice. Some of you really need it.”
The microphone is handed to Sphere’s CEO whose expression is a little brighter. “I’ll announce the winners.” She says, looking down at the notes. “Let’s start with the girls! The winners are KT and Royal. Congratulations, we enjoyed your performances!” A round of applause before the woman reveals the other winners of the night. “As for the boys, TRC team 1 and Nova won the battles for your CEOs’ contentment and our last winner is... KT again. Congratulations!” More applauses follow the announcement.
But it’s not the end. Holding the microphone, Katie Lee is the one to bring the best and hopefully most expected results. “As we promised, two groups will win 2 days off to enjoy a trip to Busan with all costs covered by us.” She starts with a smile. “A bus will be waiting for you in front of Seocho on the 12th after you’re done with training and you return on the 14th at night.” After all the details are shared with them, it’s finally time to announce who will be traveling to Busan in a few days. “The winners are… Royal Girls and TRC Boys team 1. Congratulations!” With this, everyone is excused to return to practice and the CEOs get up to return to their companies.
Lee Daehwi ft. @rksxngyeol, @rktaeyang & @rkxskm
Performing Boy in luv & Danger & I need you by madtown
Guitar arrangement by Sungyeol ft Taeyang & Seokwoo
Lyrics reference
The prospect of a competition within the companies was kind of exciting to day the least. Daewhi would have thought he’d have enough of competitions by now, but he could feel the bubbling sensation in his stomach whenever he thought about having to pit themselves against other people. In the end there was probably nothing to lose but the prize for winning seemed pretty interesting. It wasn’t that he had been a trainee for long and was already longing for the time off that wasn’t granted to them usually, but he was sure that some of his seniors that he had to work with had such a sentiment. So he was definitely going to do his best. Only problem was just that at the end of the day, Daehwi was more of a dancer than a vocalist and this time he would not be evaluated for it even if he did dance.
Instead he had got to watch very closely as his seniors were working. Quite quickly they had decided to do an acoustic medley, using Taeyang and Seokwoo’s skills on the guitar as well as Sungyeol’s knowledge when it came to music arrangement. Everything almost went down too easily as they already had decided upon songs and theme before the day of the announcement was even over, leaving only the deal of actually composing the acoustic arrangement and figure out how to do the harmonisation.
But Daehwi couldn’t help but wonder what his part in all of this was. He couldn’t do fancy things like the others could when it came to making music, he couldn’t hit the high notes Seokwoo could, didn’t have any knowledge on how to uphold second voice and could only really do the base vocals. But one thing he could do, he came to realise, was make sure the mood was good between everyone. Daehwi was a boy with practically endless energy, and he liked to believe that his high spirits were contagious to the rest of the group.
But was that enough for him?
He felt rather much like a side character, not in the spotlight, not getting to show off what he could truly do. And that kind of sucked. But Daehwi also knew that this time wasn’t his, that he still would have lots of time to show off in the future. He couldn’t win every time after all. As long as they got the overall win he didn’t care about not having been of much overall use. Not everyone in an idol group could procure the same results every single time after all, so he just had to get used to being a smaller character.
But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to take it seriously. Everyone had worked so hard to get a good result and the last thing he wanted to do was be the one who ruined it. In a way it also felt like a huge burden to carry on the legacy of Madtown of all groups, but Daehwi believed that if anyone could do them, it was them. They were the future of Nova after all. And suddenly he realised that for the first time since getting signed, Daehwi actually felt comfortable by calling himself a Nova trainee. For once he hadn’t thought about being a better fit to Royal. For once he thought that he would actually want to be together with these hyungs in the future.
『 All For One 』
⇢ KT Evals May 2k20 | +3 S ; +2 DB ; +1 Wk Live Singing
⇢ Jeon Jeongguk just wanting to do his best | line distrib.
“ Sometimes you had to have differences to come out as a team together. ”
After long hours of discussing and compromising with each other the performance stood at last. They had been working hard on learning their lines, timing their moves and deciding on the type of get up they were going to wear. While both Gray and Haruto had been begrudgingly agreed to suspenders, Jeongguk rounded his own look off with a hat himself solely because of a hat trick he had been dying to do when he first hear the mash up.
Rehearsing it backstage while they waited for their turn to go up on stage, he hummed the lines beneath his breath and tried to keep the air light to brighten Gray’s mood and make sure Haruto wasn’t ready to die when having to perform again. All in all they really were a bunch of chaotic left overs and beneath his cheerful and light attitude it was hard to not throw a tantrum and throw everything all together.
The fact KT was now also making money of him by sending him to record that stupid commercial as well as letting him be an assistant for a photography workshop- he didn’t need a stupid company for these kind of opportunities. He could get so many more gigs without their help if he wanted to. None of that was why he signed with KT. He wanted to perform, to indulge himself in the art form of music and do that with his friends by his side but apparently that was too much to ask for.
The bitter dancer was thankful that their turn came up before he could lose himself in a negative spiral of his own thoughts. The setting of the performance itself was thankfully on the charismatic and intense side so the dancer didn’t have to be light, nor cheerful, nor bright. Letting himself flourish in the concept, his movements were swift while his vocals remained steady and on point. Even in higher registers he provided to have shown quite the improvement. Even though he doubted they would acknowledge it and even if he was sure they wouldn’t win either with her begrudgingly Haruto was following along, Jeongguk himself was content with his progress.
When even the hat trick worked out well for him and his gaze remained steady, confident and alluring even when meeting the eyes of the ceos’, jeongguk couldn’t help but smirk to himself. Yes, he didn’t care how this would turn out. With the help of the boys he managed to deliver the best of his ability and for that in itself he felt accomplished.
the notion that they are supposed to treat this evaluation as competition is something that fuels a fire from within her. jisoo had always been competitive; sometimes frighteningly so. while the levels with which how far she is willing to go just to win at something had significantly decreased over the years, that does not mean it was completely relinquished.
case in point: practicing her lines until she is positive that everything is as perfect as it should be.
“yuzu,” she speaks after taking a short break. jisoo approaches the younger girl with the music sheet held tightly within her hand. from the determined look in her eyes, it can be clearly said that she came with an agenda. “if you’re not busy, would it be alright with you if we can practice the song together? i would like to hear how i sound like as you play the cajon.” gesturing towards the box instrument, she smiles. “i want to cross off where i can come off wrongly as early as now so that i can quickly work on it.”
✞ MAY EVALUATION
* VOCAL PERFORMANCE ; EGOTISTIC x
with SPHERE BOYS ( @rkvok @rksungmin @chrxsrk )
june 1st, 2020
may is a difficult month. he starts it in the gutter, heavy with his hardest goodbye yet and failure in the prior month’s evaluation. he can’t help but feel sorry for himself and marinate in pity at first, paralyzed by grief and self-doubt once again, as he always seems to circle back to. was he really good enough to be a trainee? was he good enough for someone to stay? was he good enough for anything? (he kept circling back to the same answer: no.)
if he learned anything from the mgas, it was to not let his own feelings get in the way of the success of the group. one of the sharpest memories in his mind is yeji and jinyoung’s frustration with him, their scolding and scalding comments as they tried to force him off the floor into something more useful to their team. the last thing he wanted was to go back to that time, and to burden the few boys that were in sphere with the same daniel when they needed him.
so he chokes it back; he smiles, and puts on a chipper air, and if they can tell a difference, they don’t question him. besides, there is something a little genuinely uplifting about making a new arrangement for a song by one of their sunbaes, highlighting different instruments, recording a new backtrack. there’s something sincerely exciting about performing in an auditorium in the seocho complex instead of just a practice room, in front of a crowd and the ceos.
he tells moonbok it’s funny that they’re competing against trc’s boys when trc’s concept was the other daniel had to exemplify in the mgas, and it is. funnier still is the fact that this setting isn’t so unlike the mgas without the cameras: competing audience, ceos watching from afar, ready to make their judgments. something in daniel clicks despite all of his insecurity-- some sudden determination. maybe it’s the experience falling into place, like second nature now, his mindset already shifting into what it needs to for success in a competitive setting. maybe it’s just that familiar desperation to prove he’s gotten better. maybe he wants to perform in front of the ceo judges and make them regret rejecting him for two seasons in a row.
eventually, as the month and practices stretch on, and he gets to focus on the aspects of music he likes the best, his smiles aren’t so rehearsed. he convinces himself of them, and he feels lighter. maybe part of it is woong’s reminder that god never gives you more than you can handle, and his own realization that comes hand in hand: there are still so many blessings left.
one of them: a group of creative, talented boys he really likes singing with. it’s hard to spend time with them without thinking of the ones that left, all people he considered friends, maybe moreso than those remaining, but there’s still them. they’re still here together, and preparations for the evaluation are fun, and for as scared as he is to get used to this, he knows he could.
surprisingly, when it’s their turn to set foot on stage, he doesn’t really feel nervous. if he thinks about it, however, the nerves are right below the surface, with his ever-lacking confidence, so he doesn’t think about it. instead, he thinks about empty enigma shows, and cameo, and how much he could use him now to put on the best performance he can.
they don’t dance, even when the music begins. instead, they hold their poses, the acoustic guitar and bass of the self-recorded backtrack ringing out in the auditorium. daniel makes sure his stare is intense, hopefully captivating, hopefully lacking in nothing.
he starts them off.
i’m your satellite, revolving around you
but that doesn’t mean you’re the sun
moonbok follows him up: a fact that shook him for much of this month. moonbok singing. moonbok, inarguably a stronger rapper than him, likely a stronger dancer than him, singing, and working daniel out of bohyung’s lines. daniel was left with narae’s, whom he personally knew as a weaker vocalist, but-- upon listening to the song they were covering multiple times, he learned to let it go a little. everyone in spica was just about equally talented, just like the boys in this group. (it’s what he tried to convince himself of, anyway-- always a battle of daniel and his anxieties.)
things are flowing your way
don’t hurt me
sungmin leads the way with his reliable rapping next, and in this moment, daniel is lucky enough to only focus on the performance, and the enjoyment of it (not the insecurity, not the rampant knowledge that sphere doesn’t need him, because in all of his talents, there is someone better than him.)
the backtrack builds up, instrument upon instruments, up to the chorus, and then it drops out, only leaving bare bones instrumentation and daniel to sing.
i’m always all about you you you you
you’re always about me me me me
it’s not a song he particularly relates to, nor does he want to. he doesn’t want to be angry and bitter, but deep down, a part of him is-- angry to be left behind so often, angry to be criticized and put down and taken advantage of so often. maybe he can channel a little bit of that into the song, or maybe he just wants to have fun performing in front of like-minded people again. it’s a competition, sure, but he’s mainly excited to see the talent all of the companies have up their sleeve (and probably inevitably compare himself to them regardless.)
he gets to finish off the chorus too.
do whatever you want, ay
he doesn’t sing again until the next prechorus, but in the meantime, he works his way around the stage, making eye contact with the other trainees, trying to make the performance fun and engaging in the lack of their dancing.
even if i get mad, that only hurts my lips
in comes another chorus that daniel lends his voice to, and then the slightest bridge. he gets the line that transitions them into the next prechorus, and also the only full english line, always beloved in daniel’s heart.
i’m ready to go on my way
their last chorus is more explosive, with a thicker instrumental, fuller and closer to the original while still staying true to the new sphere boys arrangement. they reach the end, and he sings his final line in a round of echoes and harmonies:
2020 ♡ MAY EVALUATION
why so lonely ∘ wonder girls h.a.m
rose is weighed down by a guitar, slung across her shoulder. for once, she’s enthused and bright eyed. the month of may had come to a close and it’s pending evaluation was about to begin. it’s no secret that the feelings between the royal girls and their thoughts on the evaluation are mixed. some are excited while others are excited for it to all be over. and it wasn’t to say that this month hadn’t been challenging, because it had been. but everyone had done their best to work together and reach out when they needed it. it wasn’t easy being out of one’s element, rose knew that for a fact. dancers felt unsettled sitting for a whole song and not being able to move their body. rose felt secure with her guitar in her grasp, a luxury she had stripped from her some while ago.
the girls assemble and find their places for their evaluation, sitting together in somewhat of a half moon shape. rose’s guitar occupies her lap while yuzu manages her cajon, a newer instrument for her but one she managed to pick up rather successfully. yuzu counts them in, down from four and the two of them set the pace for their performance, playing an acoustic rendition of h.a.m’s iconic song, why so lonely. jiwoo opens the song with her sweet vocals. rose taps her head and foot to the beat, keeping herself in check with yuzu. her eyes drift between the coaches and the other girls, and obviously to the instrument in her hands. and before rose knows it, it’s her turn.
baby why i’m so lonely, i’m so desperate, but you’re not.
baby no, my heart, i don’t know when you will leave me.
the chorus isn’t difficult for rose to sing, it’s definitely within her range. it comes easy to her. her voice is clear, but soft and sweet. it’s somewhat of a relief that she’s left with the chorus because for a whole song she can focus on doing what she really loves. not that playing guitar involved much focus because rose could play with her eyes closed. she listens to the other girls sing and rap, and rose can’t help but feel overwhelmingly proud. to think that some of the girls were so hesitant and uncertain about this evaluation, and now look at them. rose was starting to think that they might actually have it in the bag to win this thing if they keep it up.
they run through another couple of verses, followed by rose’s chorus again. she begins to feel excitement brewing in her gut for gahyeon’s rap verses, knowing how hard she and lisa worked to perfect them. rose wonders how lisa is holding up, is this it? is this enough to win it. and even if it’s not enough to win the grand prize, some time away from the crazed, hysteria of seocho and the entertainment world, at least they proved to themselves that they can do just about anything. it made rose certain of one thing. if she was gonna stick it out, it was gonna be with them.
among all of the trainees in total, he and jongsuk are among the most senior, having been there for longer than most of the other trainees. despite this, he can count the number of evaluations they’ve done together on one hand---at least, of those he can remember. this doesn’t include, of course, company wide evaluations, but even if those were included, he still doesn’t think it would be that much. it’s a sad thought to think about, all things considered, but he’s glad that he’s getting the chance to do this one with him, especially since it gives them a chance to see how they’d be if they were to be put into once cohesive unit.
jongsuk is, by far, a better singer than chanyeol is, and he knows it isn’t saying much when he says that considering chanyeol isn’t all that great a singer, but jongsuk is light years ahead of him as far as he’s concerned. it’s all the more reason he can’t help but be amused by how competitive jongsuk is being about the whole thing, even if they’re just practiing. it makes him, who doesn’t have a competitive bone in his body, want to win, if only to see how much more enthusiastic jongsuk can get if they actually won. “you must be excited to take a two-day trip to busan with the lot of us, ey?” he asks during a break, uncapping a bottle to take a generous swig of water. he grins cheekily. “how long’ve you fantasized about such a thing?”
