officialphoenix: hello to the loveliest rubies in the whole world! i received so much love today, i couldn’t be more touched 🥺️ i had a lot of fun and i hope you all did too! thank you for letting me have another birthday with you by my side and let’s spend many many many more together. 🥳️🥰️💓💝💗💞
hyesun was not one to get nervous or to doubt herself. at least, not on the outside. she had always achieved every goal she’d set her mind to, with barely any obstacle to trip her up on her path to the top - how could she possibly feel anything but complete certainty that she’d fulfill this dream too? and yet there was a nagging thought in the back of her mind, one that dared to challenge hyesun’s unshakeable confidence. she always knew that her strength was in her performance - her dancing ability, her onstage charisma, the way she could change from a bright eyesmile in one moment to sharp daggers shooting from her gaze in the next. and hyesun had always been around other trainees who were skilled in the areas she lacked, girls who could belt at the top of their lungs or rap faster than hyesun could process their words. but here, she could hear the other competitors practicing for their auditions through the walls. it dawned on her that girls from countless other companies also surpassed her in vocals in rap; that while her presence could hold down the stage, she wasn’t a musician the way they were. even though hyesun felt in her bones that she could dance circles around any of them, she was also starting to sense in the pit of her stomach that there was value in having more variety in your skill; that if her dancing alone wasn’t enough to distinguish herself from the pack, then she was in deep trouble.
it was with this attitude that hyesun dove headfirst into the first task of the show: the pr video. she knew she was charming and that she’d do well at the audition, but this was her true first impression, the one that would set the tone with the voting audience. her knee was bouncing as she sat awaiting her turn, but when the production assistant called her name, hyesun suddenly felt completely in control. she took a deep breath, shrugged on the lab coat and stethoscope she had brought as props, turned her internal dial up to eleven, strode into the centre of room, and bowed to the staff seated opposite the wall with a big select! logo.
“we’re running behind, so everyone only gets one take,” a man seated next to the cameraman said, peering over the large lens as if to clock her reaction to this news.
hyesun nodded. “thank you, i understand.”
the man returned her nod and gestured to the cameraman, and hyesun was faced with a blinking red light. she put on a bright smile and bowed, her high ponytail slipping off her back as she did so. “hello, select viewers! my name is kang hyesun, and i have been training at angelfish entertainment for two years. i will work hard to be a performer who dazzles you, so please support me!” she held up the end of the stethoscope that was hanging around her neck, holding it by her cheek while smiling to the camera. “why don’t i check your condition first?” she approached the camera, furrowing her brow in a show of concern. “hm, it looks like lately you haven’t been entertained, so your eyes are tired. not to worry, i’ll treat you, so please sit tight!”
hyesun stepped back and tossed the lab coat to the side - that being the prearranged cue for the audio director to put on “change your mind” by britney spears. like a well-oiled machine, her gaze turned coy and flirtatious - hyesun was in a different space when she danced, and she wanted it to be clear to the audience that this was what she was best at. she hit every sharp angle on the beat, nailed every tiny detailed move that the dance teacher at angelfish drilled into her. she could sense that she was doing well, doing amazing, that she was making it clear what she had to offer and why she was worth the viewers’ time. she was confident. it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the world realized what hyesun knew - that her debut was within reach.
the song cut out as she completed her choreography, and hyesun grinned again, brushing some long strands of hair away from her eyes. “i only gave you a quick treatment, so please make sure to return often during the next few months to be completely cured! you know i don’t give up on my patients, right?” she winked at the camera and let out a giggle at the corny lines. “remember to vote for me in exchange for your medical expenses! thank you!”
tldr: minho reacts to his own debut! cute! too bad it was really late and baby bear is sleepy.
A jaunty tune plays, fading as the trainee spins around in his chair, overzealous, and narrowly missing in his attempt to grab the table in front of him to stop. He spins again, giggling, and successfully brings himself to a pause.
Curled up in a plain white hoodie he can’t remember buying ( maybe he borrowed it from another trainee? It couldn’t be Hyeon’s since he was allergic to wearing anything that wasn’t black. Maybe Subin hyung’s? ), Jang Minho smiles into the camera. He waves and bows in his chair, hood falling forward to cover his head.
“Hi, everyone!”
He pauses, glancing around, looking sheepish. He lowers his voice to a softer tone. “Hi, everyone~ It’s kind of late right now, but I’m going to be reacting to some videos today. Specifically, two!” He paused to giggle in excitement, flapping his arms around.
“Blue.M’s debut is today!”
A flurry of squeaky sound effects play as the trainee wiggles in the chair, almost falling off in his excitement. He makes excited noises as he shakes and shimmies in the rolling chair.
“Isn’t that the most exciting thing ever! Our music videos, yes two videos, get released at midnight, so I stayed behind to react to it live! Well, this has to get edited by the PD-hyungs, so it’ll probably come out after the music videos do, but I’m with you in spirit!”
He pulls his phone out of his hoodie pocket to show his phone. The background is of a dog he met in the park last week, a big golden retriever named Noodle. He shakes it in front of the camera, waiting for the camera to brighten and showcase the time: 11:55pm.
“Five more minutes! It was really fun to film both music videos. Our title track is Bloom Bloom, which is really upbeat and cute. We got to play baseball. I’ve never played baseball before, but it was a lot of fun! The props on set were really pretty too, I liked all the flowers and the little space ship!” He plays with his sleeves as he talks. “We also filmed a music video for Humph!, which also had baseball! I think our PD really likes baseball. I got to play a referee and got my own whistle. Can you whistle? I can’t, so getting one was nice.”
He purses his lips together and attempts to whistle. Nothing comes out except for a breathy wheeze. He tries again. He fails again.
Nevertheless, he smiles brightly. “Hyeonnie and Subinnie hyung were really funny in Humph! They played rivals and pretended to fight. It was really cute!”
At midnight, a cute alarm goes off. “It’s here!”
Minho taps away on the laptop in front of him. His eyes shine brightly as he finds the music video. He presses play, letting the opening notes of Bloom Bloom fill the studio.
At the bottom left corner of the screen, a screen recording of the music video appears for fans to watch alongside Minho.
Every now and then, he sings along or comments on different scenes.
“We got to play baseball on set during breaks! I was really bad at making any goals, though.”
“Hyeonnie looks so cool here, doesn’t he? I love his hair color.”
“Subinnie hyung is so good at singing! Isn’t his voice so pretty? It’s one of my favorites.”
“Goal!!!”
A small text appears on the screen: We’ve informed Minho that you don’t score goals in baseball.
“Wasn’t it such a great music video? I’m going to put on Humph now!”
The scene cuts, and suddenly the white hoodie is gone, replaced with a t-shirt and fluffy bunny headband. Minho rubs his eyes, yawning sweetly. “Um. Where was I?” He peers closer at the laptop in front of him, bunny ears flopping forward. “It’s 4 am? But it was just midnight?”
He blearily leans in, squinting at the clock.
“Did I film my reaction to Humph? I can’t remember. But I had a really cool dream, it included ghosts and Miles hyung and Kiha hyung and—”
The screen abruptly cuts to black as large white text scroll across the scene: The artist fell asleep while filming. Please go to bed when it’s bedtime Minho-yah.
officialphoenix To the Rubies that showed up to our impromptu meet and greet, thank you for coming even though it was really last minute. I was touched by your support and your kind words. I can’t wait to see everyone again in the near future, including those that couldn’t come.
