he was already dressed, seonghwa knew he wanted to go out while he had the free time. yeah, the company offered help but he wanted to try his hand at it on his own. that didn’t mean he didn’t mind a little bit of the company. the main reason he found himself seeking out woohyun. if there was anyone that would go out with him, it would be woohyun. and it didn’t take to long to the other in the living room.
“hey~” he sing-songed a bit and came to sit down next to woohyun on the couch. “do you want to go shopping with me? i’m trying to figure out what i want to wear for the party.” he had a few floating around. it wasn’t his style to do something hard or overly complicated. “it shouldn’t take too long but i always enjoy the feel of planning it.” either way, he knew it’d be fun at least.
when ariel’s birthday approaches, he somewhat panics. unsure of what to get her, unsure of what to do– there are so many thoughts, so many words he could convey. part of him says keep it quick and simple, their comeback is approaching and he doesn’t have time to do something extravagant. the other part tells him to go above and beyond, leave his heart wide open and bare for her to see once and for all.
woohyun worries incessantly about it. but he makes plans; he puts in an order for a bouquet to be delivered– something he had researched that would be popular amongst something like confessions. another tidbit, another little glimpse of his heart without saying it outright– but woohyun wants to. every day that passes, he wants to say it louder and louder. it’s set to arrive a day or two after her birthday, a little late but he’s sure to send a text warning her of it. he puts a note with it, brief and simple: a quick little note, with a header and footer of lyrics from eclipse’s recently released album, specifically the song daydream, which he’s been playing a lot since it’s been released.
‘more than the star light there can shine on you, i want to fully embrace you.’
( happy birthday to the prettiest mermaid with the most enchanting voice. always thinking of you. your royal prince, x.)
'i want to cherish you forever and ever.’
there’s something telling about the look on their manager’s face when she’s handed the flowers this time around and the lingering question in the air once ariel catches a glimpse of the tag makes her laugh a bit nervously. a raised brow before walking away, ariel lets out a soft sigh when their manager is distracted by either ahyoung or joohyun from what she can tell, laughter trickling out from another room in their dorm. it must’ve been picked up from her way into the dorm and ariel crinkles her nose at the thought that she could’ve gotten it herself, that she could be one more degree closer to woohyun in that way and it’s an odd way of thinking, she knows but it’s been so long since she got to see him face to face that she can’t help it.
fingertips brush against soft petal pink and cute inclusions of cotton. the colors remind her of spring, of one of the more recent times they did get to meet up and she lets out another sigh. if she could see him now, she would but she knows better. reading the note with more clarity leads to flushed cheeks and she’s placing a palm over one of them, nose still crinkled as she tries to will it away before ahyoung can catch her. the joy from her birthday continues to carry over in moments like this and when she goes back to her room, she makes sure to leave space for it at her bedside. rather than texting, she wants to call again, but she can’t yet so she records herself singing the same lyrics he wrote, pressing send and resting the phone on her chest as she lays down, closing her eyes. it’s worth it, isn’t it?
( sms // ariel ) happy birthday, ariel~~~
( sms // ariel ) something’s arriving for you soon! maybe tomorrow or later this week!! ^^
( sms // ariel ) i hope you can hear my heart deleted.
( sms // ariel ) i miss you deleted.
( sms // ariel ) i hope you’re doing well~
( sms // ariel ) miss you.
( 💌 ˟ 𝙊𝙐𝙏𝙂𝙊𝙄𝙉𝙂 » 남우현 ; 우리 사랑하는 왕자 💝 )
☇ ohhh a surprise gift, thank you!
☇ is it you ❪ DELETED ❫ ᵎ
☇ me too!! a little birdie told me you guys are traveling soon
☇ be safe!!
☇ bring me back a souvenir ㅋㅋ
☇ i miss you too.
☇ let’s see each other when you get back, okay? 💖
with comeback preparations in full-swing, woohyun finds less and less time for the approaching birthdays of his members. there’s two this month– jinwook early and seungcheol a couple days after his. a lot of his gifts come with weeks and days of thought, gift hunting a head of time so he’s not overwhelmed with promotions or preparation. jinwook’s is more on impulse, with the want of being able to give him something before they head into the harsher time of preparation.
it’s a cute animal crossing plush keychain – celeste, he had chosen happily, remiscent of his and jinwook’s conversation about the cute character. bought for jinwook in mind after a couple hours of searching late into the night (a decision he doesn’t regret at all, even if he drags his feet through training the next morning). when it arrives, woohyun’s quick to wrap it in a cute gift box, attached with a brief note to jinwook.
he sets it on jinwook’s bed, right in the middle where he can’t miss it.
’ to our sunshine jinwookie~~ happy birthday! time flies doesn’t it? our talented composer. thank you for being born. here’s to many more years together~ let’s wish on it! love you~~ x, woohyun ^^ ’
the day feels full of surprises, and when jinwook finally arrives back home, he discovers yet another: a small gift box on his bed, one last gift. he reads the note first, smiling immediately at the greeting. time flies, indeed. it’s been almost three years since they’d met when woohyun came over to sphere, and now jinwook can’t imagine a group without him. when he lifts the pretty lid of the box, his grin widens. let’s wish on it!, said the note. jinwook laughs to himself as he picks up the keychain, the plush soft under his fingertips. she’s perfect — representative of the stars, protecting their wishes, always looking up. it’s only too bad that jinwook didn’t get the chance to tell fans about the gift in his birthday stream.
that doesn’t mean jinwook can’t show it off, though. he clips it to the hook of his small carry-on travel bag, a cheery splash of color that will definitely show in the airport photos for their upcoming trip to la. he opens instagram and swipes to the camera, framing the keychain in animated hearts, with the note and box visible behind it. jinwook adds small text to the photo: ‘cute star girl from cute hyung 🥺’, and a tag for @convex_royal before posting it to his story. then he runs out of the room, eager to track woohyun down and hug him in person.
《 ★ rkxroyal 》 the pattern continues and hoseok wishes he had the foresight to see it coming. he could’ve but, this time around, he had remained hopeful. a part of him wanted to refuse the possibility of losing yet another group member exists at all. perhaps that’s what leads to his demise, to the silent moments he doesn’t know what to do with himself, and his usually active self comes to a standstill when he least expects to. extra hours spent working on dance, on committing 8 counts and nuances in the choreography to memory, willing it to become muscle memory so he could dance this in his sleep yet when it comes time for the part on their knees, he’s frozen. looking to woohyun who he’d asked to stay with him, just for the company if anything, he chuckles bashfully, scratching at his nape. “do you mind if we take a break?”
forcing himself to stand, he goes over to his backpack, considering splashing his face with water at this point and settling for taking a generous sip. with a loud ‘ahh,’ he avoids looking in the mirror, turning away and staring at the practice room door. maybe he should ask to call it a night instead. how to pull this off, he asks himself, how to act as if he hadn’t just come to a complete stop in the middle of dancing.
when he had first received the news that they would be covering call me baby by unit black, he had looked at the piece of paper where the line distributions were. listening to the song he could remember having heard it somewhere a couple of years ago but he couldn't remember where. jaeyun found the color associated with his lines, maybe it was a blessing in disguise that he wasn't familiar with whose lines he had gotten-- because as he sat there and practiced them he didn't feel overwhelmed of any sort.
jaehyun had found himself curious however and later he had looked them up then the realization hit him that he had once again big shoes to fill. jaehyun exhaled deeply and when it was time to practice the dance with the group, he looked at changmin ( @michaxrk ) as he performed his little solo moment. a warm smile appeared on his face as he watched him from the sidelines, then also hearing woohyun ( @rkxroyal ) sing made jaehyun realize ( once again ) how talented the older was, the same with taeyong ( @rktaeyxng ) and he found himself wanting to do well-- to improve and make the members proud to say he was apart of convex.
for the next couple of weeks, jaehyun practiced the bridge the most-- looking at his own reflection while he sang and danced ( even if it was pre-recorded and his voice most likely would be tuned ), he still wanted to deliver a faithful performance and in his eyes, the bridge was incredibly impactful and he needed to do well
--
the day of the performance came and jaehyun watched himself in the mirror after he had gotten his hair and makeup done, while also making sure his clothes were sitting properly. he wasn't nervous but he did feel something in his chest, nervous excitement. it hadn't been that long since they had appeared on stage with pretty u and today they were greeting fans again.
there was also the fact that juhee ( @rksora ) was there and he still remembered the call they had at the end of june, where they had agreed to meet up this weekend. the month had passed so quickly-- he shook his head, he needed to manage his expression while he was there around people. in the monitor they watched the other performances, when it was their turn to walk up on stage, jaehyun followed the others onto the stage, while finding his place he nodded his head at the crowd to greet them.
when the music started, once again he looked at changmin as he started their song this time, it looked more polished now than at the start of the month. woohyun's and taeyong's voices sounded good, near the end of woohyun's part jaehyun walked up to his place and then when it was time he started lip-syncing ( which honestly felt weird, he didn't really like it ) so he danced, since he didn't have to sing he felt he could dance more precisely than before.
at the end of the third chorus jaehyun put on a melancholic expression while delivering the performance with juyeon, woohyun sang his high note. jaehyun felt the adrenaline of performing run through his veins as he danced on stage and looking into the camera made him feel alive ( even if he wasn't singing live ).
it ended sooner than he had thought and while walking off stage he saw juhee for a fleeting moment, he wondered if she had seen him as well but he couldn't dwell on that as he followed his members away from the stage.
