#sphere;solo

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

mock interview time.

personal talent, pikachu impression.

30th November 2017

#rknov17eval

it was time, the day of the mock interview with the coaches, once again another test minhee was eager to pass like a good student but it is never that easy. she spent time preparing for this interview but what if she is underprepared or overprepared? the anxious thoughts started to plague the mind has entered the room, bowing & greeting all the coaches with a bright yet somewhat nervous smile. minhee sat down in a chair in front of the panel of the coaches like it was some job interview, she pulled her hair back into a bun cause she knew she would end up playing with her hair during the interview if she left it down. the trainee sat up straight, legs closed together placing her hands on her thighs sitting alike lady which her mother brought her up to be.  she took a deep breathe, preparing for what to come.

questions time.

The first coached looked at Minhee asking the following question; 

“You just released your debut song. Say a few words about it”

Minhee smiled brightly at the coached who asked the first question, she had a feeling on this would be one of the types of questions, so she prepared her our imaginary girl group name and idea on what the other sphere trainees would be. It was silly really and never thought she would able to get use it right now. “Urania’s debut song Stellar is a beautifully melodic piece of music gifted alongside unique vocals and words filled with wanderlust. You will fill like you would be transported to another universe, please support us and look forward to us in the future!” 

“How do you feel about your company’s style of music?”

Onto the next question, this one felt so easy to answer as she is a fan of all the senior artists under Sphere entertainment and felt honored that she is now trainee under such company.  “I love the style of music of sphere! You find the songs are always quite refreshing to listen to and I’m huge fan of many seniors within the company especially Sunny Hill, personally love the lyrics of their songs always fills my heart with different kinds of emotions. I’m excited to get a chance one day to work with the music geniuses behind the songs I love and create something for which Sphere would be proud of.” 

What’s your position in the group? Aside from your position, what special talents do you think you have? (Feel free to demonstrate.) 

The one question she has been dreading as she doesn’t know what position she would fit in the group and she believes she doesn’t have many special talents either yet she just play what she believes her strengths are, a soft hum vibrated from her lips before she answered with full of enthusiasm “I’m Moodmaker Minhee who’s charge of the visual & vocals of the group! I make sure my girls are always happy ready for anything to make it easier for the leader. Would you say pole dancing is special talent?” she laughed softly shaking her head, “I know how to work a needle and create things with my hands but I think my personal talent would be my pokemon impressions. I spent a lot of time watching cartoons when I was sick in my younger years so I end up picking up on how to do pokemon impression..” she explained before showing off her pikachu impression with cute mannerisms to match too.

Rank your group members according to visual ranking.

“I’m number one-” she answered quickly showing off a finger before laughing softly, shaking her head in embarrassment, clearing her throat. “I mean we are very beautiful in our own ways. Honestly, I think Rachel would be number one, she’s so tall and model like...so pretty..I can’t compete with that. Second would be Seulgi, she has such unique look to her and reminds me of an adorable elf. Irene & Juyeon next, those two are so small and precious looking dolls. Sulli & Luna next, their charms are so different, Luna tanned complexion is like summer beautiful compare to snow white Sulli! Lastly, there is me, Minhee..”

You were a trainee for 8 months, Was it difficult? Why do you think you debuted so quickly?

Minhee laughs a little at the question, in all honesty, if she did ever debut now she wouldn’t feel she was ready. There is so much she needed to learn before even being put in the spotlight yet she had to think on why would the company think she would be ready. “It’s very challenging yet rewarding too. At times you want to give up as it seems impossible but then thanks to either fellow trainee or a coach to push you that extra mile to achieve the goal in hand. I think they saw that I’m willing to work my hardest every day and found that valuable trait to have to become an idol. Hopefully, I can be a good influence on others in the progress.” 

Idol schedules are quite difficult. How many hours of sleep do you get per night? How often do you get to see your family? Did you enjoy chuseok?

”What is sleep?” she joked playfully before shaking her head, tapping her lower lip lightly with a smile. “I tend to have this habit of falling asleep in most bizarre places, I think that where my nickname came along. I’ll work until my body stop that enough then I literally crash. I am not sure on how much sleep do have but I tend to sleep deeply  & well.”  Minhee’s heartfelt somewhat heavy about the family question, she honestly missed them so much and wish she could see more than she could. “I always enjoy Chuseok, I move back in with my parents during that period. Just so I can eat with them for breakfast and dinner when I got home from training. My mother would give me massage to loosen my tense muscles sometimes...due to the training. I don’t get to see them often as I want to but I always get supportive text messages from family members. They always make me smile when I see that they are proud of me for working hard. I would like to make sure that I make my parents proud and give back to them once I can. So they can live comfortably.” 

Why do you think you deserve to debut?

These questions really knew how to hit the heartstrings, asking some questions she asked herself and finding the answers for herself. Minhee ponders for a while as a smile to herself then gave an honest answer, “I don’t think I deserve debut just yet, I believe I still need to work on a few things. Sharpen my tools so to speak. The reason I want to be because I’m willing to go the extra mile, push a little harder than any other else. My ability to preserve and help aspire others when feeling not so strong myself would be a valuable trait to have in a girl group. I want to be the glue which helps everything sticks together. I deserve debut when you believe I have done enough to show that I’m one you need.” 

You post a picture of Lee Seunghwan, which you call him by Kangjoon and posted it on Instagram. How do you know them?

The girl's face brightens up at the question, laughing softly to herself as the memory of their first meeting replayed in their mind. “We went high school together & he was the reason I got my first detention, ruined my perfect record. I remember I was so scared about it, not sure what even detention was yet I guess we bond other that moment. We’ve been friends for many years since then. Back then, he would never be that we both trainees now but look how far we have come. He’s like a brother from another mother...”

Interview ends.

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

 What Sphere Wants ; Sphere Doll Minhee

After feeling quite lost on what direction she meant to go, trying to become triple threat was exhausting & difficult for the trainee who’s  so she had talked with one of the trainers to help her mold her into what the company needs instead of overdoing it and becoming useless to them. 

“Minhee, you’re pretty girl, no doubt about that but you have no talent..”  

The words were harsh but it was the truth, Minhee wasn’t born with amazing vocals like Sulli & Soojung or talented in rapping like Irene & Luna or able to dance like Seulgi. That’s why she wanted to work hard so she able to keep up with lovely ladies in Sphere. She knows her flaws and embraces them always striving to improve on them to changing the weakness into strength which is never easy and sometimes envies the other girls because of it.

“Typically, it easiest to teach the pretty ones without the talent to rap yet sphere doesn't need that. We already got rappers but we lack is vocalists. Honestly, you do not suit rapping yet we admire your efforts in trying in every area. The problem is we don’t know when or whether Soojung ends up coming back or not too. We desperately need another vocalist.”

Minhee took in the advice from the trainer making her feel more confident in knowing where she really needed to focus. It was interesting it was singing was the skill they wanted her to focus on making her smile to herself as it was the first thing she started to learn to do by joining her high school friend, nightingales. She did want to make Jieun proud of her so that was her plan, to keep her focus on tuning her vocal chords as Sphere do love their vocalists however she still wanted to work on dancing too as she actually really enjoys dancing now despite always falling over a lot in the progress. Maybe if she just focuses on those two and forgot about the rapping as it was not her style maybe in future if she needed to, she will do that but dancing & singing were priorities after all. The trainee bowed sincerely thanks for the guidance, feeling more at ease and excited about her future now.  

Who knows, she might be next Hong Jinyoung ( highly unlikely but the girl could dream ) 

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

* aca-nope.

#rkmar18eval

seocho training facility

another singing damn evaluation, minhee admits she likes singing but this is far more challenging than just singing over some backing track. she has to make sounds with her own mouth, it sounds ridiculous and highly doubts that she would be any use to the group she in. the female moped a lot on her own while watching pitch perfect for reference on her phone inside one of those small studios, the movie was funny, the soundtrack was sweet too. at least the group of people she working with are her dear friends who seem pretty excited as her phone was blowing up from notifications from the bro(ken) squad. it would be first evaluation where they would actually perform together as a group instead of the other trainees involved, minhee had to take the good with the bad but still she rather not do this evaluation at all, she only doing it cause she one it’s requirement and two for her friends who need her too. 

the song choice for the evaluation was pretty good too, who doesn’t love western 90′s pop medley? especially when the rearrangement of the lines, apparently kangjoon was gonna do the infamous britney bitch line. there are many good points about this evaluation but personally, minhee really didn't like doing acapella, she felt vulnerable in a way and somewhat naked without backing track plus she gotta rely on others for the sounds too. it is all quite nerve whacking, what if minhee is the one who was going off-beat and let down the whole team too?

we have to see on the day of the performance...

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

“I can’t believe I am still here...”

A simple shopping assistant with no talent blossomed into a piece of art at the sphere gallery, the masterpiece isn’t quite finished yet. Joo Minhee never thought in million years she would be training to become an idol but now she’s been a trainee for other year and came so far but it’s not enough for her. She craves perfection, there is so flaws she needs to fix and polish her newfound abilities. The journey as not been easy and she excepts it won’t get easier either.

The first day of signing the contract, the trainee was thrown right into the deep end, she had dyed her hair for the company and get herself in front of the camera for a commercial with already known trainees from other companies. Inimdiateding? Extremely. Exciting? Most certainly was. The challenge was accepted, she always loves a good challenge.

Minhee couldn’t think of any easy moment during the training, it was always an uphill battle against all odds. A pretty girl who can’t sing or dance or rap honestly what Sphere was thinking when she signed her? Those were her thoughts in the back of the mind majority of the time yet she was thankful for the chance to even become an idol though she thought many others deserve this position instead of herself. Thankfully, she was blessed with supportive friends & family. If it wasn’t for Jieun, she probably wouldn’t even consider joining the company.

There is no time to rest now, in the space of a year under the wonderful teachers at sphere & seocho, Minhee can sing without causing ear bleeds and she stumbles less during the dance classes too. She still can’t really rap, well she can badly but she's trying like she does most things. All she wants to prove that she deserves to be here like anyone else, it wasn’t for her to prove to others but herself she could do this. One year is left on the contract. 

Can she make it through another year? Will she meet her own expectations? 

The most important question, would Baek Jiyoung still want her after two years are up?

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

Notes & Flashcards*

seocho theater interview prep #rknov17eval 

Lady Luck is at the trainee’s side once more, last month she was able to show that she knows how to keep her body in check, now this month, it was testing on how she does under interviews and how to promote their future group well. During her college years, the lectures would put her through practice interviews to improve their chances of getting a job. The key is always to expect the unexpected, someone always love to throw a curve-ball. The time she has been trainee she knows that something will come up during the mock interview, she just need to remain level-head and remain cool no matter they could throw at her. 

She wishes that coaches would only throw professional questions during the interview as she is not really comfortable about talking her own personal life yet in this industry, the reality is, once you become a idol, your personal life has to be share with your fans & critics whether you like it or not. That fact alone makes her unnerve of the idea just becoming public trainee is frightening another but she knew she had to put her fears aside and just be professional about it. Minhee even created flashcards of possible questions they could ask and asked her friends & family to test her throughout the days leading up to the mock interview, it helped her think on her feet on what to say and many times she end up stuttering over her words. 

The young female at the morning & the night when she was in the bathroom getting ready either to go to work or to bed, she would practice her different facial expressions and various smiles sometimes with her mouth all foaming from the toothpaste which made her giggle a lot. Every evaluation seem so important to her, always wanted to do well even at the ones she did not like but she feels still need to prove herself that she deserve to be part of this world and doesn’t want sphere to ever regret giving this pretty girl with no talent, a shot.

 “Talent...what if they ask for a special talent?! I don’t think I have one...” 

One evening, she realised that she doesn’t really have special talent  and it started to freak her out a lot. She can’t play any instruments or do any special tricks, this was the one worry which plagued her mind but wasn’t sure what she could do? Minhee took a few deep breathes, told herself she would figure it out as it was still early in november.  

21st November, It’s honour to get lecture from Shin Hyungmin as he much know how to deal with the press interviews a lot due to his career. Minhee decided to go to the first seminar as she was eager to listen to what the man had to say too. The female sat in the theatre, listening to the words intently as she wrote them down on her page of her notebook. She needed all the help she could get and the days were nearing towards the interview....she still didn’t have special talent to show the coaches...what is going to do?

[kibumrk]

october 2017 evaluation !           area 5 - height and weight measurement

[ tw: weight talk ]

had he still been at royal, kibum wouldn’t have worried about this evaluation. he’s watched his weight consistently for years, a habit he gained when he became a model, and that returned when he became a trainee. and he isn’t unfit -- dancing has always granted him high stamina, though he’s never really been a fan of general tests like these. 

he’s gotten used to it, though, and if this weren’t his first evaluation under sphere and as a member of convex’s potential member lineup, he wouldn’t worry himself over any of it. 

as it is, though, he can’t help but be a little nervous. he doesn’t let himself focus on it, though, moving through the tasks and laughing with his friends between sets, allowing himself to be relieved that dongmin ended up in his group. 

in area five, kibum starts with the height and weight measurements, while some of the others go to the other tests first. he measures out to 180cm, then moves on to the scale. it reads 60 kg, and he blinks as the trainer recording his numbers writes down his bmi -- 18.5 -- speaks to him. “be careful, kibum-ssi,” she says. “you’re just barely above the cutoff for being underweight. make sure you’re eating enough -- we don’t want you passing out on us.”

“yes ma’am,” kibum says as he moves on to the hand grip strength test, more shocked than anything. he’s always known he has a tendency to put on weight easily, so he’s always been careful about how much he eats, making sure to balance out large meals with a tougher workout regime. he’s never been reprimanded for his weight before, not since his early days as a model when he was first getting used to the diet. but even then it was to tell him he was too close to weighing too much, not too little. 

he’s never thought he had an issue with eating or his weight, but he wonders if maybe he was wrong about that -- maybe it’s always just been subconscious, so he hasn’t noticed. still, he isn’t worried about it. if they want him to eat a little more, he doesn’t have an issue with that. 

it doesn’t seem like sphere will have any issues with his weight, though, which he has to admit is a bit of a relief. 

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

Back To School *

#rksep17eval

Time to hit the books and search the internet to study the ways of the hip hop for this new evaluation. Minhee couldn’t believe she got assigned to work on rapping skill, it made her smile somewhat laugh at the thought of even going back to the first she did on a stage at royal & kt audition with on the spot terrible freestyle audition. This time she wants to be prepared and decided to do some research on the origin of hip hop plus some classic old school songs to jam too to get a feel of it plus maybe awake her inner rap queen from inside ( hardly likely but stranger things have happened). 

Netherless by this end of this month, Minhee will create the hip hop persona along with a stage name hopefully something which people would probably giggle at as she no badass ( who knows maybe she can be ) She didn’t want to mock her friends either who love this style so she wanted to do it  justice too. This is certainly challenging for the female but she won’t let that be a problem. How does the stage name Milky sound? She thought to herself before laughing automatically throwing that idea away too. Maybe she asks the squad on this topic.

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

A Series Of Unfortunate Events

#rkjuly17eval

#streetsofitaweon

the last day of the hell month or in proper terms july evaluation and it has finally come to end. it was time for minhee to head home and lay her head down yet hell month wouldn’t let her go home so easily, where is the fun in that? 

a frustrated auburn haired woman nervously waits at the bus station for a ride home yet little did she realized she already missed the last bus, she couldn’t even check the time due to her phone was dead as door nail. she sat on the bench in the shelter to protect herself some the pouring rain, it seems everything could go wrong this month, it did. 

the woman reminisced on the past weeks, the horrid feeling of relentless training on learning these routines even accidentally bumping into one of the trainees during the dance practice from performing it in the scorching sun and dramatic downpours. this is a true test of endurance and how to handle hard situations. her cheeks ache from all the fake smiling she has done along with the rest of body due to the endless dancing too. she is certain there isn’t a muscle in her body which was not aching yet this what she ends to get used to.

from the time when the first time the clouds open on minhee after performing making her blouse see-through for everyone to see her lady lumps to the time when minhee had to chase after sphere’s umbrella like a crazy person. she couldn’t help but laugh at herself under the bus shelter as look back at these moments on ridiculous they were but it did not matter how frustrating it was at the time, it is perfect stories to share with others in the future.  

despite how everything hurts right now, she just laughed at everything she went through and just relieved she made it through alive without ripping anyone head off even though so many people were murdered in her mind. she survived hell and she knows there will be more unfortunate events on her journey to stardom as long she can laugh about it and learn from it too, minhee feels she could handle it. this is just one more bump in the end.

the real problem at moment is, how is going to get home? no buses no phone...

it was a perfect ending to really bad month...