#get it best debut disbandment song ever hands down

[hoforwonho]

we as a society weren't ready for pristin v nor did we deserve them

[xuqijie]

miyawaki sakura x f!reader

# genre ; angst, slight fluff

# tags ; idols!exes to lovers(?), oblivious sakura, reader is suffering because they both have communication issues, mentions of iz*one disbandment, reader and sakura are same age

you never knew why sakura broke up with you before your second comeback. only when the two of you meet at a music show, then you find out the full story of your relationship.

note: stream cupid by fifty fifty like actually soty.

is love real? how could someone ever find their true love in a crowd of 7 billion people? was it even possible to find your soulmate and then somehow evade all obstacles of distance? you thought love could overcome anything.

miyawaki sakura was the love of your life, still is. a disheartening program like produce 48 had somehow given you the best years of your life; a family and a lover both wrapped in a big bow called ‘iz*one.’ when sakura had said, “we’ll stay together forever, as thirteen,” on the last week of pre-disbandment, you should have known she was lying.

when sakura said those three words to you on a night of hardship, you should have known. when she uttered her love and adoration, you should have known.

you should have known she wasn’t telling the truth. because if she truly loved you so, why did she leave? a question that had plaguing your thoughts more and more recently.

immediately after iz*one had disbanded, your then company, the black label, signed you to another contract, one that gave you more freedom in the studio, but restricted personal content. you thought nothing of it at that time, because how could they have ever known you were in a 3 year relationship with one of your ex-members?

the higher-ups knew that iz*one fans were still mourning and wishing for interactions between the members, so they took advantage and instantly you had to put out a song with choi yena, 2 months after iz*one had disbanded. all while sakura was still silent. you didn’t get many updates from her either.

and when your debut did amazingly well, you knew that your management would start to milk you as a member of iz*one.

“sakura didn’t reply to my texts, or calls,” you mentioned offhandedly to yuri and yena one day. the two looked shocked but yuri eased your worries by saying, “she’s probably preparing for her graduation in japan. she did text the group chat about it.”

yena nodded in agreement, but after seeing your body tense up, she quickly changed the subject.

“is the album coming along well?” your second comeback, only a few months after your debut. the hype was slowly dying down and your management was quick to act. this time, instead of having an iz*one member be featured, the title track would be co-written by eunbi and you.

“manager’s been forcing me to do some stuff, attend some parties,” you sighed, “but i don’t wanna spend my friday night shaking hands with men double my age.” yena looked as if she was about to respond, but then your phone lit up.

y/n🐼 [2.19pm]:

kkura i miss you

what are you doing now?

wifey 🐱💛 [5.54pm]:

hi i was recording ♪( ´▽｀)

i miss you too i wna go back to korea :(

you squealed excitedly, showing yena and yuri the text messages. yuri sent you a ‘i told you so’ look while yena faked a gag.

“you two are so disgusting,” she said, while yuri smacked her arm. “you’re just salty because you don’t have a girlfriend.”

“oh yeah? who’s fault is that?”

“what.”

after that day, you had thought your relationship skipped the strain and everything would be okay. it was only until sakura returned back to korea, you received a cryptic message from your then girlfriend.

wifey 🐱💛 [3.28am]:

let’s break up.

and all you could do was stare at the bright screen that greeted you in the wake of dawn until tears fell. of course, you had tried calling her and surprisingly, she picked up, but the phone call just made you more confused.

“why are we breaking up?”

will we stay together forever?

“i don’t love you anymore.”

you’re my favourite person in the world.

“tell me, why?”

are you sure? what if you find someone better than me? or you don’t like me anymore?

“i’m sorry, i don’t have an explanation.”

i would never do that. i swear.

“i hate you, sakura.”

i love you.

“i’m sorry.”

i love you too, y/n.

a beep sounding the loss of sakura in your life. your manager had found you in your room, under the blankets in tears. only a shake of his head and a sigh before he had to escort you to the van. because of course, even after suffering the worst heartbreak of your life, being an idol came first.

your members and especially the elder ones were reasonably upset. nako had threatened to beat sakura up if she had known that your relationship would end because of a phone call at the airport. you brushed them off, trying to display your hurt of your relationship ending as anger that sakura broke up on text with you.

“i’m fine, seriously,” you choked out, tears welling up but still maintaining a smile. the other iz*one members, mainly eunbi, hyewon, yena, yuri and minju, just stared at you blankly.

“i’m actually going to fight her,” hyewon nodded her head in agreement to eunbi’s statement. “i trusted her, to take care of you. instead of talking it out, she decides to break up with you?”

“eunbi unnie, i don’t want to talk about her anymore, okay? can we play mario kart or something else instead?” you pleaded, the mere mention of sakura piercing your heart tenfold.

the members looked skeptic but your insistence made them all resign to a night of mario kart.

at first glance now, anyone would think that you had moved onto bigger and better things. a year had passed and you had just put out your third album, cupid. most of the songs were written by you at 3am, and heavily centred on one japanese. you knew that once word had gotten out about your muse, the iz*one group chat, excluding sakura, would blow up and your messages would be filled with worrisome questions.

not only that, you were currently at a music show, where lesserafim were also at, without a doubt. their debut was a smash hit in korea, fearless charting number 1 countless amounts of times and you couldn’t help but feel proud at chaewon’s improvement as a leader, yet bittersweet over seeing your ex-girlfriend.

you sighed as the makeup artist brushed your cheeks with blush.

“i hope you don’t get too choked up when you win,” she winked at you. you shook your head, chuckling, “i mean, lesserafim’s here, fearless might win.”

“i still think cupid’s better.”

“of course you do, i’m your favourite idol!” your makeup artist finished up and you were good to go. you felt your heart speed up at the thought of seeing sakura in the flesh and silently hoped that you wouldn’t have to stand too close to her.

you got back on stage and met eyes with wonyoung and yujin, both who had returned with love dive as ive and they sent you a reassuring smile.

“i think she’s here,” you said.

“oh,” yujin shrugged, “unnie, you should stand with us then, iz*one reunion? maybe even invite chaewon unnie to stand with us.”

“that’s so mean, yujinnie,” wonyoung sighed, exasperated. “well, she shouldn’t have gave such a dumb excuse to break up with our unnie—”

the mcs appeared on stage and began the show, you caught chaewon’s wave and hesitantly waved back, not before accidentally colliding with the person behind you. embarrassed, you turn around and instantly lit up.

“yuqi!” you whispered excitedly. the g-idle member grinned, “hi! look, i think you’re winning.” you turned to the big screen, truly, if the current votes add up, you would be leading. but between lesserafim and ive, anything could happen.

“and the winner is…” you held your breath, “y/n with ‘cupid’!” the ive members turned to you and you heard yuqi giggle behind you.

“good job, unnie!”

as your song played, groups started leaving the stage but g-idle remained behind since as a soloist, it was incredibly lonely standing up on stage when in iz*one, you had 12 other girls singing and dancing with you.

while minnie and shuhua started their own rendition of your song, you laughed cheerfully, but you couldn’t help but notice the lingering shadow by the stage.

miwayaki sakura, the one woman you had been avoiding the entire night, staring right at you.

it was like time froze. you remembered telling her that those kdramas were all so cliché with the love interests meeting. the same songs playing in the back as the background blurred.

but it felt true now.

‘good job,’ she mouthed. you were about to respond when yuqi pulled you back for the chorus and the grip on your wrist was noticed by sakura, who frowned and glared at your same aged friend.

after a stage of giggles and funny dance moves, you headed back to your waiting room, ready to take your makeup artist out for barbecue since she had guessed correctly on the winner. your stomach rumbled and you took out the coins you had stashed in your jacket’s pocket.

heading to the vending machine, you gasped seeing the prices. “ten thousand won for a bag of chips? that’s crazy,” you exclaimed but your hunger came first and it wasn’t as if you were broke.

as you bent down to reach for the bag, a voice startled you. “y/n.”

you whipped your head back, gaping.

“uh, hi.”

sakura’s face was blank and expressionless but through her eyes, you could tell that she was feeling extremely awkward.

“congrats, uhm, for the win.”

you nodded. “thanks. anything else? i need to go soon.”

the japanese clenched her fists and her voice came out pained, “are you dating anyone?”

you paled.

“what?”

sakura repeated, more grit in her voice, “are you dating song yuqi?”

suddenly, all anger rushed to your head. all the sleepless nights she made you experience, all the tears you let out in the shower, all the pain you had to endure. it made you frustrated.

“sakura, what’s the point of asking that?” you snapped, gripping the bag of chips tightly which was a rather comical sight.

your ex scrunched up her nose and you had to pretend it wasn’t cute. “does that mean you’re dating her?”

“no. but why does it matter?”

“because… you,” sakura groaned, “you can’t…”

eyes filled with fury, you retorted, “can’t what? can’t date other people after we broke up? am i not allowed to find other people when you were the one who broke up with me? over text?”

“y/n, i regret it,” sakura mumbled, “i regret all of it. please.”

“please what? what am i meant to do? you broke my heart, you asshole. what is this conversation meant to be about? what are you trying to do?”

your ex looked down, ashamed, but your heart broke even further at the tears spilling out of her eyes.

“i’m sorry. i thought, when we disbanded, that we would just break up because of the long distance and… i thought i was saving us from each other. i was wrong, i love you, please let me try again,” sakura explained, her voice hoarse.

you debated. was it worth it? all the heartbreak? for sakura? you had loved her for years, but were you ready to trust her again?

“i trusted you. i don’t anymore,” you started slowly, sakura’s eyes dimming at every word, “let’s start out as friends again, i think the members miss you at our reunion dinners.”

[jikookisrealerthanmylife]

HIIIIIIIII, after a longg time!! I'm fine :D, Do you also think bts reunions in 2025 even though jk getting pushed more than the group ever?

2025 bts reunion?

YES

Not just yes but in the biggest font . Because we can see how hybe has placed it's entire hope and faith on this one particular event . Call it Hybe's need of the hour .

You have 40 million+ of easily brainwashable , emotionally vulnerable and intellectually weak waiting to get emotionally manipulated by the sentimental drama of the '2025 bts reunion as a family together ' and that will bring in huuuuge amount of money . Scooter stepped inside hybe for the sole purpose of bagging all that cash kpop fans throw in . He's not gonna let go bts just like that . They'll do everything to extract the fruit of this family bond sentiment from the Fandom- a comeback album maybe title track named ' we are back' and lots of sad ballad songs singing about their strength as family 7, bts leader boasting how the industry mocked the group was going to disband but the 'family bond' brought them together for chapter 3 and definitely the weapon all music labels use to reclaim all the money they lost during hiatus: world tour .

All this will happen just to fool the Fandom to create a mirage that their beloved bts is still existing and keep them hooked just like how it's been going on now meanwhile the group won't have unity or coherence in anything.

Bts may do activities together for 2 more years together after which group comebacks will just slow down like exo , got7 who are still haven't disbanded but not active as a group. As a fan of soloist jimin - we can definitely see continuation of solo ventures . The group will just be in the sidetrack so we still get the big W.

The Fandom is in hopes of subunit debuts . But like you mentioned, seeing how hybe is heavily pushy with just one I don't think we'll get any subunits . Shipping contents YES but not in music.

Something changed in hybe's board since last year. Scooter has now got the upper hand than paradise group. Paradise is still in picture supporting yoongi, namjoon, hobi, v , jk altogether but being dominated by scooter .

But I do also think hybe doesn't have full disclosure on guaranteed bts for longer period over the lane of next 7 years . From investors pov , I think that's why scooter is trying for another jb-alike , since all his artists are moving out so to make the best out of what's left. Scooter needs to showcase he's still capable of creating a superstar image with all credits belonging solely to him and that's why all the work jk been made to put out is a zombie work . Jk cannot claim any of those songs as his .

So to conclude : tldr;: bts won't be here for too long . Let's just smile and wave when jimin gets cozy with the short - term group .

[vctorcastellar769]

LOONA: My perspective on the issue, years ago.

The story starts as these stories often do; a young up-and-coming agency, a subsidiary of Polaris Entertainment, bound to a different mindset, starting off with a blank slate. It is single-minded and has no regard for the conformity of the usual K-Pop concepts.

The more power they obtain, the more power they can inflict upon the competition.

This agency conducts a special project, their first-ever group to be launched under their name. Twelve girls, gorgeous visuals, incredible storytelling, and new fancy art, are all coming in 18 months. They will be revealed, one by one, each with a personalized solo song and a single album until 12 members are now created. All under the name of what we all call "Idarui Sonyeo", which means Girl of the Month, or what I call "Project: LOONA"

And comes with its full debut on August 20th in the year 2018, charts are dominated by millions of numbers, hitting top numbers.

A month went by and nothing happened, sure there was no need to rush until it was half a year now, and no sign of LOONA on the streets. Hiatuses like these were normal for the public eye until news broke out and saw that the endless well of funds was dry. All are in a panic state, expecting disbandment.

LOONA was believed to have spent 9.9 billion Korean Won. In truth, however, is more of a fraud than an expense. Was stated in March of 2015, revealing trails of corrupt transactions. The investigation was conducted until the CEO of Polaris Entertainment and the company itself were kept on ice. Sure, it was years ago before LOONA debuted but the point still stands: they've borrowed billions of funds from various third-party organizations, leaving them in debt and putting themselves on ice for the second time around. Where was the money gone? No one knows on that time.

So, a severe financial crisis due to corruption, plus management conflicts contains a recipe for failure.

The disastrous fall starts with employee wages and previous external companies' payments. The question is, does this also apply to the members themselves? Yes, starting with Chuu. Saying as if it was groundless like ground beef, BlockBerry started to slowly remove her from the group schedule as this would hurt their rep. When it already has. And it's gone even worse during the 1st World Tour.

22 events and they'll have to travel around the world to perform for the Wuebits (international fans of LOONA) with little to no rest.

Until the unexpected happened; Chuu was down and out of the group, claiming that she had been mistreating staff and abusing the power as an idol. I mean... I laughed at this statement because I wish it was so true. Sure, she may be a bitch too hard to handle, but even then I know for a fact that it is not true at all.

So, if no employee wages were earned, and members were broken like glass... Where was the money gone? Cocaine for the CEO, I guess. (Author's note: I do not have evidence that the CEO is dealing drugs or has handled them. It is just one of the possible theories of seemingly endless possibilities. Drug policy in South Korea might be one of the strictest policies I've known, and the thought that occurred back then was that he used the money to get his own stimuli despite the legal law. The point still stands should the theory be rejected; corruption was anyway intended. "Then what was the money for if it's in the hands of the CEO?" IDK, RGB wheelchairs?)

9 of the members have filed an injunction and requested the termination of their contracts. 5 of them came out alive first, while the rest stayed in the basement. But time by time, they were released in their cells and started to survive on the barren depths of the K-Pop industry, doing their best to claw themselves back to where they were years ago.

And the rest... is history.

[stray-kids-react]

Idol crush teasing them

Masterlist

...

Bang Chan

° You were covering IOI's iconic song 'Very Very Very'. Which involved a lot of adorable dance moves and intentional aegyo. Doing things to Chan's heart very intentionally.

° Bang Chan's crush on you started ever since they were performing their debut stage, you cheered them on from the crowd and even told your fans to stan Stray Kids whenever you went on vlive.

° Your group was as popular as Exo and Redvelvet, so to see someone so big in the entertainment industry love his band's music... Truly did something to his heart.

° Bang Chan reached out to you a few months after their debut stage, and asked if you would be interested in dueting with him. You of course agreed, because he's Bang mother fucking Chan.

° The night you stayed in his studio, recording different tones of your voices in sync. With steaming cups of coffee in both of your hands, and a tired grin plastered across his face. That was the night you truly felt a connection to one another.

° You both have performed sexy, charismatic, and cute songs in front of one another. But you both always looked for each other in the crowds when performing, feeling a rush of joy when you find one another.

"Hyung, the camera is coming your way. Don't make your crush to obvious." Lee Know murmured, with an unfazed expression.

"I'll try... Y/n just looks so cute." He sighed, smiling shyly as you sang.

Lee Know

° You and Minho had a very strange relationship, you both liked each other and knew that. But both of you wouldn't fess up to it until the other one did.

° You and Minho would take turns teasing each other without either fandom knowing knowing, mostly focusing on doing sexy stages. You were covering Girl's Day 'Something', which was VERY sensual.

° You stood out the most in the performance according to netizens, wondering what possessed you to become this sensual God. But Stray Kids' knew what caused it.

° That whole performance reminded him why he liked you, the confident and charismatic energy that you brought to each performance was a hypnotic trance. Minho knew he wasn't going to hold back anymore.

° Once you headed backstage for the dressing rooms, he got up and followed. You were waiting for one of the rooms to be free, when a gentle tap on your shoulder caught your attention. It was Minho, who had a much softer gaze then he usually had.

° His hands lightly cupped your face, as he leaned in slowly. He didn't care if you were warm and sweaty, you were still as attractive as you usually are. His lips your soft, you could feel the slightly curve of a smile when you finally began to kiss him back.

"I guess this means our competition is over." You teased, giggling softly. Trying to hide how truly bashful you were.

"And it means, I can kiss you all the time." He replied, staring back at your lips.

Changbin

° Your group and Stray Kids were very close, and decided that you'd bless the fans with a reality show together. Everyone was hyped for this idea, but bittersweet for Binnie.

° Changbin was excited to see everyone and hang around you, but he was also nervous because he'd be around you and probably have to do something embarrassing. He didn't know how you would react to it either.

° The first episode would take place at an amusement park, where an aegyo battle was the decision for who would go on the first ride. Changbin was thrilled to see you do it.

° You perfected the aegyo without becoming awkward or over the top. You impressed him with your direct cuteness, so he wanted to repay the treat. Which got him to winning the first challenge with you.

° Changbin had to ride a very intimidating ride, and also ride it next to his crush. He has never felt so nervous before then he did when he was strapped in right next to you. You seemed antsy for the large drop coming your way, by the tightness of your grip.

° He held onto your hand like his life depended on it, screaming in pure fear mixed with excitement. You giggled sweetly at his clingy behavior, letting him hold onto you as tight as he wanted. You even stroked his hair gently once it finished.

"Are you okay Bin Bin?" you questioned, creating a new nickname that he loved immediately once it left you mouth.

"Y-yeah, thanks for holding me." He responded, a shy blush across his cheeks.

Hyunjin

° Hyunjin is very charismatic, talented, and attractive. He's the whole package, so who wouldn't be crushing on him? You were different however, because he knew about it.

° One of your members teased you a bit too loud, and Hyunjin heard... Everything. And it was evident, due to the smirk that was plastered across his lips. To make things worse, you had to perform with him.

° You were both doing a special stage where you did a cover of 'Hush' by Miss A. You knew Hyunjin was going to kill it, thanks to practicing with him for 2 months straight.

° But on stage, he looked different then when he did while practicing. A new flare of confidence and passion behind his eyes, and they seemed to peirce right into your soul. He wanted a reaction from you.

° You weren't going to be a flustered mess on stage infront of so many fandom and bands, so you just continued the performance as if nothing was wrong. You got tired of him playing with your emotions, so you teased him back just as well as he could.

° Everyone saw the chemistry on stage and couldn't get over how well you both worked together. The ending pose sent shock waves throughout both fandoms, your faces only inches from one another's. A small smile on your lips as he tried to lean in.

"I saw you try to lean in Jinnie." You teased, poking his chest as he fanned himself. You were happy when he didn't deny it.

"Well you were the one teasing me." He retorted, pouting cutely as you giggled.

Han

° You were a guest MC on weekly idol, interviewing Stray Kids who you were already quite close to. Many fans and members shipping you with Jisung.

° You were challenged to try and effect the member's heart beats, by doing aegyo or acting sexy. You were much more confident in aegyo, and aimed towards the members you knew you could possibly crack.

° Jisung smiled within the first ten seconds of your aegyo skit, his heart increasing by each pose you made. All of the members began teasing relentlessly afterwards.

° When the hosts asked why he was so easy to break, he admitted to finding you attractive and charismatic. You were taken aback by his honesty, but also flattered by his words... Especially since you liked him.

° The interview continued, but you tried your best to make him just a tiny bit more flustered. Talking cutely in purpose and doing shy aegyo, that only some noticed when you began to do it.

"So would you date me?" You questioned, once the cameras cut and the Jisung was away from everyone else.

"In an instant." He replied, showing off his bright gummy smile.

Felix

° Even though Felix is a very attractive idol with a deep ass voice and hot stage presence, he is honestly a huge softie who everyone loves and wants to protect.

° So seeing you have a very sensual dance break during your performance, would make him very shy on the inside. He'd keep composure due to the cameras that surrounded him, but he was suffering inside.

° Felix had a crush on you since before he debuted, being a fan of your music and you were his bias. You found out from another member, and decided to test if it were true.

° You looked over at him while you laid across the stage for a split second, smirking softly as you winked quickly. The members all saw your flirtation towards Felix, and teased him quietly as he sat there in shock.

° Once the performance ended, your group went back to the table which was right next to Stray Kids'. All of there eyes latched onto yours as you sat down like you didn't just wink at Felix during a sensual performance. But you were secretly scared you went too far.

° The cameras cut for commercial, and Stray Kids approached your table. Felix standing right beside you, smiling brightly once he noticed your very obvious blush filled cheeks. He couldn't notice them with the dim lit table set up.

"I'm sorry if I made you feel awkward, I just like you and though you-" you ranted, feeling your confidence fade away.

"Don't worry about it, I like you too." He chuckled, brushing the hair from your eyes.

Seungmin

° You were a solo artist, after your temporary group from produce 101 disbanded. Your music was well known, and you were one of the more successful members.

° Seungmin was a huge fan of yours, and it was as obvious as his liking in Day6. The only difference, is the tint of pink that would cross along his features when he mentioned your name. He was crushing on you hard.

° Seungmin was waiting backstage as the other members were getting touch ups done, you noticed him in the crowd and were relieved to see a familiar face.

° Seungmin felt his heart begin to skip a few beats as you approached, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks once the first words left you mouth. He had to respond, he just didn't know how to when you looked so good.

° Changbin noticed how nervous Seungmin was and decided to step in and save the day. He took you towards the food table to get some punch, he assumed Seungmin had confessed due to how shy he was acting. But Changbin assumed very wrong.

° Once the words 'you' and 'crush' left his lips, a gentle smile was placed upon your features. You left your cup on the table and began walking back to Seungmin, who was still a blushing mess. Your arms wrapped around his shoulders as you pecked his nose.

"I have a crush on you too Seungmin." You commented, burrowing into the crook of his neck as he tried to process what happened.

Seungmin looked up at Changbin, silently asking "How did you do this?"

Jeongin

° You and Jeongin were beat friends since you were trainees, many people seeing you as a sibling type of relationship. Jeongin saw it like that for a year, before his crush began.

° Only Chan knew about it, and it was by complete accident. Your name slipped out his mouth when talking to Chan about crushes and the best looking idols, the bright grin that graced Chan' face was priceless.

° You noticed Jeongin acting differently around you recently, so you searched up if any rumors were spreading towards your best friends... Instead it was a ship.

° There videos of Jeongin crushing on you, ship moments, videos of you flirting... It was endless. And you started to wonder if these videos were true evidence of something you were very oblivious to.

° The next day Chan and Jeongin were visiting your group to see your dance practice, little did they know that it was going to be a sensual choreography. Rather than the regular upbeat and slightly cute aesthetic everyone was use to.

° Jeongin was shocked to see you in this light, never expecting to see you crawl over the floor with a darker gaze in your eyes. Chan tried to hold back his laughter, Jeongin's ears were burning red and you noticed this immediately.

"So you do like me. Don't you?" You questioned, panting slightly due to the intense choreography.

"How'd you find out?" he chuckled, trying to cover his bright red ears.

[clue-can-writes]

A 7th Member?

(G)-Idle 7th Member AU

Pre-Debut Era

Soyeon is told she has to include another member to (G)-Idle and she is not thrilled

“IRIS WHERE ARE YOU?” Soyeon yelled as she ran through the halls of Cube Entertainment. Soyeon had been preparing for the debut of Cube’s next girl group, one that she was the Leader of, and she was stressed out as it was. It didn’t help when their managers criticized her every move!

Soyeon went into Iris’s practice room and saw her finishing the lyrics to a new song. Soyeon and Iris were the song writing duo for (G)-Idle and they had began the process of writing their debut single over 2 months ago.

“Iris, can you not hear me when I call you?”

“Sorry babe, I must have been listening to music when you called. It’s not a big deal!”

“Well, maybe you just need to be more self aware!”

With that quip, Iris turned around and stared at Soyeon. She was used to Soyeon like this. She had once seen her through a notebook at a squirrel for getting to close to her. 

“Go sit in the corner.”

“I don’t need to sit in the corner! I need to talk to someone about this that still has their brain put together!”

Iris looked at the paper Soyeon was holding and held out her hand. Soyeon reluctantly handed it to her. Iris took it and gestured to the corner, “You need to calm down. Go sit there until I’m done reading this.”

Soyeon huffed, but went over and sat in Iris’s “play corner.” Since Iris hated holding still, she had a million fidget toys, as well as stuffed animals, a pillow, and blankets, Just in case she ever spent the night here. Soyeon grabbed a pillow and started screaming into it, causing Iris to be extremely concerned about her bandmate.

Iris shook her head and looked at the note Soyeon had handed her. It Read:

Dear Jeon Soyeon,

We have noticed you have been appointed the Leader of (G)-Idle. While that is a good choice, we do not believe (G)-Idle is a strong group the way it is now. Minnie and Yuqi can carry the vocals, but Soojin, Shuhua, Iris, and yourself are not fit to take more challenging parts. Therefore, we have taken the initiative to add a 7th member to your group. Her name is Choi Miyeon, she will be taking the role of Main Vocalist and there will be no discussion over this.

Iris sighed and got why Soyeon was so frustrated. The girls had been preparing for almost 3 months now and adding a new member would throw of the dynamics of the group. Also, Miyeon had joined the company less than a year ago and since there wasn’t a real discussion about who would be debuting, the members rarely talked with other trainees. No one knew who she was or what kind of person she would be. 

On a brighter side, she had a reputation of being an amazing vocalist. Their executives and managers thought she was good enough for a Main Vocalist position, which easily shows her talent. Hopefully, she would fit in with the other members, otherwise this would never work out.

Iris looked at Soyeon, who still had her head in the pillow. Iris started laughing, causing Soyeon to glare up at her. 

“What is so funny? Because I can assure you, there is nothing funny about bringing another person in our group less than a month before our debut!”

“I’m laughing at you. You’re reaction made me think they were disbanding us before we even debuted! The fact that we are not disbanding and that I was worried over nothing is amusing to me, although it doesn’t seem to be to you.”

Soyeon went quiet for a moment, “Did I really make you think we were disbanding?”

“Yep.”

Iris smiled at her. It was moments like this where Soyeon didn’t show her tough, edgy side and let down her walls. Iris knew the concerns she had about bringing in another members, she had them too! 

“Look Soyeon. As Gidle’s unofficial leader,”

“I’m Gidle’s official leader.”

“Yes, And I’m there unofficial leader. Now as I was saying! As Gidle’s unofficial leader, I will meet Miyeon first, show her our debut song, and distribute out the parts. Since I always make the best first impression, I should obviously be the one meeting her first!”

“You never make a good first impression!”

“It’s rude to interrupt people!” Iris said, looking at Soyeon who was glaring back. But at least she stopped talking. “I will work with the girls and re-group the dance to fit 7 instead of 6.”

“And what if you think she won’t work well with us?”

“Then I’ll tell the company, they may force us to debut as 7, push back our debut date, or maybe they’ll just accept us as 6. But let’s not burn any bridges before we get to them!”

“You’re not using that right.”

“I’m using it the way I want to.”

Soyeon sighed, but knew that in situations like these, Iris handled it better. She knew how to talk with everyone and get them on her side. She was the reason Shuhua and Yuqi were in the debut line up and the reason Soojin was the Main Dancer! She had a way with words that few others did.

“What’s the worse case scenario? If Miyeon actually joins Gidle?”

Iris shrugged, “Miyeon is forced to join our group, we hate her, she hates us, which leads to people noticing, and we have an early disbandment.”

“And if she doesn’t?”

“We get told we can’t debut and they disband us, or they push back our debut date until the 4 of us become better singers.”

Soyeon nodded, “I can work with the second one. You test the waters with Miyeon and I’ll redo the choreography.”

“With Soojin?”

“Yes, With Soojin.”

“Great! I’ll re-arrange Latata to fit her in and I’ll meet her tomorrow!”

Soyeon nodded. She knew this would either be the worst thing or the best thing for Gidle. But either way, nothing would be the same again.

Pt.2

[watusichris]

Rock Gunfight in the Antipodes

Listening today to the hot new Grown Up Wrong! comp by Sydney’s Lipstick Killers, whose lone officially released single was produced by Deniz Tek of Radio Birdman, it occurred to me that my old Music Aficionado faux faceoff between Australia’s pioneering bands of the ‘70s (all of which I dearly love) has disappeared into the online ether. It’s time to bring it back.

**********

By Chris Morris

The mid- to late ‘70s were fertile days for rock ‘n’ roll in Australia. Here and there across the vast but not terribly populous island continent, fires were started by several attitude-filled bands bent on doing things their own damn way. They all managed to make their way off the island, but if they hit the American consciousness, it was for little more than a nanosecond during their heyday.

Who were the truest Rock Wizards of Oz? For this Down Under face-off, I’ve selected three contenders: the Saints, Radio Birdman, and the Scientists. All of them had fairly slim discographies; ironically, the act probably least known in the U.S., the Scientists, recorded most prolifically, with their core line-up producing several magnificent albums and singles during a productive four-year stretch in the early ‘80s. But none of these bands ever stayed together long enough to make a deep impression among the Yanks.

So where’s the Birthday Party, you ask? There are a few things to consider. First of all, though the band and its precursor unit the Boys Next Door were in business from 1976 on, they didn’t release their first LP until 1980. Also, Nick Cave is well known enough that more (king) ink needn’t be spilled on him. Finally, I still resent the fact that Cave stole PJ Harvey away from me, so it’s personal.

On with the showdown…

HIT ME LIKE A DEATH RAY, BABY

The Saints, founded 1974 in Brisbane

The prime movers of the Saints were a pair of literal outsiders: vocalist Chris Bailey, born in Kenya to Irish parents, and guitarist Ed Kuepper, raised in Germany. Thus the otherness of their work is no surprise.

With schoolmate Ivor Hay – who over time would play drums, bass, and piano with them – the pair founded a combo originally known as Kid Galahad and the Eternals (borrowing their handle from a 1962 Elvis Presley picture), but they swiftly renamed themselves the Saints and began playing in their hometown on the northeast coast of Australia.

Listening to their records, which were made in something of a cultural vacuum, it’s difficult to get a handle on where the Saints’ distinctive, aggressive sound came from. To be sure they were aware of such homegrown precursors from the ‘60s as the Master’s Apprentices and the Missing Links (whose 1965 single they covered on their debut album). It’s safe to assume they were conversant with the Velvet Underground, the Stooges, and Lenny Kaye’s 1972 garage rock compilation Nuggets. Yet they bred something utterly their own in the ocean air of Brisbane.

With Hay on drums and Kym Bradshaw on bass, Bailey and Kuepper mounted noisy local gigs that swiftly attracted the antipathy of the local constabulary; they wound up turning their own digs into a club to play shows. In 1976, they recorded and issued a self-financed single featuring two originals, “(I’m) Stranded” and “No Time.” These dire, ferocious songs were distinguished by venomous lyrics, unprecedented velocity, and guitar playing by Kuepper that sounded like a (literal) iron curtain being attacked with a chainsaw.

The record died locally, but a copy of its U.K. issue found its way into the hands of a critic at the English music weekly Sounds, which declared it the single of the week. This accolade got the attention of EMI Records, which signed the band and financed the recording of an album, also titled I’m Stranded, in a fast two-day Brisbane session.

The album, which was ultimately released in the U.S. by Sire Records, blew the ears off anyone who heard it, and it landed with a bang in England, where punk rock was lifting off in all its fury in early 1977. It was hurtling, powerful stuff that stood apart from punk in several crucial ways: While some of the songs were clipped and demonic in the standard manner, the Saints proved they could take their time on expansive numbers like the almost Dylanesque “Messin’ With the Kid” and the sprawling, hellriding “Nights in Venice.” And one has to wonder how British p-rockers took to their perverted take on Elvis’ squishy “Kissin’ Cousins.”

Made by musicians who never considered themselves “punks,” and who in fact abhorred the label, (I’m) Stranded is nevertheless one of the definitive statements in the genre, and it has maintained its force to this day.

Settling in England for the duration, the Saints decided to throw a curveball. One could not find a more profoundly alienated album than Eternally Yours (1978), a series of yowling protests, twisted prophecies, and savage put-downs, including the snarling second version of the single “This Perfect Day.” But, though the record was loud and for the most part swift, the group applied the brakes to their sound somewhat, and a couple of songs, including the caustic album opener “Know Your Product,” were dressed by a soul-styled horn section. Punk loyalists ran for cover.

By the time Prehistoric Sounds was issued in late ’78, the dejected Bailey and Kuepper were moving in different directions, and you can hear it in the grooves. The record is slow, almost listless at times, and its logy originals are complemented by incongruous Otis Redding and Aretha Franklin covers with none of the energy of earlier Saints soul-blasts. It is an album primarily for loyalists, and by then there were few in that number.

Kuepper exited the band on the heels of the third album’s release and returned to Australia, where he enjoyed a long career as leader of the Laughing Clowns; Bailey continued to perform under the Saints mantle with a shifting lineup that at last count numbered more than 30 players over the course of 37 years

Bailey and Kuepper reunited for one-off gigs in 2001 (at the ARIA awards ceremony) and 2007 (at Australia’s Queensland Music Festival).

THERE’S GONNA BE A NEW RACE

Radio Birdman, founded 1974 in Sydney

People who toss the “punk” handle around often throw Radio Birdman into the mix, but the sextet from Australia’s Southeast Coast may be best referred as the world’s youngest proto-punk band.

Its mastermind was guitarist, songwriter, and producer Deniz Tek, a native of Ann Arbor, Michigan, who emigrated to Sydney in 1971 to study medicine. As a teen, he got a chance to witness Detroit’s most explosive pre-punk bands – the MC5, the Stooges, and the Rationals; he would later wind up collaborating with important members of all those groups.

After apprenticing with and getting bounced from a Sydney band called TV Jones, Tek formed Radio Birdman (its name a corruption of a lyric from the Stooges’ “1970”) with singer Rob Younger; the lineup ultimately solidified with the addition of guitarist (and sometime keyboardist) Chris Masuak, bassist Warwick Gilbert, drummer Ron Keeley, and (on and off and then on again) keyboardist Pip Hoyle.

Rapidly acquiring a fan base made up of some of Sydney’s lowest elements, including members of the local Hell’s Angels, Radio Birdman ultimately took over a bar, re-dubbed (in honor of the Stooges, of course) the Oxford Funhouse, as their base of operations. The band’s severe Tek-designed band logo emanated fascist-style vibes for some; at a co-billed appearance in Sydney, the Saints’ Chris Bailey remarked from the stage, “We’d like to thank the local members of Hitler Youth for their stage props.”

Despite much antipathy and some attendant violence, the band maintained a loyal local following, and in 1976 it issued a strong four-song EP, Burn My Eye, via local studio-cum-independent label Trafalgar. This was succeeded the following year by a full-length debut album, Radios Appear.

Anyone looking for something resembling punk will likely be disappointed by that collection. The band wears its all-American hard rock/proto-punk influences on its dirty sleeve. Radios Appear is dedicated to the Stooges (whose “No Fun” was the lead-off track on the Aussie issue of the LP), and a song co-written by Tek and Stooges guitarist Ron Asheton, “Hit Them Again,” was cut during sessions for the record. Tek pays deep homage to MC5 guitarist Wayne Kramer with his playing, and blatantly cops a signature lick from the 5’s “Looking at You” at one juncture. The album title was lifted from a Blue Öyster Cult lyric, and the Tek-Masuak guitar-bashing bows to their multi-axe sound. Finally, in both Younger’s sometimes Morrisonian vocalizing and Hoyle’s Ray Manzarek-like ornamentation, homage to the Doors in paid in full. Given that Sydney is a beach town, there’s even a frisson of surf music in the mix.

Bursting with power-packed originals like the apocalyptic “Descent into the Maestrom,” youth-in-revolt anthem “New Race,” the cryptic, insinuating “Man with the Golden Helmet,” and Tek’s autobiographical “Murder City Nights,” Radios Appear was a power-packed set that established Radio Birdman as Oz’s leading rock light.

However, renown did not equal success in Antipodean terms. In 1978, the band cut its second album, Living Eyes, at Rockfield Studio in Wales; it was a solid effort that included remakes of three Burn My Eye numbers (including the wonderful Tek memoir “I-94,” about the Michigan interstate) and excellent new originals like “Hanging On,” “Crying Sun,” and “Alone in the End Zone.” But, with success seemingly within their grasp, Sire Records – their American label, and the Saints’ as well – switched distribution and cut their roster, leaving their new work without a home. Within months of this catastrophe, Radio Birdman disbanded.

The principals scattered, to Younger’s New Christs and Tek and Hoyle’s the Visitors; Tek, Younger, and Warwick Gilbert later joined MC5 drummer Dennis Thompson and the Stooges’ Ron Asheton in the one-off New Race. Tek also later recorded with Wayne Kramer and Scott Morgan of Ann Arbor’s Rationals in Dodge Main.

Radio Birdman’s original lineup reunited for a 1996 tour; in August 2006 – after four of the original sextet regrouped to record a potent new album, Zeno Beach – the band played its first American date ever, at Los Angeles’ Wiltern Theater. Your correspondent was there, and it was freakin’ incredible.

IN MY HEART THERE’S A PLACE CALLED SWAMPLAND

The Scientists, founded 1978 in Perth

Among the important Aussie bands of the ‘70s, the Scientists were among the first to be directly influenced by the punk explosion in New York.

As guitarist-singer-songwriter Kim Salmon – the lone constant in the Scientists’ lineup during their existence – wrote in 1975, “Reading about a far-off place called CBGB in NYC and its leather-clad denizens, all with names like Johnny Thunders, Richard Hell, and Joey Ramone, got me thinking…I immediately went searching for Punk Rock. What I found were The Modern Lovers and The New York Dolls albums.”

Salmon first dabbled in the new sound with a band bearing the delightfully punk name the Cheap Nasties. Cobbled together in Perth – the Western provincial capital of Australia – from members of such local acts as the Exterminators, the Victims, and Salmon’s the Invaders -- the early Scientists were as derivative as one might imagine. Their early songs, heard on their self-titled LP (the so-called “Pink Album”) and an early single and EP, sport original songs authored by Salmon and drummer-lyricist James Baker, the backbone of shifting Scientific crews through 1980. The tunes range from straight-up Dolls/Heartbreakers rips (“Frantic Romantic,” “Pissed On Another Planet,” “High Noon”) to buzzing romantic pop-punk in a Buzzcocks vein (“That Girl,” “She Said She Loves Me”).

Not terribly promising stuff, but, after the departure of Baker for the Hoodoo Gurus in 1981 and a brief stint in a trio called Louie Louie, Salmon assembled a new Scientists who would prevail for nearly four years. That outfit – Salmon, guitarist Tony Thewlis, bassist Boris Sujdovic, and drummer Brett Rixton – promptly relocated to Sydney and started making the noise they are noted for.

By that time, Salmon had begun cocking an ear to the Birthday Party (and no doubt paid careful attention to the sordid noise on the Melbourne group’s 1982 album Junkyard), had discovered the miasmic voodoo of the Cramps, and started grooving to the dissonant, slide guitar-dominated racket of Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band. In short order, he would also absorb the bluesy downhome assault of Los Angeles’ roots-punk outfit the Gun Club.

The Sydney-based Scientists hooked up with indie label Au Go Go, which issued a devastating run of careening, mossy records by the band in 1982-83 – the vertiginous singles “This is My Happy Hour”/“Swampland” and the corrosive “We Had Love” (backed by a faithful cover of Beefheart’s “Clear Spot”), and the heart-stopping mini-album Blood Red River, which bore the churning “Set It On Fire,” “Revhead,” and “Burnout.” Others were essaying a similar style, but the Aussie youngsters were beating their elders at their own game.

Eying the big time, the band moved to London in 1984. Some opportunities presented themselves initially: The band got European tour slots with the Gun Club and early Goth act Sisters of Mercy. But their deal with Au Go Go fell apart acrimoniously; while they made a pair of fog-bound albums, You Get What You Deserve (1985) and The Human Jukebox (1987) for Karbon Records (and a set of re-recorded songs, Weird Love, was issued in the U.S. by Big Time Records), they scraped by in Britain.

Defections from the ranks commenced in ’85, and by early 1987 the depleted Salmon used money from a housing settlement to move back to Australia, where he founded a new band, the Surrealists.

Still valued among the cognoscenti, Salmon, Thewlis, Sujdovic, and latter-day drummer Leanne Chock appeared, at the invitation of Seattle’s Mudhoney, at London’s All Tomorrow’s Parties Festival in 2006. Earlier this year, Chicago-based archival label the Numero Group issued a comprehensive four-disc box of the band’s original recordings.

So, at the end of the day, who is the all-time champeen of ‘70s Oz rock?

Scoring on points, the Saints are tops for Being Punk First with additional wins in the Pure Noise and Weltzschmerz categories, Radio Birdman takes the Technical Ability and Old-School Attitude slots, and the Scientists prevail in the Loud Young Snot and Grunge Thug division.

And the championship belt goes to…the Saints!

Of course, that could all change tomorrow, but that’s rock ‘n’ roll for ya.

[yenafmd]

— RESTRUCTURING TASK 001: change

word count: 271 + 289 + 287 + 284 + 292 + 272 = 1695 reward: +5 tracker points

assuming your muse has changed in some way, be it internally or as a result of a change of the external factors around them, how is your muse different? these can be as small as an opinion on a song they hadn’t released previously or as big as a major change in their background.

yena has undergone quite some changes, most of them directly relating to toning her down by... a lot. most of this is thanks to the change in calypso’s backstory, where gal.actic’s concept change was rather abrupt and extreme, calypso’s is a little more balanced, throwing yena a little less off-guard. it has lead to a more natural evolution for yena to grow into her image as an artist and her own person. in famed 1.0, yena’s hypersexualized personality was very much a means of survival, having to completely swap around her mindset and construct a persona that could protect her mental wellbeing from doing something so far out of her comfort zone. none of that really applies anymore in famed 2.0, expect was a bit daunting at first sure but she felt appropriately ready to take on the change and their following comebacks have generally been a little less extreme than a lot of gal.actic’s concepts originally were. so a lot of yena’s personality is a lot more well-balanced and natural, less poorly concealed poor coping mechanisms and more genuine confidence. because their switch in concept was more gradual and she was less traumatized by it, yena also hasn’t grown as resentful and bitter towards calypso (though i’ll get more into depth about that in the next question). with the restructuring yena is al around in a much more balanced place in her life which has a great pay-off on her wellbeing and general life satisfaction, she’s much happier about the place she’s in in her life than she previously was, though she will always remain a fun-loving little wild child.

what does your muse think of their company and their group?

unlike local gal.actic anti nam yena, yena 2.0 adores calypso. the biggest reason i shortly touched upon in the previous answer, being significantly less traumatized and disillusioned by the idol industry means she hasn’t projected those feelings of hurt on calypso either, making her a whole lot less repulsed from the group. she’s the youngest member and has been with calypso for a long time, at the same time, her relationship with her actual family is strained something that made her sad at first and these days mainly angers her. because of that, she relied on calypso a lot, especially in her more formative teenage years. at this point, she’s more grown up and indepdent, not needing calypso to hold her hand and raise her as much anymore but there is a very deep rooted sense of respect and gratefulness towards them, even if she doesn’t vocalize it very often. yena is very happy in calypso and she’s very happy to continue for a long while if they’re allowed. towards dimensions entertainment, yena is a lot more... indifferent. she likes them as much as most idols like their company, which isn’t that much. she’s less outright in her hated as, again, there is less deep-rooted resentment about her idol career but that doesn’t mean she likes them. her feelings towards dimensions are probably most accurately describe as simply carelessness, as careless as an idol can get away with being that is. she doesn’t really care for what dimensions has to say or how they feel ab her life choices or whatever, she does her job and in return, they don’t disband calypso, that’s all their agreement is. she does side-eye them a little for all the military performances though.

is your muse on their first contract or their second? if they’ve renewed, what were their feelings around that at the time and what were their hopes for their second contract? if they haven’t renewed, what are their current thoughts on the end of their eventual first contract?

calypso is on their second contract by now and admittedly, yena feels a little bit silly about her stance back when they renewed their contract. she doesn’t regret signing it, she firmly stands by that decision, but a part of her had hoped that with their second contract, calypso would finally see their big break through. sure, they had started off on the wrong foot with their debut but they had come a long way since, yena had hoped that would come with a new wave of interest as they turned a new page. that unfortunately never really happened, calypso remaining at the level of not quite relevant that they were in their first term (for now, but yena doesn’t know that yet). still. she doesn’t regret it, as much as dimensions is still very much a company, a business created to make profit and care little for their idols as people, yena has to admit they have been generous, not only with not getting rid of calypso just yet as they failed to garner steady interest but also with the plenty of solo opportunities she’s been offered from acting roles to brand deals to photoshoots. from a business perspective, sticking with dimensions has always been a sound decision and it has remained to be that up until this point, making their relationship on a strictly professional level something she doesn’t have much to complain about. calypso has three more years left on their current contract so it’s a bit soon to think about it but as long as things remain the way they are, yena is very positive towards resigning her contract, hopefully with calypso but also as an individual if it comes down to that.

what are your muse’s goals and motivations?

yena has simply always liked stardom, seemingly the type that is just made to be famous. she has a liking for all things fancy and pretty and glamorous and expensive, a lifestyle that’s not exactly easy to maintain without a certain status and income. tthe ease with which she picks up new idol and entertainment related skills also very much speaks for how she was more or less made to do this, be it singing dancing or rapping (all respectively with her three lead positions) or in brancing out in modeling, acting, variety, hosting, what not, yena seems to quickly find her way doing new things and developing new skills and making them her own, the sort of radiant, confident energy that shines the best up on stages under the spotlight or under the watching lense of a camera while on set to film. something in her has just always been drawn to it, be it the lavish lifestyle, the seemingly endless stream of attention (and yena looooves attention) or the fact that entertainment and showbiz have just always interested her, something about it feels right. if asked to explain it in more eloquent terms, yena probably couldn’t, it’s a feeling more than anything else. all she can tell you is that it makes her happy and that as someone who in her childhood never particularly stood out in what her family wanted for her, being an idol simply feels right. so her goal is mainly to do exactly do that, to continue to do what she does now, a little bit of everything, some acting here, a photoshoot there, a calypso comeback there and who knows... maybe even a solo debut one day.

what is one conflict, internal or external, that your muse is currently dealing with, has recently dealt with, or will need to deal with in the future?

the biggest conflict yena faces is finding the balance between calypso and her personal career. like stated previously, she loves calypso, adores them and they hold an absolutely precious place in her heart, that much remains unchanged. and she enjoys their music, she enjoys working together with the girls and being on stage with them but a hardened, realistic part of her knows that from a career perspective, calypso doesn’t have much to offer her (or well, so she thinks now, she has no idea what’s in store for them but well, how could she know). yena is looking for growth, both in breadth and depth, she wants to do new exciting things and further develop the skills she has with new opportunities in those fields. her solo career is very promising in that aspect, well-established in multiple fields and receiving love calls left and right with new opportunities. at times, yena can’t feel bad, guilty perhaps, very aware that she seems more excited for her solo opportunities than her work with her group at times. again, she enjoys calypso and their work but that sense of happiness feels more... passive than the excitement her personal work brings her. yena knows that at times, she does calypso short, that her singing or dancing is more less likely to suffer due to being busy or tired than she would ever let happen to a day of filming or something like that. she feels bad about it but at the same time, she does have to be realistic and think about her future, calypso might make her happier but it doesn’t help her grow much at this point. as much as she loves her members, she has to think about her future too right?

if your muse has established career claims, what are their thoughts on their career so far? if they do not, how do they feel about not having individual activities yet? what would they like to do in the future, if anything? if they don’t have ambitions for individual activities, explain why.

yena couldn’t be more over the moon about the career she has established for herself throughout the years. she’s done a lot of different things in her career, something she’s incredibly glad about. yena has never been the type to be the best at something but she is good at a broad arrange of things, something she prides herself in. mainly established as an actress and a model outside of calypso, she gets to do a lot of things and experience a lot of stuff she wouldn’t traditionally expect in her group. the acting part came first, with a role in the heirs back in 2013 and well... modelling kind of followed up on that naturally, garnering attention for her pretty, doll-like visuals and she’s been doing both side by side ever since, having starred in a handful of dramas and representing a bunch of different brands. she hopes to continue to do both of those things, enjoying both modelling and acting a lot, there is a lot in those fields she still wants to do. though, admittedly, while she doesn’t want to be greedy, yena does hope she gets to partake in some individual activities that are geared a little closer to traditional idol skills. she knows she’s not the best singer or best dancer or best rapper of the group, those are skills all attributed to her unnies, but she could maybe release some solo music too no? surely there would be a target audience for that. she became an idol to perform, maybe one day she’ll get to prove she’s capable of doing that on her own merits too.

[fmdjoosungarchive]

location: inkigayo

date: mostly june 20th

word count: 888

tldr; sung gets his first ever win, not just as a soloist, but in his entire career. the moment makes him more sad and bitter than he wanted and expected for his first win. lots of element mentions

any song had been steady on the charts... which had never happened to one of sung’s solo releases before. originally, he hadn’t bothered to look. it would only serve to disappoint him, and this promotional cycle had been a nice distraction from the turmoil inside his head.

with most new songs, with sung’s songs, charting right after release wasn’t a surprise. soon after, many chart freezes would start up, and by the next day, it was unlikely to be on any lists anymore. routine, it had become. up until then, with each release, sung had been hopeful, praying for the numbers to show improvement, if only for the spot of attention it might reflect back on element. within his heart, reading and hearing the stories of those who appreciated his music was enough for him. with any song’s release, sung had nothing to reflect back onto, so what was the point in looking at charts at all? his fans would satisfy him, make him feel like his efforts had been worthwhile.

then, a friend messaged sung a screenshot of melon. he was charting on melon. albeit, not very high, but that had never happened to sung on a song only he was on. -he felt removed from the moment, as if watching from the corner of the room.

every so often, in the quiet moments of his days, it would come to mind again, so he’d look at his charting, and have the same feeling. not even as watching a friend’s charting, it was like that of a stranger: neutral.

thinking past that point wasn’t worth it, to his mind. it attempted, finally, after two weeks of promotions, when sung was standing on the inkigayo stage, among the top three songs of the week. surprising enough as that was, the cogs had begun turning. however, thinking it over, he didn’t even have an album to add to his sales, decipher was promoting of all groups, and if element hadn’t had a win in their time together, how could he? he’d decided, it was a fluke. nothing to get worked up about. politely clap, give well wishes, get back to the practice studio.

the points rose, sung’s name was called out, confetti blasted around him, and sung stood stock still, a gargoyle of his own heart. a second belated, his eyes rounded to softballs, and his lips clicked open. a hand felt at his back gave him the tiny push to start his feet moving forward. nothing felt real, his body, the people around him, the floor beneath his feet. a trophy and a microphone were handed to him, which, by rote, he thanked the mc. the microphone positioned to his mouth, but nothing came out, as sung looked into the crowd, at the camera, then down to the trophy in his hand. right above the death grip his fingers wrapped around the rectangle, like he’d underlined them, were the words top artist.

for over a decade, sung hoped to one day have those words attached to him. for five years, he put his best foot forward to continually be a better idol and group member than the year before. for three years, he allowed himself to be subjected to aching effort, exhaustion, and even compromising his morals, with the belief that it would bring more fans to element. every pain, every terrible day, every schedule he had to put his name on that didn’t feel like him, was for them. when sung had begun preparing for any song, it was supposed to be yet another mark in the history of his efforts for his group. what it turned out to be was a zombie’s walk of distraction from having to deal with element’s disbandment and the sudden two new people in his life he was supposed to debut with. none of this was right.

here, with this trophy in hand, tears flowed, gushed, flooded out from the sturdy dam that had been calming the waves, broken irreparably. the first sound into the mic was that of a sob, before he moved the microphone away from the sound of his tears.

he was so, so grateful, but why was he sad?

“i don’t think words are capable of expressing how shocked and grateful i am.” there was still a possibility sung could wake up to find this was all a dream. “but, i must thank you. everyone.” part of him would almost rather it was a dream. “anyone who has given me a few minutes of their time is the reason i’m able to stand here today.” if the last couple of months could have been a dream, and this win came with his group members, his family, that would be better. “every senior i’ve looked up to, anyone who has given me advice, the team at gold star, thank you.” accepting this wasn’t as simple as he wished it could be. “to my fans, thank you endlessly. this moment will live with me every day.” through this speech, the words felt further away, more foreign. “thank you to my parents, and element members. i will work hard to be someone you can be proud of. thank you.” was he worthy of receiving this win in the first place?

...why couldn’t it have been with element? sung’s lip quivered.

[jeonchristineimnida]

Namjoon - Badbye

Genre: angst, swf

Pairing: Namjoon x named female OC 

Warnings: none

Word count: 2899

Song Inspiration: Badbye - RM

A/N: This is written in third person POV and the highlighted text with no indentations are flashbacks 

Masterlist

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Goodbye.

This word is always closely related to pain and tears, both for the receiving end and the person who has uttered it. At times, it is uttered as the circumstance dictate, and other times it is said against the person’s will. Although a closed door can mean that another has opened, the pain of letting go, especially if it’s against one’s will, cannot be denied. 

Namjoon sets off once again, riding the bus with no specific destination in mind. It was the dead of the night and most of the other passengers are too sleepy to notice the internationally famous boy band leader at the back.

Where did you run off to again, Namjoon ah.

He smiled as he replied to Yoongi, who was the first to find out about his absence. He reassured him that he’s fine and that he’ll be back first thing in the morning. He placed his phone back into his pocket before returning his gaze to the vast dark sky with no stars in sight. Only the crescent moon was dimly lighting up the night as it hid amongst the thick clouds, just like that night when he said his first goodbye. 

The sound of the sea drowns out the noise of the city behind him. With his eyes closed, he can imagine himself in a different world, one with no failures, no regrets, no doubts, no competitions, no toxic standards, no pain. But he knows himself a life like that can’t be called life. He heaved a deep sigh as he felt the sands beneath his palm while he sat by the shore just far enough for the waves not to reach where he was. 

“Joonie!” her voice once again melted the young man’s heart. Namjoon was only 15 when he got offered to be a trainee in the company called Big Hit. His parents have always been disapproving of his new found passion in music but only his best friend, Seoyun, was supporting him wholeheartedly. Of course he was happy to be able to receive such an opportunity, however it meant moving to Seoul and leaving her behind here in Ilsan. His contract has already stated that he’ll be training for almost 15 hours a day, which barely left him time for himself. 

As she approached him, he couldn’t help but stare as he wanted this moment to be etched into his memories for a long time. How she always wears a baggy sweater with the front part tucked in her high waisted fitted pants that she always pairs with her beat up, red, Converse. How she always puts her chestnut hair up in a messy bun, and most especially how her eyes disappear when she smiles as she walks towards him. 

“I brought us some snacks!” She says as she stands in front of Namjoon, holding up a black plastic bag filled with convenience store food. She sat beside him, dusting off the sand on her palms before taking some snacks.

Namjoon didn’t know how to break it to Seoyun, but he knew he had to tell her. Especially when his move is in 2 days. 

“What’s the bad news?” She suddenly asked, taking Namjoon by surprise. His face was lost for words which urged Seoyun to answer his wordless question. “We’re at the beach at night, which meant this would be a serious conversation. You taking your time to speak can only mean it’s not an easy news to break. Come on, Namjoon. We’ve been friends since we were kids. I can read you like an open book.” 

“I actually auditioned for this entertainment company.” He focused in front as he spoke so he couldn’t see the face she’d make. “and I’ve been offered a contract to be a trainee.”

“Wow--Joonie, that’s amazing.” Her voice showed genuine happiness. “You’ve been working for this really hard. I’m so happy for you!” she smiles as she takes Namjoon’s shoulders and makes him face her. Her happiness didn’t match the face of the one who got offered the contract though. 

“The thing is, I’ll have to leave Ilsan in 2 days, stay in a dormitory in Seoul while I train. It may take years before I could come back.” She was now silent as she looked down for a second. She cleared her throat, trying to get rid of the knot that was starting to form. She wanted to support her best friend with her whole heart, but there was heaviness in his words. It was like he was saying a permanent goodbye.

“I don’t like your tone, Joonie. Why are you saying goodbye like you won’t ever see me again?” She wasn’t able to hold back her tears as she let go of him to cover her face. She quickly wipes her tears before looking in front of them, focusing on the sound of the waves as she tries to calm herself. 

She won’t be the one to get in between Namjoon’s dreams as she knows how much passion and potential her best friend is brimming with. 

“Seoyun ah,” Namjoon cooes, already thinking twice of whether to leave her alone when he’s all she’s got. With no parents, no siblings and an abusive uncle, he badly wants to take her with him to Seoul but he doesn’t have the capabilities to do so. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into me for a second” Seoyun laughs as she wipes the tears before facing Namjoon with a smile. “I won’t forgive you if you don’t pursue the dream you’ve been pestering your parents about for awhile now.” 

Namjoon pulls her close, hugging her tightly as to reassure her that no matter the distance, he’ll always have a special place in his heart dedicated to her. 

The bus had stopped and Namjoon had no idea where he was. He’s probably disoriented from the long trip, and the fatigue from the day that has passed. He crossed the road from the bus stop, noticing a convenience store. He went inside and walked straight to the drinks area, deciding whether he should grab a bottle of soju or stick with the cider. Already thinking about the uproar it may cause if he gets caught by dispatch, he reluctantly grabbed the bottle of cider and a bag of chips, heading towards the cashier to pay for it and settling down on the tables and chair set up outside the store. 

As he always did, he starts observing the place, at the dead of the night with almost no noise but the quiet rustling of the wind and the scent of a sea near by. It was a decent place, not highly maintained, but definitely not worn down either. At this late night, it seemed like a ghost town until a group of loud teenagers came by and entered the store. 

Namjoon gazed with a smile as he remembers his time with his members during their trainee days. They were innocent, quite pure as they were yet to be exposed to the real world waiting upon their debut. All they know was they loved what they were doing and were eager to share their sentiments to whoever they can reach. They trained day and night, working on their music, working on their dance moves. Their body barely kept up as they only had instant noodles to refuel them, but they never gave up. But no practices and late nights were enough to prepare them for the heavy criticisms once they step into the spot light. 

Coming from a small company, the burden has been hard trying to keep the group together with such little finances available to them. The members have considered disbanding multiple times when they were still starting and those were the hardest time for him. Not only was the public ridiculing them but even the members were starting to lose hope within themselves. It was only Seoyun that kept him pushing on.

It’s been a year since they debuted and Namjoon tried to keep it in, not wanting to break down infront of his members. He locked himself in his studio, making his composition as an excuse to keep to himself. 

“Joonie?” A soft knock was heard from the door. The guys must have let Seoyun in without him knowing. 

Seoyun was able to move to Seoul to attend high school after his uncle passed away from kidney failure and she had to move into a distant relative’s place in Seoul. It didn’t even take a day before she shared the good news to Namjoon and the two couldn’t express how happy they were through mere words.

“Come in.” Namjoon grunted as he opened the door, closing it abruptly as soon as she came in. She made him sit down on the couch, making his back face him as she gently massages his shoulders. 

No words were exchange as they already understood each other. Her soft touches were able to calm Namjoon down, letting his wall break as he lets it out. His frustrations, his pain. Slowly, he chokes in his sobs, burying his face in his hands. A weight shifted from behind him to his front before being wrapped in Seoyun’s embrace. 

“It’s just so damn hard,” he was able to mumble as he succumb to the embrace, slowly being soothed by her soft caress. 

“You don’t have to suffer by yourself. Your members are there for you, I’m here for you. You know that, right?” Her soft voice comforted the young boy after being under heavy unjustified criticism, which is honestly just borderline insults. “You’re not alone here, Joonie. You have people that believe in you. Have you forgotten the hearts of the ARMYs you’ve reached? Remember when one came up to you and just cried, thanking you for your existence and how you stopped her from taking her own life when she listened to your song ‘Tomorrow’?” 

It was a reminder that Namjoon needed to hear, and he couldn’t be thankful enough for her existence in his life.  

Namjoon was taken off his trance when his phone rang and his manager’s name was displayed on the screen. He only had little time for himself that he felt conflicted about answering the phone. The ringing soon stopped and soon came a text message

Namjoon ah, I just got off the phone with this American talk show. We’ve scheduled an appearance for you on the 3rd week of the month. We fly right after your goodbye stage in Music Bank. 

I’ll leave it to you to inform the other members, leader.

Namjoon sighed as it was yet another restless month for everyone. It’s been 5 months since they were able to visit their families. Little by little, everyone was growing exhausted, both physically and mentally and it affects their relationships.

Relationships within the group and as well as with people outside the group, 

Everything’s been hectic since their first win. The fanbase was steadily expanding and they’ve gotten more projects as they started promoting in Japan with Japanese translations of their songs. The group has been exhausted but nevertheless excited. However, the pressure that the group felt can’t be denied. As their fanbase grew, they felt as though more expectations should be met. The heaviest pressure lies on the shoulders of the leader who takes part in producing most, if not all, the songs in the albums and while promoting, is working on the songs for the next album.

With no rest, no sleep, and barely enough time to eat, the members have been irritable and exhausted. Most of the time, they’d get into petty arguments with each other that sometimes get physical. 

“Joonie!” Seoyun was able to visit their last week’s promotion before they fly to Japan for a month. They’ve been officially dating for 9 months and the company has acknowledged their relationship but has no approval of making it public. 

She wanted to surprise her boyfriend but as she entered the waiting room, the atmosphere was tense and no one was smiling at all.

“Noona,” Jungkook looked at Seoyun with a face of relief as his eyes silently pleaded for help. She now focused and saw the scowling faces of Namjoon and Hoseok. 

“Ah, whatever. I’m going to get something to drink.” Namjoon stood up and left, brushing past Seoyun without even acknowledging her. Jungkook explained that things got heated when Namjoon and Hoseok had a confrontation from the correction of position during their set recording. She patted the youngest’s shoulder and gave him a comforting smile before going after Namjoon.

To be honest, the couple weren’t in a good condition either. They haven’t met for almost 5 weeks and they barely had a decent conversation because Namjoon was too busy. She has been feeling insecure but she never brought it up to him, not wanting to add anymore burden than he already is carrying. 

“Joonie?” Seoyun softly calls out after finding him near the vending machine. It was in a restricted area, only for idols which allowed her to approach him freely. Namjoon only looked at her, still visibly annoyed from the incident. “What happened?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” He coldly replied, resting his head back on the wall as he sat on the bench beside the machine. 

“Come on, you know you can talk to me right?” Seoyun cooes, sitting beside him as she tried to hold his hand but he abruptly pulled away.

“Can’t you just leave me alone for one second?!” Namjoons voice echoes the empty hall, shocking Seoyun. She’s seen him angry and agitated before, but this was the most aggressive he’s been with her. “No matter what I tell you, you wouldn’t get it. You wont understand. No one does.”

“You know that’s not true” her voice was soft and shaking as she fights her tears from falling.

“Just leave. I’m not in the mood to talk.” He says, still refusing to face her. 

“You think you’re the only one who has it hard, huh?” Seoyun snaps, now the tears fall from her eyes. Namjoon finally looks at her. He starts to realize just how much his girlfriend has gone through, but was not able to see that as he got blinded from the pressure and exhaustion. He wasn’t able to speak as Seoyun breaks down in front of him. She tells him her frustration and how she tried to keep it together for his sake. She now starts to spill about her problems one at a time, from the family’s mistreatment yet again to her problems in school. His problems as an idol overshadowed the problems of others, including the members and only Seoyun was able to make him realize this mistake. 

“I’m sorry.” Namjoon says, head bowed down in shame as he tries to keep his tears at bay. He felt like he had no right to cry after hurting his girlfriend this much. “I’m sorry, Seoyun ah. You deserve so much better.” He mutters, his hands slowly taking hers as it subtly shake.

“Jooni--”

“Lets break up.” He raises his head to face her. As if the words that he has said hadn’t hurt enough, seeing her reaction completely shattered his heart. Her face was pale from shock as tears continue to fall even without her blinking. “I’m sorry, Seoyun ah. I can’t take care of you as I promised. I thought I could, but all I’ve done was to hurt you. If we get exposed as a couple, I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you,” He now has his head back down, closing his eyes as he wipes his tears. His voice softly cracks as he feels his chest tighten before facing her once again. “I love you, Seoyun ah. Be happy. Goodbye.”

Namjoon sighs as he remembers how poorly he used to handle the stress and the pressure of being an idol. It has been 5 years since then and he’s happy that he can now say he has matured with the members, handling the pressure and exhaustion better and being able to take the criticism that comes with their success. They know better than they can’t please every body, and that they’re content with being able to reach people with their music and crossing language and culture barriers. 

It has also been 5 years since he had to let go of someone due to his immaturity, and if only he was given a second chance to go back in time and change how he handled that situation, he’d do anything. 

He wouldn’t have said goodbye, because now he’s only left with regret.

An alert from his phone sounded and he picked it up, clicking on the notification that led straight to an article that he already knew about. 

His best friend, Jackson has just gotten married.

He places his phone down, regretting that he only got a cider as he reached into his pocket bringing out a delicate envelope with a laced ribbon. He opens it as he reads the content, tears pooling on the edge of his eyes before falling on the opened letter dedicated to him.

Kim Namjoon,

Park Seoyun and Jackson Wang along with their families request the pleasure of your company at their wedding in XX XX at 5PM in the afternoon on XX XX, 2020.

[twiceblackvelvet]

Blame

Pt. I, Pt. II

June 2nd, 2022. 14:32 PM. Busan.

“That’s a wrap everyone, thank you!”

The booming voice of the director echoing throughout the set. Lighting rigs are taken down by the many production staff on hand. The few extras needed to walk in the shot background shuffle out of sight without speaking a word, grateful for the opportunity to be working, and not willing to do anything to risk their position here. You can see the hunger for more in all of their eyes and the envy they feel towards those with speaking roles. None of them have caused trouble, something the former male lead should learn from.

The first few weeks here had been tortuous but finally, Joy has completed the filming of her first acting job since the split of Red Velvet, without murdering the god-awful co-star initially hired which is an accomplishment. The role of a mistress seeking revenge against the man who murdered her father just seemed too good to pass up on. However, had she known it would come with dealing with by far the most pretentious man to exist, she might have thought twice.

The first few days it was plain sailing. Everyone just got on with their jobs and kept things moving along. But then, trailers needed to be made bigger and fine foods had to be stocked inside every day. The final straw being a request for an assistant solely to hold water bottles close by the actor. To say Joy was annoyed would be an understatement. So, she confronted the man for his poor behavior and put him in his place. Respect should be earned not just given, and this man had earned zero.

After being showed up in front of everyone, things spiraled quickly into ruining scenes on purpose just to make shoots run late or purposefully blocking the camera with his body during close-ups. Eventually, the director settled on replacing him with another actor, far better both in the talent and attitude department. The firing caused a setback in the schedule, but luckily everyone worked twice as hard to finish within the allotted time-frame.

To finally be rid of this experience feels like a breath of fresh air. Not that she didn’t enjoy portraying what most would deem the “bad” character for a change, it just became difficult to do so when a real-life villain was haunting the production.

“Hey, the director has arranged a wrap party, are you going?”

Eunseo, a petite woman in charge of the third camera who everyday likes to inform Joy she owns all of Red Velvet’s albums asks. Her toothy grin is remarkably unpleasant as the question escapes her mouth. However, Joy has gotten used to her overexcitement over the small pleasures in life.

“Sure, I just need to grab my things from the trailer and I’ll get my manager to drive me straight there.” A lie. A very obvious yet unnoticed lie.

“Great, I’ll see you there.” Eunseo latches her arms firmly around Joy’s neck, although, she barely reaches because of her lack of height.

Joy quickly squirms her way out of the smaller woman’s arms and gives only a smile in response before scurrying away to her trailer, not daring to allow her a second chance at grappling her neck.

Unlocking her phone as she gets closer to the spacious trailer she’s spent the last few months getting used to, a few notifications appear about her upcoming drama, which she subscribed to the alerts for. If the former male lead tries to tarnish her name despite his own actions being the issue, she wants her team to be on the case of fixing it immediately. A few missed calls from her sister and mom, likely wondering how long they need to keep babysitting Haetnim whilst she’s out of Seoul. But finally, some texts from an unknown number that she deletes without reading. If it’s anyone or anything important, they’ll contact her manager.

Getting closer to the trailer, the door appears to be slightly ajar. Joy stops in her tracks, trying to think back to whether or not she locked it before heading to the set. She’s certain she did, however, with the excitement of the final day looming over her, she thinks it’s possible this slipped her mind.

Not willing to risk a masked assailant, however, she shouts inside first to see if anyone responds.

“Hello, is anyone there?”

Silence is all that follows. Not trusting this, she asks again in a more threatening tone.

“Hello? I’m calling the police if you don’t come out!”

A small chuckle is all that can be heard, but there’s no one in sight. Fed up with the not knowing, Joy steps inside of her trailer attempting to use her phone like some kind of weapon. The last person she ever imagined being sat inside of her trailer, however, is there in all of her glory as made-up and ready for the runway as ever, despite her “normal” life now.

“Irene?” She asks, as if unsure of whether the older woman before her is real or just a figment of her imagination.

“Joohyun. It’s Joohyun now.” Adjusting her shirt as she speaks, Joy can tell that she’s nervous to be here, with her, for the first time since the day they parted as members. “Nice trailer, I can see you… decorated.”

There’s clothing thrown on the floor with little to no care, a reminder of their days in the dorm, everyone making a mess, and no one in the mood to clean up after themselves. However, if Joy had known that Joohyun was dropping by, she’d have attempted to at least make it slightly presentable. She does still mean a lot to Joy.

“Um… What are you doing here?” The bluntness to Joy’s tone being something she didn’t mean to let out, however, her voice naturally shows that she too is on edge.

The pair look at each other for a few seconds before Joohyun stands and attempts to leave. However, Joy places her arm up onto the door frame to block her path before she can whisk back out of her life as fast as she has re-entered it.

“This was a mistake, I shouldn’t have come here. I’m sorry.” Sadness drips off every word Joohyun speaks, her eyes averting to the ground.

“Come on, sit back down. I’ll make us a drink and you can tell me all about it.”

Joohyun desperately wants to escape, but Joy has always had a way of roping her into things she’s not so sure of. So she sits. They drink, something that is far too stiff for both of them to handle, however, it helps the words flow from Joohyun’s mouth and Joy’s ears do a lot more listening than they’re used to nowadays.

She tells Joy all about the offer from Dongchul and how she’s considering stepping into the acting world, about her garden that has become a haven where she can let all of her thoughts out and about how her parents’ smiles have become the thing that makes her heart feel alive now.

Joy has always found Joohyun beautiful, so has anyone lucky enough to lay their eyes on her, however, seeing her happy like this makes her feel that her own actions regarding their group splitting are justified if Joohyun is enjoying her new life this much. Joy desperately hopes to feel the same way one day about her own.

“How about you? Do you keep up with the others?” Joohyun asks and breaks Joy from her own inner monologue of life. “How are they all?”

Joy hesitates in answering Joohyun’s innocent question. She knows that her former leader is not trying to stir up any negative feelings by asking about the others, yet, sadness is all Joy can feel when she thinks about the state the group has erupted into.

“I don’t speak to Seulgi, she stopped speaking to me that day,” A frown replaces Joohyun’s smile from seconds ago at this. “Yeri and I hang out sometimes, she’s just as busy as I am. We check in with each other when we can.”

“That’s good, you two were always close. Annoying, but close.” Joohyun adds, “What about Wendy, do you see her still?”

Confusion etches across Joy’s face. Granted Joohyun is yet to reveal whether she has kept in touch with anyone, she figured that she would have at least saw the news on the internet or television.

“Well that would be difficult, given that she’s in America now, did you not know?”

Joohyun almost chokes on her drink at Joy’s words. America? Why would she move there? Why did no one tell her?

“No, when did she move?”

“She left about two months after the split.” If Joohyun thinks this is the only bombshell awaiting her about her former members, Joy has yet another shock in store for her. “So, you don’t know about the singles clash then, I guess?”

Placing her drink down onto the table, Joohyun shifts her body closer towards Joy’s, unsure of what she’s talking about.

“Singles clash? No?”

A deep sigh leaves Joy’s body. Dealing with her awful co-worker had also been made more difficult by the decisions made by two of her former members. Interviewers desperately wanting her to comment on what ended up being a situation blown out of proportion, but a stressful one to deal with. Fake smiles were plastered on and rumors of a feud swiftly denied by both her and Yeri on behalf of Seulgi and Wendy.

“Seulgi got to debut solo two months ago, SM did their first thing right in years and went all out for her, the whole works,” Joy can see Joohyun’s mental cogs shifting trying to figure out where an issue comes into play here. “But Wendy released her first solo song in the US at midnight, an hour before Seulgi’s showcase here.”

Suddenly, everything makes sense. But surely this was all coincidental? Joohyun thinks but doesn’t verbalize as Joy is in before she can.

“Wendy insists that she had no idea Seulgi’s debut was that day but, I don’t know. It turned into a messy situation and fans didn’t know which to support. Seulgi still topped the charts, but it can’t have felt good to have her thunder stolen from someone who was once her friend. She already blames us for the disbandment, this just added fuel to the fire.”

Joy’s hand’s motion between the two of them as she speaks.

“She blames me?” Joohyun asks softly.

Joy pauses and recalls that Joohyun missed the blow-up from Seulgi in the office that day having left before it happened. She decides it’s best to stick the knife all the way in and tell Joohyun everything instead of trying to spare her with a lie.

“Except for Yeri, she blames all of us.”

pt. iv

[meggz0rz]

INU KPOP AU

CHAPTER ONE: A KING’S PLAN, AND A VOICE WITHOUT A FACE

-MIROKU-

“Miroku?”

Miroku looked up from his phone, knowing he probably looked as bleary-eyed as he felt. Sesshomaru, always a fan of dramatic flair, kept the lights in his top-floor office purposely dimmed, and so even in the waiting room outside the double doors to the inner sanctum, it was hard to see very well. Or at all, really.

Kagura stood there in her smart straight-legged jeans and heels, chewing on the lid of a ballpoint pen and squinting down at her customary appointment diary. It seemed even after years of working side-by-side with her oh-so-famous household name of a client, she hadn’t completely adjusted to the lack of visibility either. 

Miroku had thought to ask her about it once, several years ago, and she had just shrugged and laughed quietly to herself, saying something about Sesshomaru “having his quirks just like every other genius” but saying it with clear fondness.

“You can go in now. ‘The King’ is ready and waiting.”

They exchanged a smirk, and Miroku stood up from the plush bench (which wouldn’t have looked out-of-place in a museum exhibit about Louis XIV) and cracked his neck.

He’d only been waiting forty minutes. New record.

But then again, Sesshomaru ran on Sesshomaru time. And if Sesshomaru needed to delay a meeting to call his psychic and see just how the stars were aligning today for creative efforts...well, more power to him.

“Ah, Miroku,” Sesshomaru said, giving the slightest hint of a smile as Miroku poked his head in through the heavy office doors. “Come on in and have a seat.”

Miroku ambled up to one of the large high-backed chairs in front of the desk and dropped himself into it. This room was even darker, as Miroku had well known, and so when the chair on his right spoke, he had to fight not to jump in surprise.

“Sup, Rap Monk.” Inuyasha wasn’t smiling welcomely, but he did, at least, raise a single hand in greeting before returning the bitter scowl to his face and staring across the desk at his older brother.

“I wish you wouldn’t call me that anymore,” Miroku sighed, running a hand over his face. “I didn’t choose that stage name to begin with, and it’s haunted me ever since.”

“Would you like something to drink, Miroku? Coffee, tea, sparkling water?” Sesshomaru held up a hand as if ready to summon Kagura to retrieve whatever it was.

“No, I’m good, thanks. What’s this all about?”

Sesshomaru took on a solemn posture, folding his hands upon his desk. If he noticed Kagura scurrying around behind him and frantically lighting even more of the candelabras that dotted every other surface in the room, he didn’t give any indication as he heaved a great sigh. 

“As you know,” ‘The King’ began, “my foolish little brother was just dropped from Naraku’s label. The group is disbanding and the label is reassigning the other members to various new projects.”

“Dropped? Fired, more like,” Inuyasha growled under his breath. “Thrown out like it was nothing, and after all these years I busted my ass - “

“There is obviously much to say about this,” Sesshomaru interrupted sternly, “but that is not what I’m concerned about at the moment. That’s not why you were summoned here, Miroku.”

Summoned. Like I’m a slave on retainer. 

Well, to be fair, Sesshomaru’s album sales didn’t lie, did they? 

Miroku would jump on command if he had to just to get a piece of the action, especially after long months of sporadic freelance producing work that were threatening to force him to - gasp - downgrade his apartment in Seoul. The very idea!

“I’m guessing you want me to produce some tracks to start Inuyasha off on a solo career?” Miroku awkwardly rubbed at the back of his neck. “Are you gonna finance him to start out or - “

“I can finance my own damn self if I need to, thanks.” Inuyasha leaned back in the chair and crossed a leg over his lap. 

And that was probably true. 

Inuyasha, in the very beginning, had purposely signed to a label unconnected to his outrageously famous brother, had done his best to gain fame the hard way with talent and commitment and that charisma of his. He’d been, inarguably, the breakout star of his group, and had become the face of Naraku Entertainment.

Until a few months ago. When it all came crashing down.

The press had freaked out. The fans had freaked out. But Naraku Entertainment’s decision stood, and all that momentum had been squashed like an unexpecting insect on the kitchen floor.

“We are of the opinion,” Sesshomaru said, in a way that made it sound like it wasn’t anyone’s opinion but his own, “that we need to keep Inuyasha behind-the-scenes for now, so to speak. In order for him to come through this unscathed, we will need the power of the fans behind us.”

That wasn’t going to be easy. The Japanese fans had at first been outraged on Inuyasha’s behalf, but in the span of twenty-four hours they had turned, blaming him for busting up their favorite group, blaming him for being selfish.

Sesshomaru must have seen the uncertainty on Miroku’s face (which was once again, a miracle in this candlelit room covered in crushed velvet drapery), because he quickly went on. “We’re going to extend this company of mine, this label, to include a whole new crop of Japanese idols and entertainers. And we’re going to concentrate almost entirely on the Korean market.”

“Ahhh, so that’s why you wanted me to fly up here,” Miroku said, breaking into a sly smile. “Because I’m based in Seoul now.”

“We’re going to start with a female group. A small one, no more than four or five members. I want girls fluent in both Japanese and Korean.”

“A girl group? Why not a - “

“Because if it’s a bunch of guys, the press is going to think I’m just forming a new group for myself, and they’ll go ballistic and call me an ungrateful egomaniac,” Inuyasha supplied, glaring down at his clenched fist on the arm of his chair.

“Precisely,” Sesshomaru said. “And besides, this will be something grand, something the world has never seen before. A group of Japanese artists performing entirely in Korean for Koreans. It will make the home market see what they are missing, and will drum up support for a glorious comeback for all.”

“Uh...huh…?” Miroku gave a bewildered frown. “So you want me to...what, exactly?”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, he’s hiring you, idiot.” Inuyasha’s tone was growly, but from what Miroku could see in this cave of platinum records and eccentricity, he was smirking.

“To…?”

“To help me, to help Inuyasha form this group, produce and write the songs, and grow the label’s influence in a market you must know quite intimately by now.”

Holy shit. “Oh, okay, yeah that sounds like a plan.” Understatement of the century right there.

“Your first task is this,” Sesshomaru said, “I already know I want Ayame in the group. She’s been going through a similar situation with her label as Inuyasha was with his, and she’s looking to make a change. I can handle that part; she’s a good friend.”

To a man this famous, Ayame, who at one time was built up as “Japan’s Newest Idol Princess,” a girl whom everyone between the ages of twelve and forty knew, was simply “a good friend.” Oh, to live the life these people lead every day.

“A-Alright.” This was happening so fast. One minute you’re thinking of selling your old memorabilia to make rent, and the next…

“I want the others to be largely unknowns. New discoveries. I don’t want the typical formula, where girls in their early teens sign horrific contracts and are reduced to dancing, singing soldiers by the time of their debut. I want the emphasis to be that here at Taisho Entertainment, we don’t need that kind of rote repetition to make stars from nobodies.”

Miroku was starting to pick up what Sesshomaru was putting down, and it both intrigued him as a concept and terrified him beyond belief. “You want to form a fully realized K-pop girl group using girls without any formal training in the system?”

“That’s exactly what I want.”

Miroku gulped. That meant combing through thousands upon thousands of Japanese girls, weeding out the ones who couldn’t speak Korean first, then weeding out the mediocre ones, then weeding out the ‘girls-who-sing-well-but-have-no-stage-presence’ and the ‘girls-who-can-dance-their-feet-off-but-have-voices-like-dying-cats’...

“You got it.” Why do I feel like I just signed up for guaranteed panic attacks and insomnia for the next several months, or even years?

“I’ll expect a list of some good prospects to explore by the end of the week,” Sesshomaru said, “You’ll need to work closely with my brother on this. The priority here is untapped talent, and if we find a girl who’s usable, we’ll help her learn the rest.”

Time to hit up karaoke bars and YouTube, I guess.

“You’re dismissed. I’ll summon you both again in a week’s time to look over what you’ve found and work out our plans from there.”

Like a good little soldier, Miroku stood and left the office. Inuyasha sighed behind him and followed, but at a more reluctant pace.

“Where do we even start?” Inuyasha griped, shoving his hands into his pockets and kicking at the ground. 

Ding-ding-ding. Lightbulb. 

“Wait,” Miroku said, pulling out his phone and going to his streaming app. “I can’t believe I didn’t think of it a second ago. I found this duo on my random playlist just last week. Apparently they’re based at Busan National University, they’re Japanese nationals, and they play the coffeehouse circuit.”

Inuyasha peered over his shoulder at the band’s profile page, emblazoned with the words ‘JxK, LOL’ which was, admittedly, a pretty terrible name for a band under any circumstances. 

“No photos,” Inuyasha pointed out, raising an eyebrow. “That’s promising. You’re right, Miroku. Brilliant idea. I see why my brother’s gonna pay you a million gazillion - “

“Alright, alright,” Miroku said irritatedly. “Enough with the snark. I know we don’t know what either of them looks like, but just listen to this girl’s voice.”

He chose a song and hit play.

(AUTHOR’S NOTE: HI I WILL BE COMING IN LIKE THIS QUITE FREQUENTLY TO TELL Y’ALL WHEN TO HIT PLAY ON THE LINK FOR MAXIMUM IMMERSION. OF COURSE YOU DON’T HAVE TO DO IT ONLY WHEN I SAY SO, YOU CAN LISTEN TO YOUR HEART’S CONTENT HOWEVER THE HELL YOU WANNA, BUT STILL, CONSIDER THIS YOUR CUE TO PLAY THE SONG IF YOU HAVEN’T ALREADY OK BYEEEE)

They both stood there, both utterly enraptured. 

As the song played, the skeptical furrow in Inuyasha’s brow seemed to gradually smoothe out, and Miroku had to fight back a laugh of triumph. 

“Okay, so she can sing,” Inuyasha said stubbornly after the last notes rang out and they were left in silence once more. “She can really sing. But aside from knowing that she’s somewhere in the huge-ass city of Busan, how can we possibly find out more about her? We don’t even know her name!”

With a flourish that would have made Sesshomaru tear up with pride, Miroku pulled up the band’s tiny social media page. Still no photos or details, but there, aha, a small list of upcoming gigs (all coffeehouses and restaurants, of course).

“Guess we got a date,” Miroku snarked.

Inuyasha sighed, blowing a lock of silvery hair out of his face. “Guess I gotta pack for a flight to Korea.”

“Pack for a week,” Miroku called after his retreating back, “It’s gonna be a busy one.”

[fullmetal-hearrt]

Lets talk about Park Jimin.

This boy right here, dating back to somewhere in the streets of Busan, at the age of seven he wanted to be the world’s greatest swordsman and was obsessed with dinosaurs up until middle school. The he discovered singing and told his father that he wanted to be a singer and his dad said, you do you the light of my life; fastrack a few years when in middle school he decided (as if a gift from God) to become a dancer and started doing ballet and contemporary along with street dance specializing in popping. (talk about talent).

He continued being a fire dancer and if I may flex, the busan street battle champion. His dance academy literally allowed him to learn for free cause he was just.that.good.  A few years down the line he was faced with a little bit of a crossroads where he had to choose between being a professional dancer or give his dreams a try and enter the kpop industry. Jimin had four scholarships lined up for him no big deal but he decided (again, as if a gift from God) to audition for big hit entertainment and ended up being a trainee.

He met Namjoon, Yoongi, Hoseok, Jin , taehyung and Jungkook. People he will eventually end up loving more than anything he’ll ever love. Namjoon and Yoongi had always been kind of an enigma, one being the leader and the other being as detached from life as it gets but their lyrics always spoke what they never did. Jin was a bit difficult to understand at first but with time it started feeling weird if there wasn’t someone joking around and making everyone smile even when their legs felt like giving out. Hoseok was someone who inspired the dancer in Jimin, the way he smiled so effortlessly even while doing the hardest of chereohraphies was something to adore. Taehyung and Jimin went to the same high school and in no time became the bestest of friends, they were practically inseparable; soulmates to be exact. Sometimes it felt like they only had each other to rely on. Jungkook on the other hand was a literal child who made Jimin want to constantly dote on him and how could he not love this lil boy who somehow felt like Busan, felt like home.

The trainee period was honestly hell in every possible sense; Jimin had the shortest trainee period and trained for mere months as opposed to the three years of training everyone else had. A lot of people including the CEO of the company were at some points against Jimin being in the group which resulted in him getting kicked out a couple of times. It was a long hard training period for this boy from Busan but eventually with nothing but sheer hard work, willpower and undeniable skills he ended up being the main dancer and the lead vocalist of Bangtan boys. (Pause for flex)

After what seemed like an endless struggle, the d day came and BTS debuted on 13th June, 2013. It was honestly shocking to some to see a rookie band having such a high skill set. Their debut was somehow the talk of the town. Amusingly enough, Everyone seemed to be talking about this guy who shows his abs during the performances. It helped with the popularity but as with all good things in life, it had a major downside. He was a minor who was forced to show his body when he literally requested against it and this in-turn left him with insecurities about his gorgeous body that’ll haunt him for years to come.

BTS weren’t really that big when they debuted, they were from a small company with limited funds and had to slowly build their way to the top amongst all the prejudice thrown at them.

Jimin grew up somewhere along the way.

Everyone seemed to love his pretty eye smile, the way he smiled with those eyes that made people feel at home. Everyone talked about how amazing he is all the time but somehow Jimin didn’t seem to believe. He somehow always saw himself as lacking something, always not enough. So he practiced;

There was Jimin; practicing, constantly striving to be better and more better. Burning out his body dancing, loosing his voice singing and rehearsing till he collapses. He kept practicing to sing better, kept collapsing till he danced better and kept starving till he looked better.

He just couldn’t figure out what was wrong with him. Even in the vlog that was being filmed for his own birthday he couldn’t quite focus on the cake or his friends but somehow was busy covering his face with his hands because he felt like who he was without makeup wasn’t good enough.

A lot of things changed. Years, haircolours, eras; at the end of it all was one fateful day of May 5th, 2015 when BTS had their first win and for some reason Jimin couldn’t stop crying. It was hard believing that all his struggles are finally being rewarded; it felt unreal like it was a secret camera or his birthday but it was real and things were about to get even more real.

Then came wings and Jimin had to write a song for his solo and it was honestly difficult for him to settle on one thing so he kept working and kept editing and after months on end he came out with the lyrics to a song called ‘lie’. This song was the most genius thing most people had heard. It became the most popular of all the solos that were in that particular album. It set records on spotify and instantly became a highlight for their tour as well.

Somehow, a song  that was so widely loved had lyrics that were downright disturbing. He kept pleading for himself to be saved from hell. He kept saying that there are these voices that he hears and how he’s astray and how he needs to be rescued, desperately needs to be saved but nobody really cared about the lyrics as long as the choreography showed his collarbones & a choker.

A year down the line came the fateful concept of blood sweat & tears. Jimin had a lot riding on him for this. Being the center of their main single was something that was quite hard but Jimin had always been up for challenges.

He thought he had to be better, more better and the only way to be better was to look good because that’s what they say right? They say, your eyes desire first and the heart comes along later right? So he starved. He starved himself  to the point where he ate one proper meal in ten days. He kept feeling tired and collapsed a few times during rehearsals but it doesn’t matter cause it was working right? People went crazy about him in blood sweat & tears. It was a sight to see, people falling for him faster than his jacket falls off his shoulder. Blood sweat tears Jimin became a standard for sexy and charismatic that only few in kpop could reach. Who cares about his health as long as the focus  fancams keep coming in, yeah?

Things went on like this and damn BTS were on fire. Bangtan boys went from nobodies from a small company to being the biggest band in the world. They won many awards. They won daesangs and BBMAS and every other award that could fit in their bag. It was surreal. They achieved all the dreams that they had set out to achieve but this also meant that they were in uncharted territories. No one had quite done what they were doing. With the realization of being the best came the realization of being all alone on the top; Here set in the existential crises. It seemed like everyone was having a hard time, all the members were struggling too much and it was all too overwhelming to the point where they had to even consider disbanding and there are a lot of things that Jimin hadn’t imagined happening that happened but boy, this was the least of them all.

He was struggling so much but it was all on the inside you know? Never quite on surface. On surface he was everyone’s resident mochi but in reality there was hate, just so much fucking hate it made his head hurt. Everytime he opened twitter there were a dozen comments about how Jimin as a singer, as a dancer, as an artist; as a person just wasn’t enough.

But he kept powering through. Kept walking with his head high even though he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. Jimin along the way decided to write a song of his own. Something that is Jimin in it’s very essence. To begin with it was a song about how he wasn’t enough. It got so bad that at one point he was practically cursing himself through his own song for just not being enough.

Along the way, there was a concert. It was one of the biggest they had ever done; citifield USA. It was a big damn deal. It felt unreal seeing so many people with their army bombs held high, tears in their eyes, all for these seven boys. Jimin was reminded of a time some months back when he was watching a video of his fans singing ‘young forever’ and how back in the day when he was having a hard time figuring himself out, he had cried his out to that song and to the people he loves so much. He couldn’t quite contain that feeling and ended up crying during the encore and boy when he cried it rained in some hearts. He cried looking at the sea of people that was no longer a mirage. Jimin being Jimin, decided that he wouldn’t sing about his struggle and his pain but would much rather sing about the fruits at the end of his despair so, he took some time out, got himself back on his own feet and did a complete 360 for his solo song.  

Instead of talking about how his pain and his struggle bothered him he just promised himself to not allow those things to bother him anymore. It was honestly therapeutic. The song that came out at the end of all this pain was a ‘promise’. A promise to help himself get through the night.

It was a long motherfucking road till here but at the end of all despair there was just one answer that he found, loving himself. The end of his despair wasn’t in how other people loved him but in how he needed to love himself, so now a days he does just that.

He loves himself.

He is goofy on stage, he doesn’t strictly stick to choreography now a days, he has his fun on stage. He isn’t scared of changing notes live on stage because even if his voice cracks or if he misses a step, now he knows, it’s only human. He eats too, atleast that’s what he tells his people. He does live shows where he is eating and tells everyone that he loves having midnight snacks and that he won’t diet again. Some people choose to believe him having no other choice but to hope he’s not caught in a lie again. The best thing though is that, He smiles a lot too recently and it’s the same smile; the same pre debut, familiar coming home Jimin eyesmile.

Guess it’s like coming home afterall, the 18 year boy who left a career, his hometown, all his loved ones and moved to the big city of Seoul all for a single dream that he had no guarantee of ever fulfilling. It really is coming home, coming home to himself and realizing that after all these years the only thing that has changed is that he became BTS’s Jimin from Park Jimin but underneath it all it’s just that same boy from Busan who can’t laugh without flinging his body across the room. The same boy who gets offended when asked about his height. The same little boy with the world’s biggest heart holding all of the love in his lil’ mochi hands and his little pinky that he has intertwined to make a promise, not just for us to love us but for him to love himself the way he deserves to be loved.

And honestly, I think that’s fucking beautiful.

[lgcyunhyeong]

hey there!! this is my first time in lgc and i’m super excited to be here! i’ve been eyeing this place for a while and i’m glad i finally mustered up the nerve to join. this is cho yunhyeong, 21, works part time at his local gs25. he’s been a trainee for little over a year and is hoping to eventually debut in a band! he plays the bass and sings a little bit, and he also wants to get into songwriting and composition eventually. he’s generally kind of a weird kid--super spacey, often distracted, your local space nerd--but he’s a good egg in spite of that. compared to some of the other trainees, he’s pretty aimless and chill, but he does genuinely love music and performing, so...!

you can find some more info about him on his about and background pages but they’re kind of messy so i’ll drop some quick facts about yunhyeong under the cut, along with some connection/plot ideas to hopefully kickstart things! if you’d like to plot, please hit like on this post and i’ll hop into your ims! i also have a discord if you prefer to plot there - just ask me for my username ♡

quick facts:

born and brought up in seoul - very local, most comfortable in his neighbourhood, the most exciting vacation he ever took was to busan (and it was #lit). his parents own the best hot pot restaurant in seoul, and yeah he’s biased but that doesn’t mean it’s not true! 

has an older brother currently in law school and their relationship is best described as ‘i tolerate you’. they’re complete opposites - his brother is super driven and loud and outgoing while yunhyeong is not so they’ve never really clicked beyond the fact that they are siblings and therefore are obligated to love each other

was the quiet kid growing up, had a very chill and subdued personality. didn’t really speak unless spoken too, didn’t play much with others. most of the time he kept to himself and focused on his hyperfixations - first, it was dinosaurs, and then space! and he’s been stuck with space ever since

his mom put him in music lessons when he was younger in hopes that a relatable hobby might help him make friends?? also that it’d work as a conversation starter but it didn’t because yunhyeong remained as weird and solitary as ever! he did fall in love with music as a result though

in high school he decided to branch out and make friends by starting a band - new age sexy aliens or NASA for short. his recruitment process was like: whoever shows up to join is part of the band! it worked out for the best since he and the band members got really close

they started off playing covers but then branched out into their own original music (yunhyeong helped write some of their lyrics). most of their songs used heavy space imagery and they were really pretty but also low key about aliens

yunhyeong loves aliens

nasa had a pretty dedicated fanbase both online and in their school! did well, were thriving, living their best lives and playing hella gigs, and then their lead singer got scouted by an entertainment company. it was the beginning of the end for them; the rest of the members went their own ways as well and the band officially disbanded in 2018 rip

yunhyeong started to busk on/off since he wasn’t attending university and didn’t really know what the heck else he wanted to do with his life outside of the band, and that’s where he got scouted by legacy! joined the company because like... well... why would he not...

wants to debut in a band if he can... and focus on songwriting and music composition as a secondary career path. he isn’t like... super motivated though? has always had issues with setting goals and being ambitious... he’s more like, eh, i’m just gonna go where life takes me! 

personality wise, he’s still a pretty quiet kid unless you get him talking about one of his interests, in which case he will never shut up EVER. he gets distracted easily and will sometimes zone out when you’re talking to him but has a good memory of like, the most random shit you wouldn’t expect him to recall

easygoing as hell, rarely gets riled up over anything. on the flip side, he doesn’t really come across as sincere (even though he almost always is!) in his emotions because people are like... hm... just feels fake. tries to stay as positive as he can and doesn’t dwell on stuff that might upset him. sometimes people think he’s shallow! but he has #deepthoughts. he just doesn’t share them

unmotivated when it comes to most things! has no goals, no ambition, doesn’t care much for academia or being forced to like, conform to things. his mom calls him a free spirit but she’s probably just making excuses for him. it’s more like he’s stuck in some sort of limbo?? scared of growing up but scared of being left behind. it’s complicated

he’s really a sweet guy though. a little odd - he’s not the best at showing affection and sometimes he can be really... strange? offbeat? you never know what the fuck is going on in his head. but he’s a Human Being Just Like You (sadly) and simply trying his best to live every day

connection/plot ideas:

he didn’t really have many friends growing up, but still - childhood friends! maybe you were the exception. maybe you didn’t mind that he was awkward and quiet and a little weird! maybe you tripped and fell on the playground and he gave you a star-patterned purple band aid and you decided you would die for him. who knows! 

friends in general who understand him and look @ him with fond exasperation... must be able to tolerate his antics. liking aliens is a bonus. jk, but he’s a sweet guy who loves his friends! please be kind to him

fans of his former band, nasa (or antis?). he was the bassist and a sub vocal and didn’t stand out too much compared to some of the other guys, but he always did the intros and he’ll happily talk about nasa all day! discuss the symbolism of their songs with him

exes? i genuinely cannot think of a single reason why anyone would want to date him but i feel like he’s had at least (1) relationship before... maybe you took a chance and after you started dating you were like, god, i’m running away

crushes, whether one-sided on his part or your part or reciprocated but you don’t know it yet?? he’s holding out for his alien bae but maybe you don’t know that and just think he’s like, this quiet mysterious pretty boy. maybe he thinks you’re cool for a human! 

fellow trainees who can play instruments... yunhyeong needs someone to #jam with because playing the bass alone is kind of lonely (and since he’d like to eventually get on the band track, making some connections would be cool) 

fellow trainees in general, especially ones in his training group!! he’s not as hungry for debut or as ambitious as some which means he’s a) non-threatening and b) chill to hang with. you could be into that or it could absolutely infuriate you since he doesn’t seem to be taking things seriously! maybe you think he doesn’t deserve to be here

met online on an alien enthusiast forum and you talk almost every single day about various theories and moves and all that kind of stuff but you’ve never met irl! and yunhyeong really wants to meet you in person! 

idk bully him 

you’re buying a bunch of weird shit from the convenience store where yunhyeong works at like 2 am and he has so many questions and won’t let you pay and leave until you answer them

alternatively, you find him sleeping on the job and you want to wake him up but the moment you touch his arm, he makes this high pitched screeching noise and you fall over and take an entire shelf of candy down with you

you invite yunhyeong out for drinks but he took one sip of soju and he’s a mess... you didn’t sign up to take care of a giant drunken baby but guess what! you will be! if he tries to kiss you, dodge him

you always bum free meals from yunhyeong’s parents’ restaurant because his parents think you’re his best friend. tbh you actually don’t really like him but he doesn’t realize it so he never bothers correcting his parents either!

you didn’t realize yunhyeong was allergic to cats and dogs and you brought your cat/dog near him and oh my god he is having the UGLIEST allergic reaction

yunhyeong can’t swim. you push him into a pool as a joke. chaos ensues

you play various video games together and yunhyeong is really good but he’s more interested in stardew valley than in league of legends and you keep pestering him to play with you dammit i need you on my team

you slipped a love letter under his door for one of his roommates but yunhyeong thought it was for him and now he keeps (kindly) rejecting you whenever you see him and you don’t even know how to react

Oh No We Are Trapped In This Room And The Power Went Out And I Am Scared Of The Dark Please Hold My Hand For Science

yunhyeong loves smoothies and one day you catch him trying to blend a slice of pepperoni pizza into a smoothie because he is, and i quote, “tired of chewing”

IDK ALL THESE IDEAS ARE BAD BUT PLEASE PLOT WITH ME ANYWAY

[2old4kpop]

15 Underrated Girly Kpop Songs That Make Me Go Absolutely Feral

When it comes to girl groups, more than anything I am a Blackjack and Blink. I like to listen to girl songs that make me want to murder men (and believe me, that blog post is in the works). But I’m also a ONCE, as TWICE are my sweet darling babies, but they’re about as girly as I can tolerate. I’m not one for the super girly concepts. I mean, did you guys ever see MINX? Occasionally I ironically jam to Shakey Love Shakey Shakey Shakey Shakey Love, but it was an absolute blessing from the K-pop gods to rebrand them as Dreamcatcher. It’s really only the A-list girly songs I tolerate, like GFriend or Oh My Girl. Everything else below them just seems really cringy.

Except for a few chosen few that are so good that they make me absolutely lose all of my shits. And I’m talking about songs that nobody seems to know like at all. Either these songs came out when the groups were still under the radar, before they had their big smash hits, or they just never seemed to rise to the top. But they are still valid and important. Videos are linked in the song names, since Tumblr won’t let me add more than five videos, but here we go.

15. April- Dream Candy

April is one of those rare groups that pull off the girly concept so well but don’t ever seem forced, like they are just truly naturally sweet and pure and precious. Honestly all of their songs are great, and it’s tragic that they haven’t had a comeback in 2019. But their debut, Dream Candy, is the one that really gets deep in my soul to that animal part of my brain that makes me scream this god damn chorus. But only really at the end. I never really listened to this song until it came on shuffle one day when I was walking home in the rain, and thought, why not listen to this awkward girly song, and then the last chorus hit and OH MY GOD. It’s a good one guys.

14. Momoland- Jjan! Koong! Kwang!

So this song comes out by some unknown group called uh, Momoland?, with a title that is just a bunch of sounds that don’t exist in English, and I felt like I was the only one on Earth that was like, “This is fine.” I was honestly in some I Am Legend universe where instead of me being the only living person on Earth, I was the only one that liked Momoland’s debut. As time went on Momoland started putting out what is pretty much some of the worst K-Pop that exists (I mean, have you SEEN the video for Wonderful Love? Try not to cringe challenge) and sadly enough this group just faded into obscurity and never had any huge, Earth shattering hits or anything. 

13. DIA- My Friend’s Boyfriend

On paper this song is awful. I mean it’s a song about being a petty bitch who has decided to steal their friend’s boyfriend, hence the title. Also the song ads cute little quirks like *squints eyes to read this metaphorical paper closer* coughing. Also the video has an unnecessarily long intro. But believe me when I tell you that this is an absolute slapper.

12. Gugudan- Wonderland

It’s a crime that Gugudan has never really hit it off, even with two I.O.I members. Their debut has this amazing Little Mermaid concept and believe me when I tell you that this chorus is best when screamed at the top of your lungs. After all the screaming I am basically in a manic state by the la la la’s.

11. LOONA 1/3- Love&Live

You’ll notice that the main theme of this list is that the choruses are absolute fire. But this one comes in and basically knocks the wind out of me with sweetness, like some kind of aegyo Kool-Aid man. It’s really the music that does it for me in this one, along with the melody, along with Heejin’s perfect high note. If this song doesn’t make you smile then you are a robot, like ViVi. 

10. Shannon Williams- Why Why

If Ant and/or Dec were here, they would hear this song and definitely say that Britain’s Got Talent. Shannon is the British IU,hands down, undeniably, I will not be taking questions at this time. But it’s very sad that her career was nonexistent after this came out. Was it the fact that this features a sixteen-year-old grinding against faceless boys? Or that this video widely revolves around her intensely stalking someone? It can’t be the song because that is perfect. 

9. AOA- Bingle Bangle

Okay so some history for those non-Elvises out there. AOA was THE HOTTEST girl group for a good minute, with so many timeless collaborations with the Brave Brothers that really changed the shape of female K-Pop for a while. And then ChoA left the group. And without the only member who could actually sing the face of the group, AOA kind of went quiet, save for a few Jimin solo songs. Then AOA came back with a new sound, and while everyone else thought it was terrible, I thought it was a bop! And I love the video and the concept! And the dance for this is so fun. Bingle Bangle is a real yes for me dawg. It’s only too bad that they lost yet another member and their concept was handed off to FNC’s new girl group. Speaking of which...

8. Cherry Bullet- Really Really

Yeah so they literally gave this entire “girls in a video game but it’s fun and cute” concept to Cherry Bullet, and they hit the ground running with it. This comeback in particular is my favorite of theirs because it hits one of my favorite pop music tropes: Having A Funky Instrumental Chorus, Only At The End To Put Words Over The Music. It ticks all my boxes.

7. Rainbow- Whoo

If you ever wanted to hear a song that made you scream “RAAAAIIINBOOW AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!” then this is it. At this point in this list we start to hear the songs that make me truly insane, and this song absolutely destroys me. It’s really sad, however, that this is basically Rainbow’s swan song, as it was their last song before disbandment. 

6. Matilda- Macarena

I bet you haven’t even HEARD of Matilda. I bet you didn’t even KNOW that MATILDA just DISBANDED a FEW MONTHS AGO because ALL THEIR SONGS WERE BAD except for THIS ONE which is just full of CHAOTIC GOOD ENERGY and if you don’t ENJOY THIS then GET OFF MY LAWN. 

5. Berry Good- Angel

Berry Good was destined to be one of those girl groups, like Matilda, that came from a tiny company and was just given bad songs and were set up to fail. So they crowdfunded, and somehow made two incredible comebacks, Don’t Believe (which is a whole other story that we won’t get into today, but it’s an amazing song that you should check out) and prior to that, Angel. I don’t even know where to begin with this song because it literally makes me forget who I am and why I exist. It’s a banger?? This song starts off so soft and pure and jumps right into a chorus that makes you bang your head and scream “I TAKE A CHANCE, YOU NEVER KNOW” as loud as possible. And right when you think you can’t take it anymore, that you are gasping for air because you are drowning in perfection, THEY GO EVEN HARDER. Like, girls, you did not need to go that hard. Holy shit. They go full IU in Good Day. I don’t know why we were blessed with this, especially since after this all their other songs have been garbage, and they’ve been so unsuccessful that they lost their strongest member and they’re heading for disbandment. But we have this gem, and I’m thankful for it.

4. 4Minute- Heart To Heart

Back when 4Minute was just another 2NE1 clone, trying to compete in the market of “Girls Who Look Tough But Are Actually Sweet” 4Minute, aka The HyunA Group, put out this. Third Geners, this is what Second Gen was all about. This is the meaning of Christmas, Charlie Brown. This song is everything. It’s perfect. And it’s too bad that 4Minute didn’t really stick with this sound, but also not, since with their more mature concept they wound up getting pretty famous once Park Bom... I mean, we’re not gonna talk about it. 

3. Hyolyn- Bae

Okay so I know that Hyolyn as an entity is not technically considered underrated, but her entire solo career is being slept on and I don’t understand. With Sistar gone, and now Red Velvet carrying the torch for summer anthems, Hyolyn doesn’t necessarily have to give us one of the best summer songs of all time but she did. Every second of this song to me is perfect. And yeah okay I’ll admit it, I am a Gay, I am attracted to women, and Hyolyn is a lot of. A lot of wow. She and HyunA are exactly my type, and this video is a lot. But the SONG you guys. It’s so much that I told even regular people who listen to English music to listen to this song. They didn’t, of course, because the world doesn’t appreciate Hyolyn like I would, I mean like I do as a fan and nothing else. This song was my summer anthem in 2018, Power Up wishes it was this good.

2. BESTie- Thank U Very Much

One of the things that really got me into K-Pop during the Second Gen was that it sounded so much like pop music from my youth. This is gonna sound weird, but I grew up in a Wiccan Neo-Pagan household where 90% of the music we listened to was traditional Celtic or New Age, and if it was ever anything else it was like The Beatles (my Mom and her sisters were one of those screaming and fainting Beatles fans, the trait that was clearly passed down to me, based on what happened when I saw G-Dragon live, but that’s another story) or ABBA, or any kind of British/European pop/rock from the 70s or 80s. So once I was old enough to really find out what kind of music I liked, I dived deep into cheesy pop songs like S Club 7, Britney Spears, and the like. But I always had a soft spot for ABBA. The melodies, the music, the strange lyrics that didn’t really make sense or weren’t quite grammatically correct but it worked. I feel like that love for obscure pop, along with the 90s and early 2000s bubblegum pop, pushed me right into the K-Pop scene. And this song is the best example of that kind of weird melody with oddly used English words, but it works in the best way. The chorus of this song sounds like it was written by ABBA. The ending of this song is transcendent. Tell me you can’t picture a Korean Meryl Streep in overalls singing the ending of this song while dancing on a beach. This song makes me lose all my shits. But I do have to say that this video is uh, Not Good, especially compared with how amazing the song is. But these underrated bottom of the barrel groups don’t have much to work with in the first place, so we can’t really fault them. This song holds up, and is going to hold up for a very long time. I stan.

1. Laboum- Shooting Love

So like I said before, I don’t typically like the super sugary, super tacky, super girly girl concepts. BUT I LOVE LABOUM. ALL their girly sweet songs are AMAZING. They somehow get everything right, in their own unique way. They’re not at all like “Oh, they’re like GFriend”, “Oh, that’s like Lovelyz” or anything, if you get what I’m saying. Laboum had their own cheesy yet perfect style of girly. Aalow Aalow: A CLASSIC. Journey To Atlantis: A CLASSIC. Hwi Hwi: A CLASSIC. Only U: YES YOU GUESS IT, CLASSIC. Sugar Sugar: DON’T MAKE ME SAY IT AGAIN. I could have made this whole list with just Laboum songs. So I made myself pick one by listening to as many old Laboum songs as I could before I would become an absolutely menace to society, as I am not responsible for my actions after listening to so much girly perfectlon at once. If I was arrested and went to court for I dunno, causing distress and mayhem to the citizens of my city, my lawyer would call it “the Laboum defense.” “You see, Your Honor, my client listened to a lot of Laboum songs, and lost control of themselves and became an entity, a ball of energy, a comet destroying everything in its path while screaming cheesy Korean lyrics.” And I would be set free, of course, because who wouldn’t lose themselves completely to the power of Laboum? But anyway I picked Shooting Love, as it puts me in a manic state from the very intro until the last second. And let me just say now that I deeply mourn this old Laboum, as they came back in 2018 with a new concept that makes them sound lobotomized compared to their old sound. Like slow R&B is fine, but compared to this it’s drab and slow and dull and I hate it. I Hate It. Bring back cute Laboum in 2020, or at least study Apink if you want to see how to properly change an aging cute group into a mature group. I could go on, but now I have the urge to listen to more Laboum. You’ll see me on the evening news tonight, I’m sure.

anyway 안녕

[vantaestummy]

this is so random but could you please please please write one where yoongi just involuntarily,,, pukes on joon?? maybe theyre sharing a bed for whatever reason and yoongi is queasy or maybe theyre crammed in the backseat of the car together and yoongi cant really lean anywhere else except for over their laps?? it can be short i don't mind i just really want to read this and you're my favorite writer. thank you so much i hope you're doing well and you're taking care of yourself

A/N: YES OMFG! Omg you are so sweet. I read this prompt and had to write it cus i really love it. If you are still waiting on a request, it will get done lmao. I promise. Enjoy anon! And thank you sm ❤︎❤︎❤︎

TW///emeto, mentions of anxiety

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Bang P.D. has not been too happy with the last few tracks that Yoongi and Namjoon have recorded.

Something about how it just wasn’t… them. How the music didn’t come from their souls, their expepriences, their lives. The music they were making wasn’t true. Built and made through computer applications that have no true meaning. So here they were, Yoongi and Namjoon, sitting on top of Namjoon’s bed while the other boys were out, working and editing track after track, song after song. Writing and writing until the sun lit the horizon.

Yoongi’s laptop was burning into the skin of his thighs, its heat making him all too uncomfortable. His stomach was already churning with anxiety, not being able to meet anyone’s expectations. It was unnerving as it was frustrating, and the dinner that Namjoon had made wasn’t sitting too well, all thanks to the ever present worry and fret.

Namjoon squints at the screen of his laptop, pushing his glasses higher onto the bridge of his nose as he clicks away at the keyboard. Yoongi intakes a deep breath, a desperate attempt to quell the nausea in his swirling belly. He starts to rub his aching tummy, biting the flesh of his bottom lip as the screen of his laptop blurs in the midst of his vision.

Namjoon looks up. “Hey hyung, you good?”

Yoongi swallows thickly, his throat on fire. “Yeah, just, sleepy.” The eldest rapper says as he removes his headphones. He feels almost motion sick, the endless onslaught of his troubling thoughts making the queasiness within him growing and growing.

Namjoon just hums, still clicking and clacking. Yoongi stifles a belch through the cloth that covers his knees, burying his face into the crook of his arms as he pullls his legs in. It’s quiet for a moment, with the exception of Namjoon’s keyboard, before the younger ruffles the oldest rapper’s hair.

“Why are you hiding kitten?” Namjoon teases. Yoongi wants to fight him but, he won’t. Not not. Not when his stomach is acting up. Not when his anxiety is running amok.

Even though they’ve already debuted, can P.D. make them disband earlier than their contract has called for? What if these songs aren’t good enough? What if P.D. gets tired of them? What if he cancels all of their performances and interviews?

What if in a flash, everything they’ve ever worked for, turns to dust?

Yoongi feels a wet splash of dinner at the very base of his throat before his body constricts. He needs a bathroom, now.

“Hyung? What was that sound? Hyung.”

Namjoon pulls at Yoongi’s arms lightly, but unfortunately, it’s just enough for Yoongi’s resolve to come tumbling down. With a painful squelch, a colorful stream of bile spills from Yoongi’s lips, plummeting into Namjoon’s lap, as well as the bedsheets before plopping to the floorboards.

“Hyung.”

Namjoon quickly ignores the grotesque warmth in his lap in order to grab at Yoongi’s fringe, a hand on his cheek as he guides the eldest rapper to face the floor.

“Let it out baby, it’s okay.”

Yoongi whimpers, a few tears leaking from his eyes as he gives a silent but harsh gag, one that has another stream of puke pouring to the floor, draping along the bedsheets as it does so. It hurts, everything does. Yoongi’s insides feel like they’re burning but the calm hand on his back helps to soothe some of his anxiousness, as well as his pain.

“Baby, why didn’t tell me you were feeling sick? Was it the food? I feel fine I don’t know how—"

“No... the food was fine, surprisingly.” Namjoon scoffs as Yoongi sticks his tongue out, annoyed with the disgusting and rancid taste in his mouth. Even when he’s feeling ill, the oldest rapper in the group still has the best disses.

Yoongi is left, coughing and gagging wetly but helplessly. Namjoon gives the older’s bicep a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry I... this whole thing just... I feel so fucking worthless. What if Bang hates what we makes? What if he gives up on us? What if—"

“Hey, hey.”

Namjoon cups Yoongi’s red cheek, the skin there a bit swollen and far too warm to be normal. “You need to stop this hyung. Bang didn’t just pick us out of nowhere. He saw something in us. He saw potential in us. He believes in us. Maybe we’ve been in a writing funk lately, but who cares? We’ve been so caught up in the throw of things that we forgot what it meant to truly make music. He may have been disappointed but he will never give up on us. And more importantly, you can’t give up on yourself.”

Yoongi would never admit it, but yeah he’s crying, and he’s covered in puke. They both are. He feels pretty pathetic right now but, there’s a tiny sliver of hope, one that sparkles in his heart. A hope so strong that, he feels a little bit better, and the nausea has slowly drained itself from his body, along with the vomit.

“Thanks Joon...”

Namjoon caresses the apple of Yoongi’s cheek with the padding of his thumb. He smiles.

“Of course. Now, maybe we should shower first, and then get back to work.”

Yeah, Yoongi still wants to fight Namjoon.

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A/N: it was short i know lol. don’t kill meh. more requests to come! ❤︎