#convex:apr20

[rkharu]

「 RADIOACTIVE  」

there was so many thoughts going on in jaehyun’s head as he sat down-- next to him, thankfully, there was jinwook-- one of the older members and also one of his roommates, out of all of the members of convex-- jaehyun could comfortably say that he felt the most comfortable around those that he shared a room with. but that felt like the most natural thing-- if you see someone every day when you wake up and then see them as you go to bed, being more comfortable with them feels natural.

“what are everyone’s favorite songs on the album?” 

that was one of the questions posed by the hots of the radio show-- jaehyun had been mostly quiet since the thing started, letting the more experienced members talk but with this question, he could feel eyes on him-- turning to his side he saw jinwook, he didn’t need to think about it much but-- “oh i think jinwook hyu... ssi’s ,” he had to correct himself, “song, pinwheel is one of my favorite songs, along with lay ssi’s song--” he nodded slowly, smiling slightly before sitting back comfortably in his seat.

                                                     ━「 w/ @rkjinwook​  」 

[seungcheolrk]

the spring to your smile.

april 28th, 2020: convex’s first 'pretty u’ and ‘smile flower’ stages.

seungcheol doesn’t think he’s loved performing any of convex’s songs as much as he loves smile flower and maybe someone could argue that’s because he doesn’t have to dance ( and he’d tell them that’s a fair observation ) but truthfully, it’s everything. he doesn’t have to worry about vocal stability if he isn’t kicking his leg back and forth like in ‘mansae’. it’s a beautiful ballad in its own right, without the added emotion of the lyrics. he gets to sing, even if only briefly, and hear everyone else’s sweet voices, too. it contrasts perfectly with the bright pop masterpiece ‘pretty u’ that they’re promoting as their title track. what is there not to love? 

they’ll only be performing it alongside the title for the first week, but seungcheol vows to enjoy each and every one of them. it won’t be often that he gets a chance like this, so why waste it? he’s never been this enthusiastic to get up at the crack of dawn. this comeback era is his favourite so far, from its songs to its schedules and it’s put a spring in his step— in his smile that seems to stretch to his eyes and flash his gums far more now than it ever has in the past. 

when they perform ‘pretty u’, he’s the picture of vibrant youth, a blooming flower. he’s got a bright grin, a sunny disposition that is relentlessly honest and true. he’d said back in february that this would be his favourite comeback yet and he hadn’t been wrong. he’s always been so concerned about shining, about standing out enough for people to feel he’s worthy of his position in convex without taking any of the spotlight away from his members, but this comeback, it doesn’t cross his mind nearly as often — rarely in comparison. he’s so blissfully happy despite the same exhaustion, despite the same busy routines. he glows without having to remind himself because he’s so overjoyed that it bursts from him like sunshine. he’s gentle as ever but bouncing on his heels; he’s comfortable and confident and it’s beautiful. 

“cheol, your new song is so good! you looked so handsome performing tonight. I sent the clip to all my friends—” his father’s laughter cuts his mother off mid-sentence, their faces beaming through his phone screen the night after their first stages. “the ballad song you did, too... I wish you could have had more lines, but it’s not fair on the other members if you always outshine them, right?” if it were any other time, he’d insist only a mother would say something so embarrassing ( and so untrue; he never outshines, only fits in because that’s all he ever wants, to deserve to stand together with so much raw talent ) but today, he just laughs. 

“you looked so happy up there, cheol. we’re so proud of you; always. congrats on the comeback!” 

“thanks, dad.” he grins, eyeing the way his mother scowls. 

she tuts, “where’s my thanks! he barely said anything!” 

“can you forward me that clip you took?” 

an astonished, “choi seungcheol!” can barely be heard over his giggles. 

[jacerk]

●// cake me up

@rkharu​

“excited about filming?“ it’s a simple question jihoon asks once he takes his seat next to jaehyun to get his hair and make up done. four am, for some members, was pretty early, but for jihoon it didn’t really matter. after eyeing the two redbulls that were on the corner of the make up table, and the one large black coffee he already had.. he knew he would have no problem filming for as long as they needed. he was just a tad worried he wouldn’t be able to contain his energy, since sometimes, they were required to stay in a single place until the other group finished filming.

“it’s gonna be a long day, hope you’ve buckled up.“ the dancer says with a hum as he slumps in his chair, waiting for the staff to start whenever she’s ready. jihoon never sugar coated stuff, he just wasn’t the type to do so. sure, he knew that there were people who appreciated that trait and some that hated his guts for it, and he is aware that he started off on the wrong foot with the new members. does he care right now? not really, it was in the past, jihoon had moved on from his own issues and anger.

[rkxroyal]

superhero,

@rktaeyxng

as they progress in their career, the schedules become more and more plentiful. there's more things to do, more places to visit under the name convex; it's more exposure, more content for others to consume-- more way to be searched and enjoyed. they have knowing brothers this month along with the beginnings of promotions and heading to radio shows. a handful of them are also appearing on an episode of the return of superman, which woohyun finds very exciting for the members that are chosen to appear.

"taeyong-ah, i'm so jealous." he says to the younger, jutting his lips out in a playful pout as he crosses his arms, leaning against the kitchen wall. "the return of superman looks like fun. kids can be so cute. entertaining to watch." woohyun chuckles. "do you like kids?" he asks curiously, brows pinching and furrowing as he tries to recall the information. "you can be honest, i won't tell anyone if you don't~" he play whispers, grinning.

[rktaeyong]

             ━━━━━━━━━━ 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 ( 𝐜𝐯𝐱*𝐬𝐜𝐡 : 𝐀𝐏𝐑𝐈𝐋𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 ) ࿐ ࿔*:･

                                                ( 𝚋𝚊𝚌𝚔𝚍𝚊𝚝𝚎𝚍 * 𝚊𝚙𝚛𝚒𝚕 𝟸𝟸 )

taeyong is especially excited about being on knowing bros -- knowing brothers? knowing bros? he’s still not entirely sure which one it is, if it’s the english title or the korean title. the details don’t matter that much -- he’s still extremely excited to be going on one of his personal favorites. it’s the one variety show that he’s constantly watching clips of, the one where he follows the activities of basically all the panel members ( classmates? brothers? ) -- don’t tell running man that, though.

upon walking into the classroom ( see: set ), taeyong gets to see everything, everyone up close -- the first thing he notes is that kyunghoon is definitely more handsome in person, and that janghoon is definitely more taller in person. he doesn’t know why, but thinking about the fact that he’s over two meters tall is spinning his head around -- it’s intimidating, but he’ll manage, nonetheless. taeyong’s sure he’s lovely and is a great person.

also, rich -- which, admittedly, is even more intimidating for him.

it comes around to his turn to try and trick the brothers -- he’s not sure if this will make the final edit, but he’s come up with an introduction so stupefying that it’ll stump the entire room.

( maybe -- he doesn’t know who knows who in the room, but he likes to think all these seniors and famous people know them at least decently well. )

“ah, hello,” waving his hand, taeyong smiles as he continues to introduce himself, “i’m convex’s cotton candy-nim,” he almost breaks character ( what character he’s playing, he doesn’t quite know ) and sputters out laughing, but recovers -- of course, it doesn’t go unnoticed by the panel before them. why is he laughing, he hears youngchul say as he claps once in amusement, cotton candy-nim, hey he’s funny, he hears soogeun utter in the back.

this is going well, he thinks -- and he’s having fun. everything’s going well and there’s no foreseeable bad thing that’s going to happen anytime soon? amazing.

“who’s the youngest member?” a question that taeyong has planned to raise his hand for in efforts to stump the brothers -- he thinks of himself as the fake maknae of the group, given how youthful he tends to act. or at least, he thinks he does so. it falls on him to prove himself -- he hasn’t prepared that much, so he decides to cop out with a quick ( and awkward ) gwiyomi, which has him actually burst out laughing into his hands in embarrassment. we know it’s not him, he got embarrassed, he hears one of them say. he doesn’t know, his head is in his hands as he tries to recover from such a cringe moment.

later, during the star golden bell portion ( another show that is one of taeyong’s personal faves -- he’s more than just an avid fan of variety shows, he thinks ), the main vocals get a chance to showcase a duet. it’s still surreal to him, being a main vocal now. he’s worked hard to try and live up to the standard, upgrade his abilities from lead potential to main potential. if he’s reached that point, taeyong doesn’t yet know, but at least woohyun is with him to guide him silently along the way -- he has the low, woohyun has the high, it’s a perfect sounding balance to him. once they’re finished, he pats a hand on the older’s back and bows, clapping softly against the now silent microphone in his hands.

the later and finishing segments are some of the most fun taeyong’s had in the past few weeks -- the hip hop skill test comes somewhat easy to him, given his previous training way before debut as a rapper. how the tables have turned, he thinks, if only i could only see myself now. the karaoke segment also goes decently well -- by decently well, he means that he just knows a lot of osts and girl group songs that fit the prompts, and as long as he could think of one of those songs in time, he was in the clear.

musical chairs ends it all -- and taeyong gets eliminated from the competition the very first round for not being aggressive and competitive enough to push people out of chairs. it’s a good thing he’s not much of a competitive person, or else he’d imagine he’d be silently fuming. he’s just here for the laughs and good times, honestly.

and because he’s obligated to be there. but of course, even if he wasn’t, he would still be here if he were allowed to be.

[rklandon]

░▐ ★_BOWL ME OVER 、

《 ★ rkohsehun 》 they don’t have many scenes together this time around and part of him is unsure if it’s less in comparison to the others. the question doesn’t last long on his mind, quickly giving way to the thought that he’d rather focus on the right here and now. it might be early in the morning when they get to the bowling alley but they’d already been up for hours. by the time he sat in the makeup chair for his turn, he’d felt fully awake so it’s no surprise that he’s jumping right behind sehun, hands on the younger’s shoulders to try and scare him a little, laughing aloud as he calls out, “ sehun-ah ” rather loudly, the sound nearly echoing in the empty bowling alley. it’s odd to see it so quiet, so void of people and sound while everything is being set up. 

“ do you think they’ll let us get a few frames in just for fun? how’s your bowling now? ” arm thrown over sehun’s shoulder, he stands beside him, tilting his head as he looks up at sehun’s hair. “ aaa, i still can’t believe your hair is so bright. we could already find you easily in a crowd before. now we’ll never lose you for sure, ” he teases. “ have they already told you to touch it up more before promotions? ”

[rkohsehun]

convex: S-POP Channel - after mom is asleep

april 13, 2020

it's only been a day after his birthday, and he's still admittedly running high on energy, which makes the whole point of the show's concept a little trickier for him than it should be. he's with jace, hyun, jinwooo and lay for S-POP channel. they're supposed to speak and move as softly as possible in the show so as not to wake up "mom", but being so used to being rowdy and noisy, and because they're laughing so much, it was harder to stay away from getting the punishment.

which, he knows, isn't the exactly the point.

the funny props only makes them laugh harder, so they either bump into one of the things on the table that'll cause extra noise that will result in a funnier props. it's a hilarious cycle, and at this point he's surprised they were able to make the cake so neatly. to be honest, he's surprised they allowed him to hold the knife and cut the cake in half so the next person can cover it with the icing they made. he's proud of that, and then he's back to just trying to keep his laughter as soundless as he could, even as they do impromptu missions of their own to make the show more interesting and funny. but at some point, they gave up trying to keep the noise down. it was nice. it was fun.

it was different from the shows they've managed to do during promotions, but he wouldn't mind doing it again in the future. his stomach hurt from laughing so much, and he's apologized countless times to the hyung sitting next to him who he's managed to hit mid laughter. it's become a habit now, and he swears he'll try and do something about it. nonetheless, they ended the show in high spirits, again, as they everyone joined in to dance to one of their songs.

[jacerk]

●// nap in

@seungcheolrk

it was their day of filming and to jihoon’s pleasure, he was with seungcheol pretty much almost the whole day. this is when his body starts getting used to the fact he can not dance as much as he wants to: one, because he has make up on; two, because they all had to wait their turn and finally three, because their clothes were usually uncomfortable. at least for him, not that jihoon would ever complain about what he wore or anything like that. however, its one of the few breaks they’ve already had and jihoon is fidgety.

“you think they will let me go for a run around the block or something?“ he asks as she sits up in his chair, after having slouched so far down he was scared of falling off. “i’ve been sat here for more than i can physically handle. come on a walk with me-“ jihoon pauses, a grin pulling on his lips as he looks at seungcheol. “hey,“ he starts again, leaning closer and placing his hand next to his mouth, as if that would make things any less worrisome about his suggestion. he is more than aware that his best friend already knew his suggestion would be bad and jihoon was aware that seungcheol would turn him down. that didn’t stop him.

“wanna sneak away and go to that mcdonald’s i saw while we were filming the running scenes outside?“

[rkxroyal]

sweet chaos,

@jacerk

with the comeback approaching steadily, everything seems to be moving very fast paced-- to catch up and to ensure everything is ready for the big day. it's growing easier to get used to it woohyun feels, as each comeback and promotions feels like theres always twice to do than the time before.

this time around, they've got a bit more preparation set up before actual scheduling, but they do have a recording for knowing brothers beginning to creep up on them. woohyun's watched a few random episodes when he has time, so he has a general gist of who the hosts are and what they tend to do.

as he steps into the living room, he pockets his phone, keeping his hand tucked in his pocket out of comfort as he makes his way over to the couch. he peers over the back of it, humming out a soft greeting to jihoon. "are you excited for the recording later this week?" he asks curiously. "the knowing brothers cast seem like they have a lot of fun together. very chaotic." he chuckles after a moment, thinking back to the episodes he's watched. "do you watch it?"

[rkharu]

「 CHECKING NERVES  」

there was so much going on this month that jaehyun had struggled to keep himself in check for march, the fact that he made his debut performance on a live concert stage had made him feel a little better about his official debut in april. to think he had actually made it to this point-- he was officially debuting and for a moment he felt guilty that he hadn’t been able to debut with the male trainees at kt and he wondered... were they upset at him?

the first week of promotions was at its end, saturday and even if he had been on stage almost all week... he felt nervous, had he been doing well? did he suit convex’s image-- had he managed to suit their image.

jaehyun’s eyes found sehun and he looked at the male-- the was no official apart of convex, even if he missed the males at kt he didn’t regret his choice, “hyung,” he uttered quietly, without realizing it himself, when he realized he had actually said it out loud jaehyun couldn't help but wonder if he was a good fit for convex.

“do i suit convex?”

                                                      ━「 w/ @rkohsehun​  」

[rkharu]

 「 a first for everything  」

“   the first time he does something is always exciting ” 

the moment he stepped on the set for knowing brothers, jaehyun wondered if he was ready for whatever this was-- he had never really watched any of the variety shows when he was a child growing up and so he didn't have a big interest in doing them either but he understood, this was a part of their promotion period. so jaehyun greeted the staff and the cast with a smile, he could have sworn he heard a giggle from one of the female staff members but he couldn't he certain.

when it was time to start the recording he took a deep breath, feeling slightly nervous but then when it all started his mind went blank, jaehyun walked in when it was his turn and stood in his designated spot.

jaehyun knew that he would be one of the quieter members but this was the first time he had actually seen how talkative some of the members were-- the topic of age came on suddenly and as woohyun ( @rkxroyal​ ) was trying to hide his age, jaehyun had somehow commented on the older being pretty old... and he covered his mouth but it somehow extracted a laugh from everyone.

when asked if there was anyone they wanted to meet he listened to everyone, then as he listened he looked at the others and remembered what he had written down on his note-- everyone had someone... was it only him that hadn't written down anyone and when it came to him jaehyun commented, pretty bluntly-- "there isn't really anyone i want to meet," his honesty garnered some laughter, "there was someone i kinda wanted to meet but not enough that i wanted to write their name down."

the show progressed and jaehyun could feel his nerves go down, the next portion of the show went on to talk about what was hiphop and what he was confident in... "well--" he said, put on a confident face, "what is hiphop to me is--" he looked at the staff and asked to borrow their notepad, "i can spin anything on my index finger," he says and starts spinning the notepad, he gets asked to continue spinning while the next person performers and he focuses on that when moving to the next section he hands the notepad back thanking the staff member with an apologetic smile.

when it comes to the next segment he looks around with wide eyes at the other members-- karaoke... a competition of doing songs, he was ready to be the reason why his team did badly because he had barely any knowledge of songs.

overall, it was a rather interesting experience for him-- it was the first time he had been on a variety show, was it something he would do again? willingly, maybe not-- if he got more comfortable maybe but he was sure that he would be told to do more if the entire group were to do them.

[rkxroyal]

dated ; april 22nd, 2020 knowing brothers recording!!

the moment they step onto the set of knowing brothers, woohyun thinks today is going to go great.

the energy is nice from the get-go; while the hosts are intimidating in terms of experience and authority, the atmosphere is comfortable enough that woohyun thinks that it'll go over well with shooting. he's all loud laughs and cheers as they enter, cameras on and recording in place. they refer to each other by number for the duration of the beginning-- and woohyun has to bite his tongue in order to not call out the other's name by habit alone.

his eyes shoot to every member as they speak up, and woohyun feels even happier at the inclusion of their newest members. settled off more towards the end, closest to the cameras, woohyun lets his eyes settle over the hosts and then to the group members; a smile in place that's hard to let droop off his face. not even when he holds his hand up for the possibility of the leader candidate, and is referred to as one of the 'older' members. it's a title he wears with pride, now-- and the comfortability of the segment goes by smoothly.

at the prospect of doing a star golden bell set up, he's even more excited. he approaches his spot to be seated with a pep to his step, looking around at everyone very similiar to that of an excited kid, rather than a man of nearly thirty. when starting through with preliminary games, woohyun is almost immediately out upon the freestly rap battle-- which he gives with gusto, but is quickly hushed by the rest of the people around him, and he accepts his position as out. when it switches to vocals, the main vocals are quickly ushered up-- and woohyun takes his place with taeyong with a happy grin and a clap to his shoulder.

it feels easy to sing, especially with how much fun woohyun feels like he's having. the song is one with a pretty melody and sweet lyrics as taeyong and him settle into the rhythm and belt out the lyrics. this is stuff that woohyun can do easily, without even thinking.

progressing through the episode makes for a lot of fun-- through games of musical chairs and watching the others do silly performances and improv skill, to a performance at the end. job well done.

[rklandon]

░▐ ★_BURNIN’ UP 、

《 ★ rkxroyal 》 there’s something cathartic about fire and it must be why people tend to have bonfires or fire pits, occasions where you throw away something of the past to purge yourself of all emotional attachment, to let go of something, and he wishes this was that kind of moment. it’d be nice if he had some kind of item to toss in, though he wonders about the logistics of how they’re on a rooftop gathered around a fire in a trash bin? what else do you call it... the word escapes him but it’s calming, oddly so. when he reaches woohyun, there’s no trace of playful hands or a joke on the tip of his tongue like usual when he approaches the main vocalist. instead, he’s quiet, lips set in a thin line as he rests his chin against woohyun’s shoulder, gaze still trained on the fire as the staff build it up to the proper height. 

in that moment, he realizes maybe it is symbolic, maybe it does carry meaning today of all days. they’re letting go of something and he realizes that might be what’s got him in a weird mood throughout the day, thinking of how they’re thirteen again but it’s different. a renewed group with strengths and weaknesses just as unique and individualistic as before, but new. they’re meant to rise from the fire again like phoenixes and he knows they will, he feels it, lifting his head from woohyun’s shoulder with a soft grin, hand landing where his chin had been as he lets out a deep breath. 

[rkxroyal]

out of place,

@rklandon

woohyun will admit that it feels nice to be promoting again. after the few months with schedules after schedules during comeback preparations, he's happy to be promoting on music shows. it feels much easier than everything else, a break of his own in a way. it does feel a bit weird-- to be thirteen again after so long, but it's a good sort of weird. a hopeful one. they’ve already received a relatively positive response with the trailers revealing their new lineup, so maybe it’s a good sign. he hopes it is. 

woohyun’s eyes stare at the performance blankly, lost in his thoughts; he absentmindedly hums along with the song that the group is performing-- another promoting artist at show champion's broadcast that he's heard of before. "i'm happy we're promoting again." he says after the bout of silence. blinking, he chuckles to himself-- turning to hoseok next to him with a small smile. "it feels..." he trails off after a moment, teeth worrying on his lip. "...different. after so long." he says quietly.  

[rkharu]

「 SLUMBER  」

unprepared.

that was what jaehyun was for this schedule, when he first saw it his jaw dropped for a moment. from 6am and until 11pm he would be anywhere but in the dorm or practice room, it had suddenly become so real and initially, he thought he was ready-- but oh no, he wasn’t ready, instead, he had found himself struggling to stay awake and the first couple of days he had managed to stay awake-- fighting the sleepiness that had come over him and he wondered how long he could go on like this.

it was already friday and they were at music bank-- he was ready with his outfit for the stage on and makeup is done, now he was sitting on the sofa in the waiting room. fighting the sleep that was taking over him, the previous days he had managed to stay awake but today it was incredibly hard. next to him he had jonghyun-- jaehyun’s gaze got hazy and his head started wobbling left and right, each time he felt his head fall forward he snapped back. trying hard to stay awake but to no avail as he eventually couldn’t control it and closed his eyes.

for a couple seconds he managed to hold his head up straight but without realizing it his head started leaning to his right side before it landed on a surface.jaehyun didn’t realize it but he had landed on jonghyun’s shoulder, so now-- jaehyun was in a comfortable state of sleep, he could still hear the buzzing around him but it wasn’t clear and he quickly fell asleep on the older’s shoulder.

                                                          ━「 w/ @rkhyun​  」

[seungcheolrk]

just seaweed and rice.

april 22nd, 2020: convex’s first appearance on knowing brothers. 

it isn’t until they’re all lined up behind the desk that he realises quite how big convex is, and quite how empty it had felt when they didn’t have a full 13-member line-up. their introduction would already take long enough without the added mystery and as they get into guessing the leader, seungcheol knows they’re in for a long ride, but every second is vibrant. there’s never a quiet moment with convex, anyway, but with the hosts of this particular show, he thinks his ears might still be ringing when he lies down to sleep later.

he doesn’t say much, but when he does, he’s polite. it’s easy to expect the worst so when he naturally stutters, he braces for the bursts of ‘how can you be an idol who stutters!’ and exclamations that he definitely can’t be the leader ( but maybe it’s a trick to confuse them? ). he’s endlessly professional, though, answers their questions in such a serious way that it leaves them scratching their heads. he is grateful, however, that they don’t seem to spend much time on him, not just because his cheeks are still red with embarrassment but because this is the new members first major appearance and he wants each of them to have the most time to shine. fans must already know a lot about him, but some of them might be seeing their new members’ charms for the first time. 

each game they play, he does his best to be entertaining enough. he tries hard and it probably shows, but he thinks he’d rather be known as someone who gives everything 110% than someone who constantly sabotages their team’s success in the mini games. 

( he likes the vocal game most because he gets to show off a little of his vocals and love of ballads. rapping might be his role and his strongest talent, but rhyming for the hip-hop test certainly isn’t. he does enjoy the teasing that it’s in his name and yet he’s one of the first out, though. ) 

what surprises him most is that through it all, he doesn’t think about his image. he doesn’t think about the ‘record high’ number of cameras on them or the way he still stutters two hours into the recording or his gums always being on show. he just has fun. it’s just friends hanging out, playing harmless ( but slightly competitive ) games, teasing each other and laughing. he hasn’t laughed this much in a while. 

maybe it’s selfish, but he hopes convex can come back here after every comeback from now on.