lately, haknyeon’s taken an interest in well... trying to get into shape. or well, more accurately, trying to get chocolate abs and biceps. he’s fairly well built (despite being short –– though he’ll never admit to that), and his body is lean in it’s own way. and sure, he enjoys sports but he’s never actually... done gym stuff before. it’s never really been his thing; if anything he’d just run laps and then go and play some basketball.
though he wants to get those biceps and maybe some abs along the way too. so he takes it upon himself to actually go to the gym in nova, perhaps try to learn about the equipment there. that is of course, until he sees it.
moonbin.
his moonbin. his hyung moonbin. shirtless. he actually can’t believe what he’s seeing; not sure if it’s even a reality at that moment. because moonbin is... moonbin’s whole body is –– “hyung is that even real?” he gasps, the moment he enters the gym. he doesn’t shy away from looking at moonbin, eyes wide and mouth slightly parted. “hyung are you even real?” he raises both his brows.
As soon as Seokwoo saw the back of the recognisable figure, he was jogging forward quickly to catch up, his arm extending out to loop around the shorter’s shoulders and the immediately delight releasing in a chuckle. “Binnie,” he greets warmly, leaning his weight into Bin and scuffing his steps to get them in time with the younger. His eyes curving into crescents, and glancing back over his shoulder at the hotel they were leaving behind. Whatever Seokwoo had been planning to do moments earlier was forgotten, instead distracted by the sight of his dongsaeng and caving into to chase him down; to catch up. “How are you? I was wondering when I’d get to see your face,” Seokwoo’s quick to start the conversation, happily chirping by Bin’s ear and grinning down at him.
The impulse to reach up and touch Bin’s cheek is given in to, pinching it between his thumb and finger. “Ahhh, at least you look healthy. I feel like I haven’t seen you in so long,” he nearly coos the words, more like an affectionate aunt than a brotherly hyung. He’d watched Bin on the MGAs, seen him get signed and been around him for evaluations and training from time to time. But he didn’t think they’d hung out together recently and that thought weighed on his heart for a second -- and then was brushed off as the idea came to him. “What are you doing today? We should hang out. We have so much to catch up on,” Seokwoo barely gives Bin chances to reply, already leaning in and unable to stop himself; pride beaming from his features as his voice lowers. “Your hyung got himself a girlfriend.”
daehwi is eliminated, and team i is ranked in such a low placement that yoongi feels awful. the frustration that all the hardwork they’ve done the past week had been for nothing; for a good performance, but lackluster. it’s frustrating; it does things to his ego, to his pride and to his entire mindset.
they’re shuffled and placed into another team. yoongi has the luck of at least placing with minhyung again, and hyuna. it’s very lucky for him; he has people he’s used to, both in general comfort and general performing. doyeon and bin are new faces, but they’re nice enough-- talented, kind people that yoongi thinks he’ll become more comfortable the more they work together.
“min yoongi, contestant 4016,” is mumbled in greeting, a hesitant smile on his face directed towards his new teammates. the preparation, yoongi feels, is always the worst before any performance. especially here, where discussions over leadership, songs, distributions and chorography. then comes practice, practice, practice. it’s something yoongi’s prepared to do, no matter how frustrating or hard it might come off as.
but choosing a leader comes first. since hyuna can’t, as per rules, yoongi is all for doyeon taking the lead. she’s got the charismatic air around her-- but hyuna says his name instead, and agreement rolls across the room. it takes several seconds for it to settle; yoongi appointed as leader, yoongi is the leader. yoongi has to guide, yoongi is the leader-- and the anxiety settles in his gut. he hadn’t been a thought, a possible option to himself. yoongi knows damn well he doesn’t have the heart, doesn’t have what it takes to lead anyone down the right path. doesn’t know how to show structure or guide or anything what’s expected.
and it dampens him. hesitation on every decision-- that worry growing in his gut that plagues him. it makes him approach awkwardly, makes every comment he makes seem strange-- seem not sure of himself. because he isn’t. yoongi thinks this is a terrible idea.
talking to hyuna helps. it’s a moment of weakness. of vulnerability that yoongi shows through a heaving chest and stuttering words. through panicked expressions and trembling lips, shaking hands as they grip hers. i don’t know what to do, i don’t know where to start. it’s a mess, he’s a mess.
teamwork makes the dream work. she tells him. it’s all about working together, all about trusting in each other. she trusts him. she trusts yoongi and that’s so much-- to just have one persons trust.
but he tries; he sucks it up, smiles and tries his damndest.
he approaches minhyung first; the obviously affected one from their previous team’s elimination. he tries his best to offer comfort-- but yoongi’s never been the greatest at it. his voice is soft and kind, his smile gentle if not the slightest bit awkward. after minhyung, is bin-- gentle encouragements and words that might come off too stiff. but it’s given attention, worry and words to compliment; bin’s not as bad as a dancer as the station makes him seem. he’s hardworking, long nights of practice and most of his time spent in the practice room. he’s admirable. doyeon after, and she’s helpful; they both go over choreography, pinpoint areas of work and to find a way to better teach the team. she would have been a good choice for leader, yoongi thinks; he hopes she has a chance to do so-- he feels as though she’d fit the role well.
throughout the entire practice session, through everyone-- he makes sure to check up on everyone. even if it’s a simple smile, a glance or a few words; he tries his damndest. they all work hard, harder than ever. they eat together in the random moments that hyuna will drag them out; there are moments of weakness, crying and tears that end with encouraging words; a group hug that yoongi is stumbled into, red faced and awkward.
when it comes to the performance day, yoongi’s entire body is thrumming with excitement, with nervous energy. he feels a little more at ease with performing in front of a crowd as opposed to the previous times; he’s still worried, horrified at a possible loss under his leadership. his lips are chapped and bitten and his fingers are a mess of torn skin and nervous biting.
they’re team boomerang, we’re always coming back to you! it’s a cute name, a cute little addition that makes yoongi smile and bite back the urge to chuckle. it’s a quick intro, before they settle into position. yoongi’s the starting point-- and he breathes out a sigh as his head drops. his body moves into muscle memory as the music cues, softening and settling into the role he’s chosen. hands extended, fingers formed into a heart as everyone disperses and he moves forward.
rubber band, rubber band.
they harmonize together, jumping and moving according to the beat. he hypes himself up to continue his part, expression of confidence on his face as he slides to the front, hand on hyuna’s shoulder as he settles into his part.
our love temperature is a bit lukewarm,
these days, i wanna be alone, oh no
i don’t even get angry anymore
i know after this phase ends, it’ll really be the end
so i’m staying extra cautious
transitioning from that is hyuna, and he hears the precision in which she projects her part. from her it’s doyeon, bin and then mark-- and he’s filled with pride at how good they sound. how the movements all seem to be falling into place; it’s an overhwelming feeling-- a feeling of possible success building in his gut that brings a warm to settle over him.
the entirety of the song is fun. it’s a fun hearted dance, one with footwork and movement and jerky movements yoongi isn’t really used to, but it’s easy for him to grasp the hold of it after practice runs. the beat of it isn’t too messy, isn;t at all something yoongi finds they have a hard time doing. it’s a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get this far-- to yoongi, at least.
but at the end, as they stand and the last moments of the song tick down-- he feels as though they’ve done their best. they’ve given their all to the best of their ability and that’s a great feeling.
we gotta go, yoongi slips the last part out as they finish off, end the line and the performance. it’s a rush after that-- white noise in his head as they move off stage, and he only focuses back in when he sees hyuna trip, the fall of her body causing him to pale-- and he’s one of the first to reach her. eyes sharp as they glance over her for injuries. the off-handed way that hyuna acts with it, even the twitch in her face, the slightest change in her step. she says she’s fine and yoongi leaves it be-- lips pursed as staff helps her away. he’s twitchy, fingers picking at each other and foot tapping as they wait. the pride, the warmth; it’s gone in exchange for another bout of fear, of worry. the discomfort takes hold, and this time it doesn’t release so easily.
he forgets how this tradition had starter, but hugo has somehow become the hazer of the nova boys. yes, it was his duty to initiate the newcomer lads into the circle of novaness (and if he didn’t do it he was pretty sure jinyoung was going to kill him for putting him through it and not the newbies). he had asked wendy first if it was okay to keep doing this, to which she very adamantly agreed to let him do, for some reason, but now he had all the reasons to do it, and no reason not to.
so the poor boy by the name of moon bin crosses hugo’s path and he is obligated by the law to stop him. he smiles brightly at him, bowing in greeting, waving in a friendly manner, leaving the other completely unsuspecting of him. he’s just a sunbae greeting his hoobae trainee. that’s all. “hi! welcome to nova! i’m hugo, i’m a trainee here too. i’ll be going on a year soon. you’ll like it here, i promise!” he tries to be encouraging and reassuring, because he remembers when he first started and how out of his element he had felt. of course, there was no one there to do this to him...
“as your sunbae, it’s my duty to make you feel welcome, and, well, to initiate you into our family. hazing, you know. i’m sorry, but it must be done.” and then he leans in and plants a fat smooch on moon bin’s cheek. poor guy.
WELCOME TO THE MGAS // episode five . . #4011 - 김진희.* KIM JINHEE.
━━━━━━ . . . HATE MONSTER, 4MINUTE x EXO TEAM STYX.
this round, jei’s just full of mixed feelings.
on the one hand, there’s the bitter taste of failure. it sinks into her bloodstream like a poison when she hears that they’re in the bottom for their performances this week, which means that someone is going home. jei can only hope that it’s her, that none of the boys on her team have to suffer such a cruelty when they just want to follow their dreams. this is their dream, it isn’t hers. life though, is cruel - or maybe the judging panel is crueler. how can they say that she has more talent than jeno does? how do they decide the tipping scale of who has more talent than another?
it’s frustrating, and terribly so, but jei can’t say anything at all. the only reaction she has is a tight pull of a frown on her lips and the way her brows knit together when jeno says goodbye to them one last time. if it was up to her, this wouldn’t be happening. if it was up to her, she’d be the one running free and he’d be the one staying to try another week. after all, that’s what jeno wants. it seems that in this world, what you want isn’t what you get.
so why does anyone do it? why make it a dream if all anyone does is get hurt on the path to victory? she seems to answer her own question, though - after all, jei’s never been one to take the easy path. if she’s a fighter for the things she wants, it makes sense that others would be, too.
for this, though? this isn’t a future jei has in mind, so it’s not something she wants to fight for. for all of jei’s devotion to her teams and making sure they try and get to safe places just because she doesn’t want to hold them back, it wasn’t enough. whether or not she wants this for herself, she still wants it for them. and that’s why it hurts, indefinitely, to see jeno walking from the stage and even after as the new teams are announced and she’s expected to go through this all again for one more week. hopefully, just one more.
and it’s on the other hand that there’s familiarity.
perhaps it’s a small reprieve, a little bit of mercy after two weeks of being thrown into the fires with people unknown. this time, for the first time in the entire competition, she’s been given someone she at least had the pleasure of an acquaintanceship with, and also - another girl, which would have been enough to make her content in and of itself. being given both feels a bit suspicious, like icing too sweet on a cake but jei has learned to take her blessings while she can on this show.
it’s only afterwards that jei realizes that it’s odd, considering she never really thought of anything on the mgas being a blessing in the first place. then she remembers sungwoon, hyunjin, and everyone else on her previous teams. oddly, jei thinks that maybe parts of the show weren’t so bad, after all.
THE WEEK BEGINS and jei starts to question her sanity. the thought that any of this could have been a blessing is obviously a stretch, and it’s proven in the first few minutes with the boys alone. this is by far the oddest team she’s ever been thrown into the fires with, and jei’s not sure she’ll be able to survive the first three days - let alone the week required to get to doomsday. for all her initial relief that came with at least knowing someone on her team, it did not save her from the variables of those she did not.
in fact, jei’s fairly sure the only purely sane one is doyeon, though that’s not really a surprise. after all, she’s female.
it all begins when they try to come up with team names, and that’s only just the start of jei’s suffering. somehow, they got on the idea of greek myths, probably from moon bin - which is fine on its own, of course. she actually enjoys mythology herself, as she had to study it in her courses for university, but when someone suggested team cerberus, it was the beginning of the end for her hopefully peaceful week.
after all, team cerberus was the birth of “ team woof”, which meant the birth of the boys barking in her face for a laugh on their own behalf. every time it happens, jei somehow manages to find a camera and the look on her face is one that says give me death. still, though, for all the joking aside, jei doesn’t say anything and allows them to have their fun.
fun with friends seems hard to come by in this competition, anyway. and if the fun and games don’t hinder the progress of their team in the long run, jei isn’t the kind to put a stop to it. but she is the kind of person who will look dead in the eyes every time someone tries to woof at her. she’s absolutely certain that this is a big plan concocted by moon bin to torture her because he’s scared of her, but that’s another story for a different day.
eventually, though, they go in a not so different direction with styx as their team name. not too different, of course, from cerberus who guards the gates of the damned but this is apparently a theme that they’re running with this week, considering the songs they’re mashing up are hate by 4minute and monster by exo. thankfully, minho knows well enough how to mix songs on his own and make a mashup because otherwise they’d be left to search blindly on the internet for one.
THIS WEEK, jei is asked to help with choreography considering her first stage with dynamiq was a unique one. this time though, she feels a little better about it - even though she considered the first stage a disaster because there was no one she could ask about skill levels and she only saw them doing well, at least this time there are a lot of strong dancers to be able to make suggestions if something doesn’t work or if it doesn’t match the skill of what they can do. even the least skilled of the five of them is still on the average side.
the problem is the theme. it’s nothing .. bad, not in the scope of the song and definitely not when it comes to the lengths of her creativity. it’s mostly just a bad concept in jei’s eyes, who would have preferred to trek the path of a more horror - based concept instead of a creepy nightmare of a twisted love gone wrong. there’s too many memories that surface with the idea of a toxic love, ones that she doesn’t really want to remember.
still, it’s what the team decided on, so she has to deliver.
which means more late nights. especially since this time, there’s a lot more singing involved than the past two weeks - it comes with the territory, probably, considering the mashup. there’s just a lot of singing, a lot of dancing, a lot of everything.
it’s something that jei has come to expect, being tired. but it’s more odd that she finds that no matter how late she comes in, the boys are still there doing their own practice. they too, must find fault in themselves that jei can’t see. after all, working hard is one thing but destroying yourself to clutch at safety is another thing entirely. thankfully, with a few days worth of convincing, she manages to get them to at least sleep in the corners of the practice room and to go home and shower once in awhile. no matter how important this is to them, and how important it is to the team, it’s not worth them getting sick over.
even if all they do is woof when they see her.
.. except haknyeon. he likes to say nyan. at this point, it’s like she’s begging the cameras to kill her when she looks at them.
it’s still early in the week when jei is seen looking completely flabbergasted. “ what is big dick energy.” the words don’t sound like a question even if they should be since she has absolutely no idea what the phrase means. they sound more like an accusation, mostly because jei feels like she should be offended. after all, the male anatomy isn’t really even that strong if the way men react to it is generally anything to go by.
they’re sitting around at dinner when moon bin tells her that she has .. whatever big dick energy is, all the while making minho practically howl with laughter. it makes her feel like she’s justified in feeling offended, because if it’s that funny certainly it’s not a compliment. her eyes narrow as she waits for a response, but of course, she doesn’t really get one. they’re too busy laughing amongst themselves, and jei simply sighs in defeat.
when will this week of hell be over? with all the jokes, she can barely even concentrate on her thoughts, or the things that linger in the back of her mind that haunt her when they go through their choreography together.
it’s only later that jei realizes that this is a good thing. even if jei will end the week still unsure about whether or not they were complimenting her with whatever big dick energy really is.
DOOMSDAY comes and there’s something that sits on her chest. whether it’s the thrill of the stage or the anxiety that will come later when the judges have to rate their performance, she’s not sure. the first time they critiqued her performance, they said that there wasn’t enough skill to go around to pull it off. this time, though, jei hopes they’ll say the opposite. they’ve all worked hard this week, and all the skills are there.
they just have to pull it off and prove it to them. in spite of the random behaviour throughout the week, it’s .. a little odd, but jei thinks that they actually worked well together. it can be seen in the quiet way she says woof before they leave the kt building for the final time before performing - maybe, just maybe, she cares about them a little after all. even if the whoops from the boys are a little embarrassing, she’ll accept it if it means that it makes them happy. if it helps them to relieve their stress even if by just a little.
perhaps sometimes a little comedy is good for the soul when you’re worrying about other things - like, competing against your own team, for example. or competing against members of your past teams that you’ve grown to care for. jei knows about this all too well, because she’s spent a lot of time lately thinking about how hyunjin is holding up, or how sungwoon has blamed himself like she did when she was a leader for dynamiq. her feelings can’t get in the way though. they can’t make her any less devoted to the team she has now.
competition is healthy, sometimes. she’s just not sure if it’s healthy in this stifled environment. jei thinks she’ll always hate the way the judges force a stage in the short timespan of just a week to decide whether or not the people on it are worthy of being kept around or not.
this time around, they’re team b so they don’t have to wait too long before it’s their turn to take the stage.
the first performance flies by though, and before jei can even think it seems, they’re the ones being led to perform. “ as above, so below; we are team styx -” the team introduction is one that was inspired by the horror aspect of their stage. then it’s the personal introductions, one by one. once upon a time, there was a point where jei thought the only thing important to know about her was just her number and her name. sungwoon taught her differently, and this week, she offered a suggestion to go along with their team introduction for something more personal.
to work on her own brand, if you will. it’s a little embarrassing, but it’s worth a shot. “ capturing your gaze so you can’t look away, i’m the medusa of team styx - #4011, kim jinhee.”
then, it’s time. they take their places on the stage, jei kneeling on the floor and the lights going completely dark save for the spotlight on her and doyeon, whose head is laying in her lap. she’s the one to start the song off, again - it needs to be a strong beginning, to prove that their stage isn’t one that the audience can look away from. her fingers are brushing through doyeon’s long hair as she looks down at the girl “ sleeping” in her lap, and begins to sing along with the music.
your eyes are telling me
liar liar liar, don’t lie to me
i don’t wanna know anymore
i don’t wanna know know know
not anymore, no no no, it’s over
their stage is one that leads the audience into a nightmare - doyeon’s nightmare. they pulled a lot of aspects from psychological horror and melded it with the concept of a toxic love, and funneled it into a dreamscape of the girl who faced an awful relationship and has trouble forming new ones, in spite of growing interest in those around her. the only one that she can trust is her best friend, her “ saviour” in it all.
it’s made clear that the villain of this story is moon bin, his dancing aggravated and angry to go along with the words that he sings. throughout the choreography, jei is by doyeon’s side or behind her, a memory and a belief that someone is always at your side when you need it most.
in her heart, jei knows this isn’t necessarily true, but it works for the choreography and their story, in any case.
her singing parts are always very distinct, and make an impact on the song as a whole, regardless of whether or not she has as many lines as doyeon and moon bin or not. it’s done purposefully this way - her role may be in the background, but always there. a reminder, that doyeon can be saved if she wants it.
i don’t wanna know
all the same excuses everyday
i don’t wanna do
all the same arguments everyday
it’s meaningless, i am tired
the choreography turns a little more wild after this. introducing haknyeon and minho into the storyline as potential suitors, but doyeon’s fear getting the worst of her - that’s their part in this story. through the movements, and the lyrics, it’s like they’re becoming new horror stories, similar to the one she had with moon bin - although far from true in the real world, it’s obvious on the stage. he’s a malevolent presence in all of this, guiding the other boys to destroy her heart with no remorse.
but jei won’t have it. after all, she’s the saviour.
by the end of the chorus and doyeon’s last line, she’s laying back down on the floor - a reminder that this is, again, just a dream no matter how nightmarish it may seem. but with every creeping line that bin sings, her body twists, turns, contorts - that is, until jei stands between them.
your eyes are telling me
i don’t wanna know know know
not anymore, no no no, it’s over
bin can’t get closer to doyeon this time, because jei brings him to his knees. not every nightmare has a perfect ending. not everyone can be saved. this time, though, doyeon lies still. this time, there can be a happy ending when the stage goes dark. jei just hopes that it’s enough to get them through to a safe spot.
✧ ———— MGA: SEASON FOUR, episode six! — group performance
park kyungri ( #4023 ) — view - shinee / lc9 ( line distribution ) ———— ✧
featuring: @rkxsua, @rkssoojin, @rkxseola, @rkmbin & @rkxsungwoon
deep down, a part of kyungri had truly hoped that she would of come out on top once, at least once. ever since she had began to notice some form of pattern forming, she began to lose count of her loses, more so she was choosing to ignore them. kyungri was good at turning negatives in her life into positives. still, what is the point of counting if it’s inevitable you’re going to lose. she had fallen into a dark mindset when she and her group members went their separate ways years ago. training, singing and dancing had somehow become all she knew. how was she to go home when her home had been them for so many years? for so long, kyungri was bitter and angry of her misfortune, and only within the last year or so had she finally resolved those issues within herself. her time was limited, she had to make the most of what time she had. in the back of her head, a voice pesters her, telling her repetitively that she is the dead weight holding back her team, but if she was the dead weight, wouldn’t she be out of here by now?
this whole thing truly is a survival of the fittest.
despite it all, kyungri was still here afloat; doing her absolute best each and every week. her losses served as a platform for her to grow and learn from, and even if it’s hard to decipher her own personal mistakes each week, it does give her something to do. she’s overcome with relief upon hearing the next mission theme, it being summer. it’s probably kyungri’s favourite season, and besides, who didn’t love a summer bop? once again, kyungri is put into a new team compiled of totally new faces ( well, technically, she knows of everyone, she just hasn’t had the opportunity to truly interact with everyone as of this moment, she’s a busy woman ). as usual, she is quick to greet everyone warmly, introducing herself even though it’s obviously more than likely that they know who she is. each and every week, a similar pattern occurs, the group talks for a little while before unanimously deciding on a leader, a song and a group name.
and so it begins, yet again, another week of endless grinding and working overtime into the early hours of the morning, hoping and praying for better results than the week before. the team had unanimously decided on view for their stage, to which kyungri had no objections towards. it’s only then that she’s thinking to herself that this has to be her week. it isn’t like kyungri to not work hard, she isn’t someone who naturally slacks off. she’s always prided herself on her work ethic and her ability to stay focused even when the goings get tough, so even when the heat is turned up ( quite literally ), she’s thankful she has the ability to keep a level head. and kyungri promises herself in that very moment to not let anything hold her back from going for gold this week.
this week for kyungri really is like any other. if one was to review all of the past weeks to this one, they would line up. kyungri’s routine was to revise the choreography and then learn it, along with it would come the actual lyric learning, and while she didn’t really have a choice in terms of learning it at her own pace, sometimes she could pick and choose what she wanted to learn first, depending on what she was really feeling. the song is very cool and refreshing, it’s upbeat and fun. the choreography is a little different to what kyungri usually leans towards, as the original artist is known for their smooth, sharp yet effortless choreography; it definitely makes the whole learning process a little bit more fun than usual. kyungri can only hope that her and her team come through with a performance that truly impresses the judges. as the week goes by, as it had done in the past, kyungri’s insecurities about her lack of success on the mgas disappears and she finds herself looking at the bigger picture a lot more until it’s all she can see. the energy amongst her team members in the practice room fuels her passion and will to go harder.
she can only hope and pray that there is more of this from this moment onwards.
kyungri really does appreciate the moments leading up to her own performance on stage. while she does analyse the competition, she always takes her time to enjoy the stages before her own, smiling and cheering on those who she’s had opportunity to work with in the past. people never fail to not only amaze kyungri, but inspire her. before she knows it, it’s showtime for her and team solstice, everyone heads backstage together as directed, gathering together to say their thanks to one another; that and a whole lot of group hype. and strangely, the nerves she thought would surface haven’t; it feels as though kyungri is fighting away demons and they go beyond the usual nerves a performer would experience, it’s all deeply rooted in her failure as an idol. coming to terms with one of her greatest fears was more than a challenge for kyungri, and knowing that she has little to no control about how her life in this industry is directed frightens her. all she can do is keep her head down and work hard, and some day all of that hard work will be rewarded.
everyone files out onto stage and assembles, bowing in unison before introducing themselves as both a team and individually. when given the green light, kyungri and her team members assume their positions on stage, readying themselves for the song to begin. kyungri focuses on keeping her composure as the song starts, hitting each and every part of the choreography, wanting to execute it to the best of her abilities, or in her mind, perfectly. kyungri’s moment to sing suddenly arises, and without fault, she smiles. anyone who is watching from the audience or at home on their televisions could see than she is clearly passionate about what she does. kyungri loves to perform. she works hard in the studio to ensure that she succeeds and shines on the final stage, and kyungri can only hope that she somehow does it all again and gets through another week. the vibe of the song stays true to the theme for this week, it’s summery and fun, reminding kyungri of late nights by a hotel pool on a hot summer night, surrounded by good company.
the performance thus far goes to plan, although the reaction of the audience says a lot, when the group doesn’t follow through with the said choreography, and instead does their own thing. their idea fitted in with the theme of summer, their performance was light-hearted and fun, and what was a summer stage without a bit of summer fun? kyungri grooves to the music, even going as far to shoot finger hearts at the audience with a bright and wide smile on her face. she edges forward to the stage upon seeing the staff place the dolls at the edge of the stage. picking them up in unison, kyungri pretends to kiss the foreheads of the dolls before gently throwing them out into the audience. even in amongst the slight excitement and madness on stage, kyungri keeps up with the song, remembering her cue to sing her part and doing adlibs when necessary.
they finish together, on point and in time, and even with her back turned to the audience, her face only slightly showing, there is a huge smile on kyungri’s face. and here they were, yet another performance done and down and with hope, many more to go. team solstice then break their formation to gather together, bowing towards the audience before making their way off stage carefully. and even despite last week and even the week before that, nothing beats this feeling.
stage; 2018 releases, by team boomerang ( @rkmyg @rkmbin @rkmxrk @rkdoyexn )
outfit; x x
stats; sing your heart out and watch your feet
song; ikon - rubber band ( line distribution )
third place wasn’t bad. third place was actually quite well considering how last season they started at nearly the bottom. she was happy to say the least, and even happier once she found out that jei had gotten second place, followed by knowing she and yoongi were going to be on the same team.
maybe life was nice to her every once in a while.
now they were team c. bin, yoongi, mark and doyeon.
bin, she knew from the previous team she was in, and had already noted the extra hours the dancer;s in the team will have to spend with him.
doyeon was pretty, very very pretty it wouldn’t surprise hyuna if the caremas pointed out the fact that she had been staring at the girl with heart eyes on more than a few occasions.
mark was becoming the definition of intimidated. she wasn’t sure if it was her, or someone else on the team, but maybe it was because of the age gap. if she remembered correctly, it was about 9 years..
and then came yoongi. who she kind of forced into being a leader. they didn’t really have a choice, even if she jokingly voted for him. she felt bad, and that showed throughout the first few days. but he did well. and she helped him, as much as she was allowed, encouraged him, occasional pats on her back, reaching to ruffle his hair. saying good work at the end of every practice session. it was the least she could do.
the first day was interesting to say the least. they were quick to pick a name, followed by a song after a few suggestions were thrown. they went for a popular song, maybe not as successful as the other option, but it was popular. rubber band, was probably the perfect mix of dancing and it being simple. apart from the lack of rap parts, and the lack of vocalists within the group. hyuna made the sacrifice, of being a vocalist this time around. she wasn’t sure if that would help the group in any way, of getting higher standings, but it was worth the shot. she was confident enough to be a singer in this competition. she took the initiative of distributing the lines, which wasn’t hard and that was it, all they had to do was train their asses off for the next week.
so the training days went on, the choreography was learned fastest by yoongi and doyeon, followed by hyuna who in the mean time was helping mark with the ways he could act while rapping. her main trick was, how to hold his microphone and not break his teeth. index finger pressed neatly between his upper lip and nose and it held the mic in place, a very save and secure place. this time round, she wasn’t rapping and it made her feel like she was stepping outside of her own comfort zone, season 3 memories running through her head as she had to teach everyone on her team how to rap, before having jihyun help her out with her own non existent singing. but it wasn’t bad, she wasn’t the best singer, but she wasn’t the worst, so she knew she would pull through.
and then they all went back to going over, and over, and over the choreography. even as her body was moving, thinking about to moves had become an absent thing, and her mind was occupied with yoongi and his worries.
i– really need the ‘elp. i don’t wann’ let anyone ‘own.
she wanted to help, and she did as much as she could, monitoring their formations, helping bin and making sure everyone was healthy and fine. even if she herself found herself silent, just quiet as she watched the team work around each other. with each other. she had heard, here and there that people found her intimidating, and it somehow made her sad. hyuna was aware it was the fact that she had won last season, she had been a trainee for two years, she had been so close to debuting as well. but she didn’t come here to overshine everyone else, she was there to try and get sign, to win the lotto. it was messing with her head. there were all this thoughts that were running through her mind, it did get overwhelming from time to time.
but that’s why she had yoongi.
and yoongi had her.
they were making this work well enough as it was. it was smooth as well, the whole time they spend training, it was nice. it made hyuna feel at ease every so often. even if she slept a few nights in the training room after shooing everyone off to go and sleep on nice beds, meet their family and friends. she lived too far away from the nova building to allow herself to go back every day. so she spend most of the nights on her laptop, doing course work for uni, which at times had her frustrated to the point she had to slam the laptop shut and leave the room by slamming the door, only to come back less than half an hour with a coffee in hand and some takeaway. before going back into dancing to the choreography.
if she wanted to help as much as she wanted to and needed to and was allowed to, she had to sacrifice her own time.
so whenever yoongi came around, she sat with him and talking about what they could do for the day, how they could do it and how to make the performance more fun. it was all just ideas thrown around as doyeon had gotten the other two boys to warm up and get ready for another few hours of dancing, sweating and teamwork activities.
and so their training went off. their motivation just increased and hyuna was happy she got such a dedicated team. she was gonna miss them.
eventually a week passed, with their own ups and downs, issues and changes, adaptations, but their team was second. so they didn’t have a lot of time to get in the mind set of performing. so as soon as jei’s team finished, hyuna manged to give an approved nod of it, finding it eye catching, they made their way up the stage.
once they were all up there, and in their usual line up they introduced the team’s name, smiling widely at the camera.
“coming back to you~ hello we are boomerang!” she says loud and clear into her head mic, however, her hand still automatically reached up before she forced it down. habits died hard, and she took another shot for a better performance. instead of having a hind mic, she decided to try with a head one. it was needed and the rapper was willing to go for it, see if it worked better for her she knew it wouldn’t.
after they all introduced themselves, one after another and hyuna kept up the smile that had tugged on her lips in the start, nodding her head as they were told to get into their starting position.
just before the first beat, she managed to sigh deeply, feeling her shoulders relaxed and as soon as the music started playing, her body began moving on her own, the muscle memory strong and confident.
just before they get into the hook bit, right after yoongi finished with the intro, hyuna couldn’t help but yell out a let’s go!. the hyping noises in ikon stages were always present, and even if the group hadn’t practiced them, she had enough confidence that this one she could pull off without a problem. the harmonies were good, their voices were all in different ranges, but it all worked well, just like a choir.
soon after yoongi finished his rap part, she stepped forward, picking up the flower that mark gives her, walking forward before stepping back and leaning against yoongi who pushes her forward.
you and I, we’re both so sly
neither of us want to be the bad guy
its an effortless jump from her side, before going back to the dance moves she learned so well.
like walking on a sheet of ice
we’re so risky right now
and she was singing, which she was aware, would have been a shock for a lot of the people watching their performance. however, the smile on her face, her gestures and presence were still the same. the tone of the voice was bright, cheerful, compared to her usual raspy and unique rapping one. it was new. as her part came to a finish, she smiled at the audience, biting her lip ever so slightly before throwing the flower at them, followed by swiftly moving back to her position.
just in time for doyeon to come in with her voice and the iconic paeng paeng dance, whcih was her favorite move in the whole choreography. it was a light hearted song, and she felt her facial expressions that way, light hearted and playful. enjoying herself on stage. even if the dance seemed simple, it was a great mixture of sharp and smooth moves, which definitely needed control and precision, which made this stage all the more fun.
quickly the song transitioned to mark rapping the second rap verse and with that it was bin again, taking the center of attention with the bridge leading to the next chorus and hyuna singing it.
a tight rubber band
she sang, body moving to the moves the rest of her teammates were doing, synchronization being amazing before she broke into her original rapper moves and personal charisma.
we’re holding onto the end and being cautious
don’t wanna give or receive scars
she continued to sing, a small pout placing itself on her lips as she patted over her heart with one hand, shaking her head as she stood still in the center of their formation. but before the final line she had, hyuna smiled brightly, aiming a finger heart right at the camera
only because of our attachment, we’re dangerously enduring
with that, she was swiftly spinning to the side, letting bin take the center. it was soon and the song would end, so would their stage, and so would the team, but she pushed the thought away and focused on delivering the performance to a professional level.
doyeon delivered the final part of the chorus, staying in the center before the music changed and they all started singing. they were all clapping their hands to the beat and gathering around doyeon in close proximity to do the last few movements of the choreography before beginning to jump around singing together.
she was running around the stage, a small bounce in her movements as she sang loudly to the lyrics enjoying this little break they got.
we had a good run
no more lingering feelings
she then found yoongi, not so far away from her and wrapped her arm around his shoulder, jumping with him for few seconds before letting go.
after many seasons
our end has finally come
as hyuna let go, she teasingly pushed him smiling widely at him and soon going back to her designated place in the formation. it was all calculated.
and they all danced the same way they did in the opening, all of them singing as well. moving in unison and aiming for the unique harmony ikon had, but with their own colours. the body rolls were fun, hyuna never really had the opportunity to do them before so she definitely mad ethe most out of them as she continued to sing.
right before yoongi, their leader, delivered the final line, they all gathered around him, and she looked directly at the camera before saying it in unison with him.
we gotta go
and making a hand gesture, indicating the camera to follow them before twisting on her foot that was further away from the audience and walking away, with the rest of the team.
that was it. that was the final bit they had to do before waiting for the music to finish. when it did, they all turned around and bowed politely at the audience, and made their way to leave the stage. it was the adrenaline playing, hyuna blamed, it was probably because it was the first stage she ever shared with yoongi and it was an amazing stage, she was beyond happy with how the performance went and it was fun. something she enjoyed having on stage and something she couldn’t really experience while under royal.
but as she was lost in her own thoughts, she tripped, down the very last step that was leading them off the stage. it was funny really, it made her laugh as she pushed herself up, ignoring the way her ankle ached. she could hear marks “oh my god!” somewhere behind her, yoongi and doyeon helping her up, and she insist she’s fine. it’s nothing even as the pain increases. she smiles and laughs through it.
then a staff member pretty much drags her away, from doyeon and yoongi’s arms and hyuna’s smile drops instantly. mark stays with her for a while, before asking her if she could go and see sicheng. of course, she says yes and he is off with the wind. her other teammates are no where to be found, but once she insists enough, the staff member just hands her an ice pack from the first aid kit that appeared from nowhere and told her to go get it checked.
with a smile and small wave, hyuna thanks them and they disappear again. the pain is still there, and walking on it, was definitely a bad idea because she felt the tears appear in her eyes. yet, she made it to their changing rooms, and sat on the nearest seat she could find. she slipped her show off and kept the sock on, before breaking the ice pack and pressing it against her ankle.
she kept her eyes on the monitor, watching the rest of the performances and mentally preparing herself, because she’d have to get back on stage.
