lgcyuseong

[lgcyuseong]

out of the comfort zone

HANBYUL:

there are a lot of new faces that have come through in the last few months, and admittedly, hanbyul has been so focused on filming the last drama that she hasn’t really spent as much time getting to know the people around her. however, with the new term and involvement in the musical, she’s determined to get to know the new folks that have started here in the department.

one of those faces is yuseong, and as they’re on a short break from practice, she approaches him, seeing that he looks somewhat pained at everything going on. hopefully, she isn’t projecting those thoughts onto him. it would be horrible if she were assuming incorrectly. “hi,” she notes with a gentle smile. “everything alright?” she asks, waiting to see if he might need help with anything ( not that she might be the best help, but she can try ).

he's startled when someone approaches him — and not just anyone, but one of the most senior actresses at lgc agency, and his eyes widen when she asks if everything is okay. "oh, um —" he splutters slightly, half in disbelief that lee hanbyul, with countless appearances under her belt, is asking him if he's alright. "i. um. gosh," he can't seem to get his tongue under control, biting down on his lower lip. it's weird because he's not like this with alec, who is probably equally as famous and almost as senior, but then alec is alec and yuseong is just used to alec.

"um, i'm sorry, i'm not usually like — this, you're just. you're very famous," yuseong says faintly, his eyes wide as he blinks at her in mild shock. "i. um. it's an experience i haven't had before," he explains in the most diplomatic way that he can, "and i'm struggling a little bit because it's my first time. um... what about you, sunbae-nim?"

[lgcyuseong]

when they had been casting for the musical, yuseong can say quite honestly that the last thing he had expected to have to do was take combat classes. it almost feels like a more advanced version of dance, which he had slaved over improving during the weeks of workshops, and had still only gotten so far. it's different though, learning dance for the sake of a musical versus learning it because it's going to be part of his life for the rest of his career. at least, as an actor, the chances of dance being needed in the next casting calls is slightly lower.

he's draped a towel partially over his face so that no one can see how exhausted his expression is. he's not full of stamina (and honestly, if there's anyone who's not tired after this combat lesson, he's impressed) and certainly not for something that seems to require this much synchronized movement. but at least it'll be another tick in the skills tab he's keeping, another thing that he's learned to do even if he doesn't excel at it.

"how in the world did us working on singing end up here?" he groans when he hears the familiar voice, smiling as he lifts the corner of the towel to glance at jieun fondly. it had been more than nice to work with her during the workshops, and he's just glad that they seem to have gotten closer during that grueling time. this is almost worse, though.

"this feels like some advanced form of complicated dancing. i'm so impressed by the instructor," he admits with a laugh and he pulls the towel off his face, sitting up again properly and taking a gulp of water as well. his cheeks would flush at her warm words of congratulations if they weren't already pink, and instead, he shoots her a slightly shy smile. "thanks, but i really couldn't have done it without you," he says earnestly and he means it — working with her had definitely been a new experience and one that was undeniably helpful. it had also been enjoyable, and that had made all the difference. "as i thought, you easily landed a supporting role, too! and you have lines, too." he says with a playful smile.

♡.· BREAK A SWEAT

a small sigh of relief escapes between her lips once they announce a thirty minutes break from the stage combat lessons. when she said she wanted to challenge herself as an actress, she wasn’t expecting that, and not even her regular pilates classes could help her right now. 

exhausted, she sits on the floor next to @lgcyuseong​ to rest a bit. jieun dabs a towel on her forehead and drinks a gulp of water before turning her attention to the actor. “did you know that improving your singing would lead you to this class?” she asks, still laughing at the irony of the whole thing — singing seemed to be the least of her problems now. 

but if that’s what she has to do to achieve that one goal of hers, jieun will prepare for the action scenes of the musical as if she was starring in an action movie as the lead. in the end, it was all about making the best of every situation, and the girl sees everything as a stepping stone. “i knew you would make it though,” she reveals with a gentle grin. “and a support role? i’m proud of you, yuseong-ah.” and she was happy to be working with friends again, because enduring all this tiring prep process wouldn’t be as bearable without them. 

[lgcyuseong]

insanity

* / loading story with ... @lgcnicky !  

it isn’t until they’re back in the privacy of their dorm room that yuseong rounds on nicky. the horror has been building and as much as nicky might seem to hate him now, yuseong still cares for the other. 

“what in the world were you thinking?” he whispers urgently to his roommate, careful not to raise his voice too much. they still have a manager in the dorm, after all, and after the whole incident with yuan and aiden, yuseong has been more cautious, more careful to never present a bad side. it’s part of acting, isn’t it? 

swallowing the things they’re not happy with and pretending that everything is okay. isn’t that just another form of acting? the fact that nicky had spoken up so aggressively, so rebelliously, against heo aecha, in front of everyone — if yuseong’s being honest, it’s even more concerning. 

“in front of everyone?” his voice is equally full of disbelief and concern for his childhood friend.

[lgcyuseong]

out of the comfort zone

* / loading story with ... @lgchanbyul !

yuseong has to admit that while he'd been happy to have been casted for anything in the musical, no matter how minor the character, he'd also wondered if maybe he had overstepped in his own capabilities. he had never excelled as an idol trainee, and while he had worked incredibly hard during the workshops, he's still afraid of not meeting people's standards. it doesn't help that there are people who are far more experienced and talented than he is too. even alec, no matter how close yuseong is to him, is intimidating.

newsies is dance heavy, too, and yuseong isn't sure that he's going to be quite up to par. that doesn't mean he's going to give up, but his nerves are definitely through the roof after a stage combat workshop. another thing he's unfamiliar with and will have to throw himself into learning.

none of this is easy, but it's a good experience, and that's what he keeps telling himself. it'll be good experience for the future. and his seniors would have good advice to offer, he's sure — if he could work up the guts to talk to them first, somehow.

maybe his stress is showing on his face, as he tries to mentally review the steps and things that the instructor had been teaching them.

[lgcyuseong]

this is kind of late because i’ve been very dead, but summer trimester plot call here! i’m also going to be dropping some threads as i haven’t been able to reply to them and they might be quite outdated, but please let me know if you’d like to keep them! 

ACTING MISSION 011: LGC MERCHANDISE (0/1)

open for plotting with ANY MODEL!

ACTING MISSION 011: MASCOT PERFORMER (2/2)

@lgcnicky​​

@lgcrieon​

CASTING CALL 008: NEWSIES (3/2)

@lgcalec​​

@lgchanbyul​

@lgcjieun​

DROPPING

a cause for celebration w/ @lgcyura​

commes des garcons w/ @lgcyuan

cats are more powerful than you think w/ @lgchyoseop

brotherly bonding w/ @lgcalec

cheese! w/ @lgcjiahn

unhappy reunion w/ @lgcnicky

KEEPING

the path not taken w/ @lgcaiden

guilt-tea w/ @lgchayoung

late night habits w/ @lgcsomin

[lgcyuseong]

@LGCENT just posted a photo!

all dressed up and ready to go! 📸

#lgctrainees #lgcent #seoyuseong

[lgcyuseong]

late night habits

SOMIN:

     “thank you, have you been watching the performances?” if anyone asks, it’s because they’re friends and also she’s been asking all of her friends this. if it needs to go deeper, she has the built in excuse that yura would probably beat him up if he didn’t watch all their performances, so she’s not too worried about appearances at all. she hangs out with many boys one on one so another being added to the list isn’t a problem, she’s pretty sure. she’s not sure why she has so many male friends, but this isn’t something that she’s ever minded before and honestly? she’s probably benefiting from this because no one would (hopefully) ever accuse her of dating rumours because she could so easily claim how many other male friends she has.

     “i didn’t realize it’s been so long though,” somin admits easily, because she really didn’t. the months since the finale of future dreams season four had been a blur for her, considering all the preparation for their comeback had to be done. the music video shooting and the song recording and the choreography learning made time all blur together to the point that she only knew the day of the week by which music show they were performing at. but also all her sleeping hours were so skewed from promotions that she’s been sleeping weirdly now that they’re over.

     it’s weird, that during promotions she had both been very excited for it—because debut, duh—but had also wanted it to be over so she could, and she quotes, ‘sleep for a week.’ but now that promotions are over, she misses it. 

     honestly, she already can’t wait for their next comeback and it hasn’t even been announced yet.

     she stabs one of the skewers into a piece of ddeok and bites into it, chewing quietly as she indicates for him to have some too. “shut up,” she huffs at him, and while her usual tactic is to shove food into her friends’ mouths to shut them up, the ddeokbokki is hot and she doesn’t want to hurt him. “it’s good, okay? though i usually just eat at the stand,” she admits, shrugging afterwards. 

     poking the skewer into one of the fried things, she squints at it for a moment before determining that it’s probably a fishcake of some sort and pops it into her mouth. “what’s up with you? anything interesting happening now that you’re going to become a famous actor?”

“of course i have,” he says with a little pout that looks nearly offended, eyebrows furrowing together momentarily. “there are so many people i care about, how could i not watch your performances?” there’s the built in excuse of his sister being in crystallis — as if anyone could fault him for paying close attention to crystallis when they’ve made their relationship no secret and have the family relationship documents to prove it. and he and hyejoo have been friends for a ridiculously long time, with childhood photos to prove it and everything. but these close relationships are a perfect reason to be able to pay attention to crystallis, and more truthfully, to somin, who he has nursed a budding fond feeling for, for quite some time now. 

the timing has never been right. the timing still isn’t right. and it probably won’t be right for a long time. so maybe yuseong just has to resign himself to a long period of pining — because there’s no way either of them would ask the other to risk a hardearned and well-deserved career for a relationship that may or may not last. 

it’d be better to be stuck in sseom than commit and suffer potential consequences, he supposes. 

reaching out with the skewer, he spears a piece of ddeok, popping it into his mouth quietly and chewing thoughtfully. “i usually eat at the stand too, but i heard that you’ve been staying pretty late these days. i wanted to check on you...” and see you, he doesn’t say. but he’s sure that she knows. 

her question almost catches him off guard, but thankfully he still has the ddeok in his mouth to buy him a moment of time as he composes himself again. “maybe i won’t be such a disappointment to my trainers,” he replies dryly, half a joke and half not. he hadn’t been the best idol trainee — there was no denying that, and he’s even more of a nobody if compared to somin, who had just debuted. “i hope that i’ll get a chance to do something interesting that i can excel at,” he admits with a small smile. “like alec hyung. he’s really making a name for himself. what about you? are you excited for your next comeback, or in need of a rest?”

[lgcyuseong]

@LGCENT just posted a photo!

the weather is getting warmer! ☀️ everyone take care in the heat 😊

#lgctrainees #lgcent #seoyuseong

[lgcyuseong]

ACTING MISSION 010: MUSICAL AUDITION SOLO ! WORD COUNT: 965

yuseong had thought long and hard about what kind of song he should perform for his audition. he isn’t that confident in his singing or his dancing, even after all the workshops that had given him more confidence than before. so the key, he thinks, should rather be to pick a song with a range that isn’t so complicated, but to express his acting ability through the song. the key to a moving musical number isn’t the soaring notes or the fancy vocal riffs, but the emotion and story that can be put behind the song. that’s what he believes, at least. 

he’d scoured through plenty of musical numbers before finally settling on “너로 인하여" from wicked. a gorgeous song, really. one originally sung by the two female leads, but with some key changes and some tweaking, it was a song that yuseong felt like he could sing comfortably in his range, with lyrics and a melody that he thought he could properly express emotion through. in korean, too, he could really focus on expressing his emotions rather than on the memorization and pronunciation of english lyrics.  

but getting up on the stage in front of all the judges to evaluate him feels totally different from all the times he’d practiced, whether it’d been on this exact stage or not. it’s the eyes on him that make all the difference. closing his eyes, he takes a deep breath, letting it out before he opens his eyes, nodding at the person behind the music. when the music starts, he tries not to think too hard about the eyes on him, instead focusing on the lyrics of the song. 

            (( click here for a male solo cover of the song, and here for the original! ))

the vocal range is perfect for him to start off softer, building slowly into the chorus. it matches with his nerves as he grows in confidence, the familiar song and lyrics pouring out through him in his face, his actions, his gestures. when the song comes to an end, yuseong feels almost jerked back to reality, lowering his mic carefully and bowing to the judges before they request his dance segment.

this is probably the part he’s most nervous about. he’d attended the workshops faithfully, even asking rieon to give him extra pointers and tips to improve his dancing, which had always been one of the weakest skills he’d had. (he was praying that they didn’t look too hard at his rapping, which he was absolutely hopeless in. thankfully, that hadn’t shown up in this audition.) he executes his practice dance routine to the best of his ability, fully aware by the time he finishes that there are going to be people who are much, much better than him in this aspect. but he’s trying his best, and in the end, that’s all that really matters, right? he’s new to the actor path. there are going to be other opportunities, and as long as he does his best, everything will be okay. 

then comes the part that he has the most confidence in — the acting. acting is something that yuseong has been studying and practicing for years now. whatever the prompt he’s given, he thinks he can improvise on it well enough. 

(( SCENARIO B: you and your friend reunite at a party. it’s been years since you’ve seen each other. your friend tells you, “don’t look at me like you’re sorry. you’re not sorry.” ))

he takes a moment to consider the prompt before he settles himself into the role. letting out a burst of incredulous laughter, his voice is disbelieving as he asks, “really? really? it’s been years since we’ve seen each other, and that’s the first thing you’re going to say to me?” he scoffs, turning away from the supposed friend to mask the expression on his face that the judges can clearly see — heartbroken, upset, pained. “i thought that maybe at least we’d exchange some greetings, maybe say hello to each other at first.” his voice takes on a slightly bitter tone, face contorting in disappointment and frustration. “but the first thing you say after seeing me for the first time in years is that? really goes to show what matters more, doesn’t it? your pride is what matters to you, or you wouldn’t be bringing this up before we get to anything else.”

the breath that he lets out is shaky, running a hand through his hair and shaking his head in disbelief. “you know what? if it’s that important to you, then fine. i’m not sorry. i’m not sorry that i tried to be the voice of reason to you when you were making one of the worst decisions of your life. i’m not sorry that i told it to you honestly. i think you needed it. i still do.” here, his voice softens a little bit. “i am sorry that it hurt you to the point where you wanted to discard our friendship. i’m sorry that it broke us apart.” his voice takes on a little bit of a pleading tone. “but can’t you see? it’s still hurting you. won’t you please — can’t we please talk it through again?” the ten minutes is filled with a conversation between him and an invisible friend, a friendship which the harsh truth had split apart, putting all the emotion and pain he can into the scenario.

when it’s over, he turns to the judges, bowing his head politely, feeling a little bit shaky after immersing himself so deeply into the scenario. he doesn’t know how he did, compared to other people, but he definitely gave it his all, and only time (and the judges) will be able to tell him what the results were. 

[lgcyuseong]

LGC BABYSITTING SERVICES: REFLECTION SOLO ! WORD COUNT: 313

by the end of the babysitting services show, yuseong is definitely ready to take a break from children. they’re fun and cute, but it always seems like any kind of attention really gets them going on another level — and of course, what else do cameras give but attention? it always feels like children get 300% harder to handle in front of the cameras. yuseong doesn't remember being this tired after playing with kids before. at the very least, he's grateful that the babysitting services program wasn't longer — like a few days or, god forbid, something like a week. that would definitely have been exhausting.

does he love kids any less? not really. but he can definitely eliminate being a kindergarten teacher or anything like that from his list of potential future careers. he’d barely been able to keep a handle on a group of a few kids, let alone a class of thirty. maybe it wouldn’t be so bad if he’d had some kind of professional training, though. 

still, overall, it wasn't too bad. it's definitely something he would participate in again if asked, and variety shows definitely beat out idol shows where yuseong has to make a fool of himself doing something he's not very capable of doing (read: dancing). variety shows almost feel like an extension of acting, and acting is something that yuseong does considerably better than he sings or dances. if only he could participate in more things that were more suited to his actual abilities and not the idol life.

“overall, i had a lot of fun. the kids were really cute, and it was fun to get to work with my fellow trainees. i’d definitely do it again in the next season, if they’re interested in having me!” giving the camera a warm smile, he shoots a thumbs up before he can second guess himself.

[lgcyuseong]

it’s all about popular

CAMERON:

the absolutely goofy grin that spreads across his face is unintentional, yet he does nothing to stop it. “meong meong,” he mocks yuseong once he sits in his prior spot on the floor. cam may not be a runner, nor a trackstar- but he’s good at duck, duck, goose, regardless of the fact that yuseong was demonstrating for the kids.

puppy boy, he affectionately names the kid from before in his head, gets picked by yuseong next. cam feels like a solar panel in the middle of the desert soaking up the sound of children’s laughter for energy. they’re just way too adorable. it sometimes feels like his heart will explode, sometimes makes him sad he doesn’t have younger siblings to dote on and help raise.

cam’s basking in it all, watching as the kid beats yuseong and seeing his friend laugh; although they’re filming and this is for an end goal– he thinks it’s kind of relaxing and fun. he’s kind of glad he was able to participate. he had reservations at first, not knowing if he’d do well on variety, but it all seemed to work out.

“meong, meong!” the voices of the kids echo out as someone new is chosen.

he sends a playful look at cameron once he sits down in his new spot, the boy whose spot he had stolen now very into the game, calling out the animals loudly before he taps the head of a girl, all of the children making puppy noises as the girl scrambles to her feet to run around the circle. of course, as expected, the boy makes it back first, and the girl immediately sets to picking a new dog. 

with a triumphant smile on his face, pleased that the children are so happily entertained by this game, he finally feels a little relaxed. this is fun, watching the kids get so involved in the game and seeing them running around and laughing, shouting meong meong in unison every time a new dog is picked. 

finally, it comes to the time where someone picks cameron again, and yuseong’s lips curl up at the corners as he waits to see what his friend will do. 

[lgcyuseong]

making memories

SIWOO:

there was something that siwoo never really thought of much, or even considered, over the years. the fact that someday he would actually be in the position that he’s in currently. musicals weren’t something he at least didn’t know about, though his mother never once had mentioned anything about having to someday participate in such a thing. this could also just be something that some companies did while others didn’t, the latter being his mother’s previous company before she had given up on acting. so, he couldn’t blame her, not like he even wanted to anyway, for not at least giving him some sort of heads-up on the area.

because of his dream having always been to follow in her footsteps, siwoo never really thought about putting some of his focus into singing, though now he was regretting not doing so once the subject of the new musical had been brought up within the company. not being able to even hold a pitch was going to prove to be difficult and make his chances of even trying to get a spot in the musical, even if it were just in the background, very slim.

the best that siwoo could even hope for at this point was that yuseong could manage to help him enough to get by, hoping that there’s actually a song out there which would be easy to pull off with his lack of vocals. if not, well then, siwoo would have to start focusing on putting in some of his time to attempt some vocal lessons to help him improve, even if it was just a little. at this point he already knows he’s a lost cause, but at least by the end of this all he would be able to say that he at least tried his best to make some sort of improvement.

even when the other male takes the spot beside siwoo, he watches yuseong and listens carefully to the key being played on the piano, eyes squinting slightly as he thinks for a moment before clearing his throat. he inhales slowly before exhaling soon after in an attempt to help him relax a bit more, knowing very well that he’s possibly overthinking things. “i’ll try?” he states before sitting up straight, inhaling one more time before he opens his mouth and allows some sort of sound to come from him. though, as he does so, his voice seems to crack a little which causes him to end up going a little off-pitch in between the actual note he was even barely managing to sound out. “see, i’m hopeless. there’s no way that they won’t boo me off of the stage and tell me to get lost.” he tries to half-joke by letting out a small, yet forced, chuckle.

he inhales softly, hoping that together they’ll be able to find something for siwoo that he can sing so that the auditions won’t go completely terribly. he hopes that if it turns out siwoo really can’t sing or dance, that he would be able to skip that part of the auditions. it seems a little cruel to make someone participate in an audition they know they have no ability to perform for. it’s not really conducive to positive character development, he thinks. 

but first, his stronger hope is that siwoo can sing or dance and is simply selling himself short. he plays the note quietly, letting it ring out for the other to listen to. he feels for the other — that’s why he’d offered to help siwoo, despite not being the best singer himself, because he knows what it’s like to feel so behind in something that it almost feels hopeless. sometimes, he thinks that’s the difference between him and another actor, like rieon, who excels in dancing. siwoo has been his friend for a long time, and there’s loyalty there that yuseong doesn’t easily let go.

then siwoo tries to sing the note he’d just played, and internally, he winces when siwoo’s voice cracks and goes a little off-pitch. yuseong might not be some kind of classically trained singer or even a trainee with an exceptionally amazing voice, but he knows that pretty much every male trainee he knows can hit that note, and siwoo’s performance here, in the practice room, does not bode well for the actual workshops and auditions. outwardly, however, he nods slowly, swallowing, his adam’s apple bobbing in his throat, and he says bracingly, “it’s okay, siwoo hyung. even if you’re not that good of a singer now, the workshops will definitely help you improve. let’s try another note, okay?”

with that, he plays another note, one hopefully easier for the other to reach.

[lgcyuseong]

☀ ︴responsibility

INDY: 

indy grins as both yuseong and the young girl wave at him upon their return; he easily returns the gesture.

indy finds joy in simple things. for example: a child high fiving him after going to the bathroom successfully, apparently. “nice,” he comments, even if it would’ve been kind of funny for her to fall in the toilet. honestly, indy would’ve laughed pretty hard, but he knows this outcome is certainly for the best.

the little girl soon drags them toward a play kitchenette, which indy is already well acquainted with thanks to another child who proceeded to cook and serve him an egg at least five times. of course, indy pretended to eat it every time too. it’s a good thing he’s not a vegan, or else he would’ve had to sacrifice his diet.

he hopes the little girl is a bit more creative, at least, but she immediately goes for the pan and the eggs too, and indy’s life flashes before his eyes just a little. to be fair, he realizes, upon a little further observation, that there’s no other food option to cook to be found.

“yuseong, do you see anymore food? like, fake food. all i see are the eggs.”

playing kitchen is always an easy way to entertain children, or so he'd heard from friends who had experience with kids cafes and other types of places that were designed to amuse children whose parents needed a break from them. he wonders how they got so many kids of the same age to be in one place. he vaguely remembers something similar, although for himself, he's not sure if it was a show like this or if it was simply him being brought to a kids cafe to play or something.

"other food? you're not actually going to eat it, indy," he points out with a laugh and a tilt of his head, smiling at the little girl in amusement as she bustles around her kitchen with determination, and he's not even surprised when she reaches for the eggs and pan. it's the only thing that's ever really available, other than fake fruit, and he supposes that if indy isn't up to having eggs (in a pretend game) for some reason, well — far be it from him to not ask. "let's see what she offers us on the menu then."

"excuse me, sajangnim," he calls dramatically. "i'd like to order, please?"

[lgcyuseong]

crocodile tears

TOUYA:

it’s easy to find a calm state once again when yuseong is around. ever since he met the older, touya has always found him to be comforting. a presence that he could find solace in without worry. this is a good example. the fact that it took the older very little time at all to figure out not only what the issue was but to then solve it? incredible really. touya could never–at least not right now. he has no confidence when it comes to tending to kids. he’s not sure if its something that comes with age or something he will learn over time. 

not that he is really thinking of spending more time around kids after this. sure, if theres another event with babysitting or something similar then maybe? but touya is just a teen. an idol teen at that. he’s losing his train of thought. 

the child in his arms isn’t heavy and the weight of yuseongs hand on his back causes the teen to finally relax a little more. finding comfort in the fact that the kid didn’t wake up again during the transfer. he knows they’re getting close to nap time anyway so it makes sense that this kid would be so tuckered out. “taking care of babies is so difficult.” he mutters after a long moment of just trying to be relaxed, calm, and cool. not wanting to stir up emotions by being emotional. “i should call my mom and thank her later.” the tone of his voice is so serious, nodding to himself before giving yuseong a small smile. “thank you for the help, hyung.” 

he chuckles softly as touya takes the child with no problem, the gangly teenager seemingly amazed but also nervous about the child that's dropping off in his arms. it takes a little bit of time but he feels touya's shoulders relax under his hand, and his lips curve up in a faint smile when he notices this. "you're right," he replies with a soft smile, watching both the child and touya rather affectionately. he's always seen touya as someone who is still very much a child, so to see him caring for an actual child is a such a different sight, but one that makes him proud.

"you're so sweet, touya-chan," he says with a fond smile and his expression is soft. "you're right though. sometimes i think we don't appreciate what our parents have done for us until we have to take care of kids ourselves. it's a lot of hard work... i definitely took it for granted," he admits with an amused smile.

"you did most of the work on your own, touya. you kept him entertained and happy up until this point," he reassures the younger gently. "i think you can put him down for his nap in a little bit, and then you'll be all done. good job, touya-chan."

[lgcyuseong]

♡.· BOP TO THE TOP

JIEUN:

this is not a comfortable situation for her. from a young age, jieun learned how to direct her energy to the right areas so she could be excellent at some point, and distance herself from her weaknesses, so having to prove herself with skills she hasn’t mastered make her feel vulnerable. but on the bright side, she doesn’t accept being in this position easily, which fuels her desire to challenge herself and see how far can she go.

so she smiles and nods as if she has at least some control. jieun was honest before; she can hold a note and has a nice vocal color, but her vocals are far from being resonant, full and rich, as expected from a musical actor. still, she won’t reinforce it anymore or it becomes an unchangeable truth. “it’s a deal!” she grins widely. “shall we start with vocal warm-ups so we don’t strain our vocal cords today?” she suggests, more focused on the singing techniques considering that the acting aspects of it come more naturally to them.

“mm i see… i think you might be surprised with your skills after all these workshops,” she responds after listening to him. if she wasn’t busy filming the last episodes of her debut drama, she would be a regular face in the workshops but since it wasn’t the case, she had to give her all to this one and practice by herself later. on the other hand, she thought it was a great opportunity for the new actors to thrive. “maybe you will get more confident until the audition,” she continues. “but the ensemble is a good opportunity anyway.”

his following question is one she’s been asking herself a lot these days. there are mixed feelings about many aspects as she knows her place in all of this but also wants to be seen, to make people wonder why was this side of her hidden. “i’m honestly unsure about all the singing but i want to show my acting so i’m hoping to get a support role,” she says then lets out a laugh and asks him, “am i being a little too greedy?” she doesn’t think greed and ambition are bad. she just have to prepare well for this.

there's something very disconcerting about being in a situation where he'd thought that he would finally do better, be more successful and see better results in his trainee path, only to be hit by a series of musical acting workshops. it's a little bit of a downer, to be part of the acting path and think that he can focus on his acting, only to be faced with the same hurdles that have plagued him over the past year and a half as an idol trainee. maybe it'll be easier when it's mixed with acting — a means to an end rather than the sole thing that people will focus on. "yeah, let's warm up," he agrees, and he can't help but smile ruefully as they settle down. "how do you usually start your warm-ups? i always start with humming."

jieun's words lend him a bit of courage and strength, and he can't help but smile gratefully at her in response. "thank you — i'm really nervous and i think it's showing. but i'll work hard during the workshops and i hope that it'll pay off," he says earnestly. "if i can get any experience at all, i think it'll be worth it."

at her question of whether she's being too greedy, he shakes his head firmly. "not at all," he says and his expression is sincere. "i think you can definitely do it, especially after these workshops. and honestly, you — we all work hard. i think it's proper of us to want to see our training come to fruition, isn't it?" he points out logically, drawing from her encouragement earlier. "you should be more confident, too. i think you'll do well, jieun-ssi."

[lgcyuseong]

crocodile tears

TOUYA:

it’s comforting to know he hadn’t done something terrible to upset the kid. sure he knows that little kids have basically adult sized emotions in their little bodies but it’s startling to experience it first hand. he finds himself wondering if at some point he was like this. maybe he should ask taiyou–has his brother ever done something like this? touya feels like he should know this but honestly his brain has short circuited. a little overwhelmed with everything going on.  

maybe the kids emotions got to him too.

still, when yuseong offers to let him hold the now sleepy kid, touya feels himself nod. he wants to do a good job here. to show that he can be responsible and handle these kids without many issues. he knows it’s hard work to take care of so many ltitle folks but he thinks he is doing a good job. so he holds out his arms to accept the kid back in his hold.

his heart feels so warm when the little boy snuggles into his shoulder. though there is a moment where he shoots panicked eyes at yuseong again. muttering softly so not to startle the boy. “like this? am i holding him okay?” 

he very carefully shifts, wary not to disturb the very sleepy child — sleeping children are rather like sleeping dragons, and you would be better off letting them lie rather than trying to disturb them on the verge of sleep. but he has confidence that in this situation, the child isn't quite sleepy enough to throw a fit over being moved, and will simply settle into the next person who holds him, as long as someone warm is still holding him.

transferring the child from his arms into touya's is easier than expected, smiling brightly when the little boy accepts the transfer easily, snuggling into touya's shoulder, and his heart warms to see the teenager holding the toddler so tenderly. but touya gets a little worried, the panic in his eyes building, and yuseong reaches up to rub touya's back gently.

"just like that," he confirms gently, not wanting the other's nerves to influence the child's drowsiness, and he squeezes touya's shoulder carefully. "relax. you're doing really well," he encourages softly. "he's snuggling into you, see?" his eyes are bright, finding the sight absolutely adorable, and he's sure that the viewers will, too.

[lgcyuseong]

☀ ︴responsibility

INDY:

“you’d be surprised,” indy says. the chances of a child falling in the toilet on his watch are far higher than he’d care to admit. it’s not just anxiety, but a history of evidence of his bad luck, clumsiness and general irresponsible aura despite his best efforts. maybe, this time, they could’ve avoided catastrophe, but he really just feels better having yuseong do this, though it would be kinda funny if she fell in the toilet with yuseong watching out for her.

no, he doesn’t want to jinx it. there will be no falling in the toilet today.

yuseong ruffles his hair, and indy laughs. “you really do act like an older brother,” he comments. he might act even more like an older brother than indy’s brother himself does, at least in the responsibility department. indy would never want a brother other than harb, but he and harb can both be…a little slow, known to make questionable decisions from time to time, even with the best intentions. yuseong, however, has an unquestionable aura of knowing what he’s doing.

“yeah! you got it,” indy replies with a nod. cleaning-up-lego duty it is. he just grins as yuseong pats his head, too. maybe others would see it as condescending, or get insecure about their height (considering how short indy is…) but he knows it’s done in fondness, so he doesn’t mind it at all.

he watches as yuseong and the girl nyoom away, then drops to the ground, collecting legos and putting them back in the container at the speed of light. he thinks it would be nice if he could clean them all up before yuseong gets back. it shouldn’t be a difficult task; yuseong likely already did the brunt of the work.

sure enough, he finishes before the pair return, and he looks around for anything else to busy himself with. he doesn’t want to get caught up with one of the other kids yet, because he wants to make sure he’s available to thank yuseong again and tell the girl she did a good job. maybe that’s a weird thing to say, but kids need positive reinforcement, right?

they return before indy really finds anything to do, and he beams at them. neither of them look any worse for wear. “she didn’t fall in the toilet?” indy jokes, then looks down to her, holding out a hand for her to high five. “good job!”

he can't help but laugh a little bit at indy's comment just before he departs with the child that has suddenly become his responsbility, finding it amusing that indy would comment how much he acts like an older brother, because, of course, yuseong is the youngest child of his family. but like he always thinks, if he's a good older brother, it should be attributed to the fact that his sister had taught him well. that she had set a good example that he had inevitably learned from.

it doesn't take him too long to help the girl with everything, the more awkward part simply being that he's male and shepherding a girl into the bathroom, but the fact of the matter is that they just have too many males in their group. he's sure it hadn't been intentional, but it certainly does make for a slightly awkward situation when it comes to this particular issue.

before he knows it, though, they're heading back to indy, and yuseong holds her hand, having made sure that she had washed them. children often have a strange understanding of what's clean and what's not, and not wanting to take any chances, he'd made sure that she had done so. honestly, children are adorable, but they're also disgusting. if only he had the immune system they seem to have.

"let's go back and play with the nice oppa, okay?" he asks her, and she nods excitedly, obviously now very ready to get back to playing without the call of nature distracting her from having fun. when they re-enter the room, he smiles at indy, waving at the younger trainee, the girl copying his motions, and he laughs in response to indy's playful question. "not today," he says with an amused smile, the little girl eagerly meeting indy's hand with her own small one, even if she's not quite sure she's being told good job and given a high five, it seems to put her in a good mood.

"want to play in the kitchen," she demands of them both, seizing indy's hand as well without letting go of yuseong's, and he looks helplessly at the blond-haired trainee.

"kitchen time it is," he says with a rueful smile.