#ws:solo

[wsyurim]

date: sometime in late november

word count: 492

summary: while yurim enjoyed summer storm, she finds that strawberry moon is overall a more fitting song and concept for herself. however, that doesn’t stop her from being concerned about her acting skills for the music video

note(s): n/a

she thinks the timing is a little off and that maybe yuseong didn’t fully plan out the whole thing, but it’s still a solo debut nevertheless. with a song that she enjoys much more as well. that’s not to say that she had many complaints about her station song released earlier in the year, but the moment she listened to the demo for strawberry moon, she could sense that it had been written for her. well, not exactly, but she thinks that the company did a swell job in picking a solo debut single for her. 

the actual music video filming, however, requires a bit more of her creativity. she’s on a set that consists mostly of a green screen background. the director tells her that later on, they’ll be including a giant strawberry moon in the background. she gets all sort of directions about how she should look surprised and mesmerized. all she can think about is how in the world she’s supposed to do all that while looking at at a green screen. 

if she knew the answer to that, she would have debuted as an actress instead. 

however, she tries her best. even when the requests get a little more ridiculous like how she’ll be lifted up in the air by a wire. something about a bunch of little trinkets floating around her. as if she’s been transported to a magical place. if yurim knew this music video would require so much acting, she would have taken some lessons beforehand. the last thing she wants is her awkward facial expressions ruining what she thinks is a beautiful song.

it takes a couple of hours, but the director seems to be satisfied that he moves onto the next scenes. her partner for the day is a young actor that she hasn’t seen around before. yurim can overhear the staff members talk about how he’s a rising star. maybe she should start watching more dramas or something. it may have helped in her having to act all lovey-dovey with him. 

but he’s more skilled than she is and takes the lead as her arms flail around as she isn’t sure what to do with them. there’s a few parts where they get a little too close to the point where she thinks her fans might scream a little, but the thought of that only makes her laugh. while she doesn’t have a boat of overzealous fans, she knows that they exist out in the void somewhere. 

music video shoots take forever with her group, but she didn’t think it’d take this long all by herself too. she decides to embrace it as a flattering moment though. if yuseong didn’t have much faith in her, they probably wouldn’t have invested so much in her solo debut. taking a deep breath, she closes her eyes and tries to set her mind back into an acting mode. 

this is still only the start anyway.

[wskiha]

𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐎 𝟎𝟐 — 𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐎:𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐈 𝐀𝐋𝐁𝐔𝐌 𝐃𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓

the idea of a solo is thrown around almost like a joke by one of the producers that kiha is closest to — at least that's what it sounds to him.

it isn't like kiha has never thought about releasing a mix tape here and there, perhaps when he still believed that yuseong would have enough trust on his skills or that at least he has been working with them for long enough for them to allow him that much of a creative freedom. of course he's grateful for the space that he has in phoenix and he isn't dumb to take that for granted, the same way that he knows it's sort of a big deal for a big company like yuseong to consider the songs that he submits even though they always put what they think are phoenix colors in it and kiha has yet to release a song that was completely produced by him.

but kiha doesn't push it, maybe because his ambition isn't that high or because he knows he has time, but either way he doesn't push it and let yuseong do what they want with his songs. at the end of the say his name will still be in the credits, at the end of the day some part of his colors will be in it and kiha is very much aware that's more than some groups ever get to do so he accepts what is being given to him.

maybe he's resigning himself with too little and being taken advantage of, but if he has to be honest, he doesn't really care— at least not for now.

and that's why he isn't expecting when one of the producers — his favorite, if the main vocalist might add, maybe because he's the one he interacts the most or maybe because this is the one hyung who reminds kiha the most of his grandfather with the way he treats the main vocalist and gives feedback to his songs — throws the idea when kiha was showing him one of the songs for a future phoenix album and comments that it could fit more of kiha's colors than the group's, that maybe kiha should consider thinking about a solo project. the maknae already had his solo so it isn't like it's an unheard thing of a phoenix member to release a minialbum. kiha himself released a station song too.

even if the main vocalist laughs it off when the comment is thrown at him, it's still something that he thinks from time to time and eventually he decides that perhaps he could at least ask. the most that can happen he'll be denied and then he'll just go back to his studio to keep producing phoenix songs.

well, he doesn't go back to his studio to keep producing phoenix songs.

but it sort of almost feels the same as if he was working for his group, but then he's alone when he goes to take pictures for the mini album's jacket and photocards, he's alone when he sits by the producing team and watches them tweak the songs that he submitted for his mini album and he's alone when he suggests his own tweaks to the demos he's given, to the lyrics and melodies he's recording; but then he sends a demo to seojin and asks if he's feeling like writing lyrics for it, feels like it's important that his long time friend has a touch of his in kiha's first official work as a soloist.

he's alone when everything is said and done, when he's asked to come to one of the meeting rooms to receive the first copy of his mini album that has yet to be released. it feels weird, kiha thinks, but not a bad weird, not the kind that would make him think that this might be the last time he'll do a solo work until phoenix disbands. actually through this whole process, it didn't really hit kiha that this is his baby, not phoenix's but his and his alone (and a little of seojin's, he guesses) and suddenly everything hits a little different.

he asks to the director in front of him if he can take pictures. they seem a little hesitant because the album can't leak, but maybe it's kiha's too shining eyes that makes him give in as long as kiha is careful with the pictures.

the main vocalist takes one of the front of the album and sends it to miles — because of course he does — with a couple of sms about how he feels like he's going to cry because his minialbum is ready even though he was almost— he was ok throughout the process, didn't hit him how this is a little different from what he usually does, a little more special until he had the physical copy on his hands. and then he sends it for taejoon too with a little more excited and less sms attached to it.

"you really liked it, didn't you?" the director comments while watching kiha interacting with the mini album.

"yeah," and maybe kiha sounds a little like he's going to cry but the director is nice enough to not point it out. "yeah, i really did."