#kouxbe

[jueunbe]

✦ . ˚ — @kouxbe

one thing jueun had always been confident in was dressing up and looking nice. it's a habit she's had since she was a child because she was a pageant kid and old habits have proven to be hard to break out of. plus, she just liked looking cute whenever she could.

she let that show back when she was participating in next gen by helping out her fellow contestants with their makeup and looks and taking part in the creative process for some of their stages. now that she was a trainee, her interest in this has only heightened, and she hoped that she could one day participate in the creative direction of whatever group she may possibly debut in.

that's why when she heard that sr media was holding a workshop on creative direction, she couldn't wait to sign up. the last few workshops she had participated in felt more mandatory, but she was genuinely excited for this one. it would give her a more professional lookout on what it meant to help create a concept or visual lookbook for a group.

"i'm so excited i can barely stay in my seat," she stated to kou, who happened to be right beside her. "do you think they'll go into details or just keep it vague? because i want to know the real deal behind everything that goes on when preparing for a comeback. if i hadn't become a trainee, i would have become a fashion designer, you see."

[beclaudine]

rockstar cat.

it’s a rather uneventful way—at least, it’s supposed to be.

claudine doesn’t really know what spurred her to come to this cat cafe. sure, she knows someone who works there, mainly @kouxbe, but she’d always been worried that her rather lavish outfits would come out in tatters if she so much as put one of the cats on her lap. then again, that’s par for the course, something she should expect. but maybe she should’ve asked to meet someplace else—a lot less worrying, where she can relax and not worry about a cat knocking over her drink and ruining her shirt.

but it’s fine. a cat walks up to her, rubbing its cheek against her leg. she looks down briefly, sees that her pants are fine, and reaches down to thread her fingers through its fur. yeah, she’s overthinking it. surely this will be fine.

eventually kou comes over with her drink. claudine looks up at the clock, blinking when she realizes it’s nearly closing time and she should’ve come earlier. looking around there’s only a handful of people left, her included. “are you closing alone? do you… leave all of them here?” she asks referring to the cats, curious. “are they just left alone until the next day?”

she didn’t come here to ask about cats though, she lets out a sigh as she rests her chin atop her palm. “kou, you’re a musician, aren’t you?” she doesn’t know much, but she knows kou has some sort of musical talent. “do you know any… good rockstars?”

what a strange question.

[beyuwol]

› the day you first gave me your paw … ☽

yuwol's day is usually packed. a barrage of classes, followed by hours of practice. before he knew it, the night greets him with the appearance of the moon, unassuming but always watching from the corner of his eyes. he had long since become acquainted with the night, finding most of his freedom from his restraining schedule once day breaks. he could wander anywhere, no one would question a thing—as long as he returns home to complete tomorrow's tasks once dawn arrives.

tonight, he decided on a cat cafe. and while the company of feline creatures is more than enough to soothe him, he's not here for them, as cute as they are. as a cat lies across his lap while he's taking a sip of his coffee, what he's looking at is his friend ( @kouxbe ). if the cafe was packed, he wouldn't have been the only one, considering what kou is wearing on his head ( he had to blink twice to make sure what he's seeing is real; cat ears ). it's not too surprising though, kou always had the flair for comedy.

so, as a good friend, yuwol decided to complete the look.

after beckoning kou closer ( funny, how easily kou comes, naive and unsuspecting ), he produces a pen from the pocket of his shirt. "you trust me, don't you?" he asks, but leaves no room for kou to answer properly. instead, he approaches kou's face with his pen, a rare glimmer of mischief in his eyes. yuwol fails to contain his laughter as he draws cat whiskers across kou's cheeks.

it's simple, doesn't need too much effort. yuwol doesn't require any artistic talent for this, but the result is still hilarious. "now, you're really a cat," he states, like that would explain his whims. "maybe your allergies will magically disappear."

he doesn't wonder why kou stayed still enough to let yuwol do whatever he wanted. kou is an enigma, after all—it's better not to try and comprehend what he's thinking.

[benayoung]

* ❁┆eat sand

nayoung hasn't been to the beach in ages. the last time was probably when she was a child, and she had a figure skating competition in florida. her family took an extra day to spend at the beach opposed to going home right away. she was so excited back then. she was rarely afforded vacations, even back then.

and of course, she's still not. the closest thing nayoung will come to a beach is sr media's beach set. when she relaxes on one of the lounge chairs and closes her eyes, though, she can almost imagine herself on a real one. maybe if she plays some ocean sounds on her phone the immersion will be better.

she's taken enough of a break, though. she snaps a picture of herself before she moves, giving the camera her best sultry look. she checks the picture on her phone afterwards, and hums in consideration. it's okay, but nayoung is a perfectionist, so that's not good enough. she needs to take beach selfies worthy of being the kpopsapphic twitter's most liked tweet of the week. nevermind that she's a straight girl. she knows her audience.

after a few more attempts, she decides the lighting is to blame, and gets up to try a different location.

as she looks around, she spots kou eating...sour candy on a beach chair? she's pretty sure she saw the prop bag laying around earlier. she remembers thinking it was an odd choice, so - when he pours grains of something out of the bag into his mouth, she is so sure it's sand.

she really should just leave him to it, but she's honestly at such a loss that she can't help but go over to him. "dude, are you like...okay?" it's not very ladylike of her, and she tries to appear ladylike to most acquaintances, but whatever. this is a special circumstance and she knows kou won't give a shit. she also suspects he'll have no fucking idea why she's asking him that.

❁┆@kouxbe

[bekaito]

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀automatic

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

if kaito could have, he definitely would have gone home for the holiday, though seeing as he still had his part-time jobs occupying his time he couldn't go home this year which really sucked. thankfully @kouxbe stuck around in korea which gave kaito someone to hang out with, giving the two of them someone to at least keep one another company during these few days. he's not complaining in the least bit, especially since it meant that he wouldn't be sitting at his apartment all alone and doing nothing when he finished with at least his tutoring job (yes there were still people that were forced by their parents to study during this time).

"so what should we do today?" he asks as he turns to kou, lips pursed in thought as even he tries to think of something for them to do after they at least have a decent meal. "wait, where was the restaurant at again?" great, had he been so spaced out that they missed the place? he could have sworn it was somewhere around here. kaito takes a moment to glance around at their surroundings while squinting and trying to remember where he saw this place that people seemed to be hyping up online.

[rihabe]

♥ — I DON'T WANNA DO THIS ANYMORE

riha likes staying busy. she doesn't like men (probably), but she likes staying busy, and also getting her friends to stop pestering her about how putting herself out there would be good for her and they know a really nice guy.

okay, fine, she decides. she finally relents, says she'll go on the stupid date, and she still gives it her all despite how little she intends to get out of the ordeal. she still puts a cute outfit on (not like she wouldn't regardless), she puts effort into her makeup, and then she goes out to stupid dinner with a man.

if riha were in charge of everything, she definitely would've chosen a better first date than some mid-table, unremarkable restaurant that she's sure countless others have had their awkward first dates at. probably multiple, because the place's vibes are bad, like she can feel the spirits of all the boring, bad dates and failed relationships.

she still sits down at the table, and waits, and when her "date" arrives...he is cute, objectively. she doesn't feel attracted to him, but she can understand why her friend gushed about him.

when he sits down, she offers him a polite smile, then takes a sip of the water the waiter brought her minutes ago. she considers her options, and decides it's best to be open off the bat.

"i just wanted to let you know, before you get invested, at all, if you do, that i'm not actually interested in dating now...i just agreed to come here because my friends kept pestering me, honestly. if you want to just leave you can. i don't want to waste your time. but if you want to stay, then...i'll pay?" she smiles again. "and we can just hang out, i guess," she laughs again, then shrugs, "we're already here and i'm pretty hungry..."

♥ — @kouxbe

[bexsua]

elegant entrance. feat. @kouxbe

sua yawns, hand slapping over her mouth as she speed walks down the sidewalk. checking her phone for the time, she grimaces, increasing her speed a bit. she’s a little late, her shift having to run over a little longer because of last minute schedule changes. she sends a quick message to kou with the words almost there sry before she shoves her phone in her pocket and continues forward.

once she arrives, sua’s eyes are darting over the restaurant for kou– perking up when she takes sight of him. beelining right for him, sua’s already slipping her bag off her shoulder so it can hang in the crook of her elbow instead. once close enough, she drops her hands on his shoulders suddenly, a cheeky little boo! leaving her with a laugh as she crashes down into the seat across for him. “hi, sorry.” sua’s smile is more of a smirk, getting herself comfortable in the seat. “work ran over late. did you order without me?” her eyes do a quick sweep over the table, then back to kou. there’s not a plethora of food, so maybe she isn’t as late as she thought. or they haven’t come yet and she’s about to be in for a rude awakening.

[srmedia]

— COMPANY NOTICE

SATO KOU has joined sr media as of NOVEMBER 1, 2023.

he is on a probationary contract which expires FEBRUARY 1, 2024.

[beyuji]

a starter for @kouxbe ( paranormal )

yuji doesn’t know what compels her to bring it up. maybe it’s the whispers in the hallway from other trainees– too many late nights and conspiracy theories talking about ghosts or weird happenings in the halls of the company late at night. yuji’s heard no such thing of an sr media ghost– nor has she happened upon anything paranormal or supernatural herself. but she won’t stop anyone’s fun. it shakes things up a little, gives yuji something else to think about other than the stagnant days and the fleeting idea of debut. 

she taps her pen on the edge of script they’re looking at for their acting lessons, yuji’s attention turning to kou for a moment as she considers. a mix of both curiosity and boredom, she decides to just ask. 

“have you heard the rumors?” her eyes narrow, observing kou’s expression carefully. she cups her chin in her palm, resting her elbow on the table. “there’s apparently something freaky going on outside the dance practice rooms at night.” it sounds silly when she says it outloud, and she can’t help the quirk of her mouth. yuji fights back a giggle. “they think it could be a ghost.”

[betouma]

barking.

to touma, this is peace: being surrounded by dogs at the park, having been entrusted with them because his reputation as an experienced dog walker is only becoming stronger the more he does it. honestly, he thinks this is the best job ever, other than working at a dog cafe that is. unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to control the hours there, so he decided on this instead: walking dogs. it's a freelance job, so he can choose his own hours. besides, he only needs enough so that he can eat and drink and pay his rent; luckily he managed to get himself a scholarship.

he's grateful that the dogs he's assigned to behave well and aren't troublesome. obviously they have their moments, but it's never anything outside of touma's control. he also makes sure to learn each one's likes and dislikes, their favourites snacks, everything that'll make taking care of them easier. he's fortunate that even if he lets go of their leashes, they won't wander off too far. they seem to like touma as well, accepting touma as their own. does he really give off that much puppy energies? he's been told that he does.

happy barks can be heard throughout the park, which isn't that crowded for once. then again, do people go to parks these days? maybe not as often anymore, aside from kids walking their first few steps. some of them are approaching the dogs, and even though they're friendly touma has to step in and make sure nothing bad actually happens. even more so when he starts hearing more... agitated barking from a few of the dogs. that catches touma's attention.

diverting his attention to the source of the barks, he realizes that it's because of @kouxbe; touma is no longer surprised. he had forgotten kou was coming, or did touma tell kou that he was going to be at this park and kou just decided to tag along without saying—either way, kou's presence will only make his job harder.

"who told you to come here? if it was me, i don't remember." touma walks over to grab the barking dog's leash, to make sure it doesn't suddenly jump onto kou or something dangerous like that. "what did you do to her... she's barking so much at you. did you anger her?"

maybe kou doesn't even need to do anything to piss off a dog. "can you behave? this is my job, you know." since it's kou, touma will accuse kou before kou could defend himself. because why not?

[noelxbe]

i'm not google translate

perhaps noel would like to learn songwriting one day, but not today. noel was busy during trainee time, he was working hard in a hope that his contract would get renewed, but he didn’t really feel like how well he did songwriting would have any say in that. would they renew his contract if he became a great songwriter? maybe, but he’d have to become quite good, and he hadn’t ever tried it before this songwriting camp began. he felt like his chances of contract renewal lied in his dance, singing and rap skills. 

he sits next to kou ( @kouxbe ), who’s a foreigner too, though his korean skills don’t seem as good as noel’s. he wanted to be nice, help the other translate and write lyrics, he’d however assumed kou would be good at english, which well… he was not. “good morning” noel says in japanese, it’s not morning, but noel doesn’t know how to say good evening in japanese. “how is writing lyrics coming along?” he asks in korean, half-awkward.

[jueunbe]

✦ . ˚ — @kouxbe

"so, what's the weirdest thing that's happened to you while training here? like are there ghosts in one of the vocal rooms or something?"

jueun was only reaching her second month as a trainee, and everything has been flowing exactly how she expected it to. a special workshop to start off her experience and then going back to what she guesses is the regular trainee schedule.

all in all, nothing too eventful has happened so far. that's why she was curious about what could happen in the future. she doesn't know exactly how long kou's been around, but she knows he's been here longer than she has, so she assumed that he had at least one fun story to tell.

she was stretching out her legs to prepare for their upcoming dance lesson as she looked up at kou, waiting for an answer. "like i hear of horror stories in buildings like this all the time. you know the megabox near sinchon is apparently haunted, right?"

[bechaerin]

✦ * · ˚ @kouxbe

there was so much chaerin never imagined would be related to songwriting. the only thing she had in mind was instruments and lyrics, but upon hearing that there was going to be a lesson on trends and social media influence, she couldn't help but become curious.

it's why she's asked kou to come to this session with her. when she found out he had become a trainee too, she couldn't be more than delighted to have another friendly face join her. despite being about for close to a year now, she still felt a distance with some of the trainees and really only stuck around the people she has become friends with.

"i should have paid more attention to all the biggest kpop groups back when i was in school," chaerin confesses with a scrunch of her nose. it was no secret that she was very behind when it came to trends and whatnot, so she imagined this close might be hard to follow. "but trends change so quickly. they're hard to keep up with."

[beyuwol]

yuwol had no plans to show up as a performer for open mic, really. and yet here he is, waiting for his turn; an impulsive decision that can easily turn sour should the opportunity arises.

but that's just life.

he is no stranger to an audience, nor is he unfamiliar with the concept of performing on a stage. in fact, he's used to much larger, fancier and lavish events, pressing onto the strings of his violin like it's his lifeline, drowning in a sea of eyes; his parents holding the sharpest ones. it's different this time, the instrument yuwol had grown unhealthily attached to is left at his apartment tucked away in its case.

in this moment, yuwol steps out with nothing but himself—no guitar to hide behind, just a music track that he asked the staff to play; a remix of his own making to go along with the holiday theme. yuwol doesn't think he has what it takes to compose a full piece just yet, despite what he's studying in university. so he settles with this, and relies on his voice. for once.

his introduction is short: his given name, and the song he'll be singing. it's been a while since he had to speak for himself before a performance, but he figures the people watching don't care about who he is, more so how he'll keep them entertained ( all except for one person, maybe, who he believes is watching too ). so he starts the song.

funny, how the universe works—yuwol parts his lips as the music starts, and his eyes doesn't have to search before he finds an overgrown cat in the audience ( a smile might have graced his face at the sight, but that isn't here nor there ). the music flows in a jingle, more festive and upbeat than in its original version. the lyrics remain the same.

while walking through the cracks of my universe we both make an eye contact

( and yuwol wonders whether kou realizes that his sunlight had pierced through the cracks of his bleak universe, allowing hints of life to blossom once more. knowing the man, probably not. )

his voice is more airy than usual, with a softer touch he didn't know he was capable of. is it because he knows who is watching? yuwol can't tell, it's probably wise to try not to think about it when he's supposed to perform, but—he's never been good at keeping his thoughts at bay.

regardless, the song comes to a close and his grip on the mic loosens. he didn't realize he had been holding on that tight.

( maybe he's holding on a little too tight onto things that he should be letting go. )

[bejoomi]

* ♪ – rigged

the halloween festivities around seoul are fun, and he's glad the dead calm boys got together to enjoy them, despite joomi's newly-packed schedule. there are all kinds of booths full of halloween themed wares, and then of course there are the carnival games.

they're fun, but joomi also knows that most of the time, they're rigged. who probably doesn't know? kou, and probably kian by extension, since the 'k' boys of dead calm seem to share a single braincell half the time.

kou is the one that joomi catches falling victim to one of the carnival games this time: throw a ball and try to knock down milk bottles in a pyramid. easy enough, right? just throw the ball right. joomi has no idea how good of a throwing arm kou has, but he's heard that sometimes the bottom bottles on the pyramid have weights in them to prevent them from getting knocked down at all. he feels like he should probably inform kou of this for the sake of his wallet.

he watches him fail at the game one time first, then asks, "how many times have you played this now?" a little afraid of the answer. hopefully not too many.

–– @kouxbe

[bexrisa]

to write the right -- @kouxbe

when the words songwriting and camp fall from the trainer's lips, risa is beyond excited to have been signed when she was. what could be considered a lifetime opportunity, and the option to shirk the regular training to attend it, has just fallen in her lap.

in the days that come, her excitement is palpable, and the morning of the official start, risa has already found kou and excitedly thrusts her phone towards him. "look! look what we get to do!" she beams, "oh kou this is so cool! did you see who's lecturing? some of the songwriters for my favorite groups."

she pulls him to the cafeteria, continuing to prattle on. "i have so many ideas already and the timing of this is just so good. it's a chance to be recognized for creative talent, it's perfect."