#rkfeb19eval

[rkseongmin]

take the lead

@rkkhg

the month was just starting, but as every month since he joined the company, he was already thinking about what he wanted to do for this eval. this month was more of a creative leap than the last few ones where they were given a more strict idea to follow. but honestly doyum isn’t one to be very creative when it comes to performances--not often at least. he enjoys dancing and performing but covers, or something someone made for him to learn. he’s never been great with creating his own performance. 

but he knows someone who is and that’s why the teen finds himself cornering one kang hyunggu in seocho, aka just happened to enter the same practice room the older was using. he had been looking for him but he didn’t expect it to go that easily.

“ggu hyung!” he greets a touch more cheerful sounding than he normally does. there’s an actual spark of emotion in both his voice and face that so few ever get to see from him ( his bff and bf being really the only ones ). he’s just always so happy to see hyunggu, someone he has admired for years and looked up to in regards to performing and dance. he thinks back to busking days before they were friends and when doyum had merely been a fan. 

he moves in and latches onto hyunggu without a moment of hesitation, clearly happy to see the older male. “do you have a group for this months eval? do you want to work with me? we never get to do anything together anymore.” yes. he’s whining.

again, only with hyunggu does doyum tend to be more baby.

[rklino]

                               february evaluations !! min yoongi performing vixx lr’s whisper.                                                             featuring ... @rkjeon.                                                 trigger warning: mentions of anxiety.

after how much work the last two months have been, yoongi’s glad to have a somewhat easier, more open evaluation than before. he gets to work with a person of his choosing, gets to do a song they choose-- and it all feels easier. it’s a lot with the title of public trainee under his name, but he supposes it’s okay. it isn’t that bad. it’s not like he’s an idol; just because the world knows his name as a trainee doesn’t equate to anything else.

the dance in itself is pretty lax, yoongi thinks. but he likes the beat of it, thinks the message of the song fits love enough for it to be a match. it gives jeongguk and yoongi a good chance to work together, an event he knows will be happening a lot; any time spent with the other he’ll take, because yoongi is greedy when it comes to jeongguk (but he won’t ever admit it outloud). practice is spent with idle joking, whispered talks and sweet glances when they can. they're still in a public setting, at work no less; but the time spent is nice and it feels easy, so it should have been a warning to what the day of the evaluation actually entailed.

and when they do start, everything is fine. jeongguk's voice is music when it hits the air, the beat of the song complimenting it nicely. the beginning of the dance doesn't have much dancing, so yoongi lets himself settle. and once it moves to his own part of the song the rap comes easy, the moves more sharp than his own chosen enjoyment, but not difficult to manage. he keeps his expression relaxed-- because yoongi does feel relaxed; even the eyes of trainers alike can't keep him from feeling at ease when he's dancing.

it's only when the music stops that yoongi allows surprise to color his features. the steps in his dancing stagger as he rights himself, and for a moment he's confused, eyes flickering from jeongguk to the watchful eyes around them. no one is surprised, some brief looks of amusement but they don't stop them, they don't do anything at all; panic scratches at his insides. jeongguk's voice falters and stutters a bit-- not sounding nearly as confident without the backing track. it takes a moment for them to figure it out again, but yoongi's mind is racing a mile a minute. trying to remember the counts, remember the placing. jeongguk doesn't even falter with the dancing-- easy and smooth so yoongi follows along with that, though he's much more clumsy, his movements a bit stilted without the music for a moment. it's difficult being caught off-guard and righting yourself, and yoongi doesn't have himself put together enough to execute it without looking like a fool.

he misses the first syllable of his part that starts up as they're in silence, cheeks and ears tinging red from embarrassment; from sheer humiliation. it's incredibly hard to keep on beat when the beat isn't there, and he tries so hard to imagine the song playing in his head; he's heard it so many times in practice, so many runthroughs he should be able to hear it in his sleep-- but his head is buzzing with white noise and his heart is beating a mile a minute. jeongguk's smiling and laughing everything yoongi twists and turns in the choreography, and he wants to laugh about it too. be amused and find humor in the situation, but the panic and anxiety is clawing at his gut, wishing, wanting to break out. and as the seconds tick down, the dancing gets easier-- but his live rapping struggles to keep up without the aid of the music.

it's a mess, to be sure. jeongguk does fine in his eyes but yoongi does awful-- absolutely awful. every moment that passes he wants out of the room, surprised that he hasn't left already out of sheer determination to not leave jeongguk alone in the performance. he knows this happens, knows that idols have to deal with this from time to time; but yoongi isn't an idol, doesn't even know if he likes being a trainee yet either. it's a mess, he's a mess. so much for things being easy.

[rkevent]

Love is in the air in February, and our companies are once again investing their time into making sure their trainees can connect with love songs, a necessity for any and all entertainers.

At the beginning of the month, trainees are asked to prepare a performance of a love song of any sort — be it a ballad or an up-tempo track. Trainees can group up with people from outside their companies or do a solo showcase if they want; the only other requirement is that the performance must include a dance, be it the original choreography to the song or one created by the trainees. Simply standing in the middle of the room while belting out high notes will not be accepted.

Trainees will have their evaluations on the 24th of February. They will be carried out in practice rooms across the Seocho facility in the afternoon. An audio system will be prepared in each room so trainees can play their song and backing vocals during the performance. Outfits and hairstyles are up to the trainees.

However, there is a twist! Right before you start, the coach evaluating you will let you know that your company expects you to execute your song to completion no matter the circumstances. Then, around the one minute mark, the coach will turn off the backing track, leaving you to finish the performance a capella. No exceptions will be made: all trainees will have to carry out their chosen song without the backing track.

Evaluations will be happening in a dozen different rooms all at once, but, of course, not every performance will overlap. Because of that, trainees will also be instructed not to share a single thing that has happened during their evaluation - failure to comply will result in dire consequences. So, what do you think? Have you practiced enough for this?

In order to collect +3 SINGING OR RAPPING POINTS, +2 DEBUT POINTS and +1WK LIVE SINGING ACHIEVEMENT, write one 250+ words solo or one four-post thread with a fellow trainee regarding this evaluation. Please tag all your posts as #rkfeb19eval and have them up by midnight EST at the end of Thursday, February 28.

FEBRUARY EVALUATION (for the MARCH 6 verification form)

[link to thread or solo about evaluation]

+2 DEBUT POINTS +3 [SINGING OR RAPPING] POINTS +1WK LIVE SINGING ACHIEVEMENT (number of times taken + current level) NEW DEBUT POINTS TOTAL:

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

what is love (?) ♥

It turns out Minhee won’t be able to join multiple groups this time so she will be only performing what is love by twice ♥ if you need a group to join, boys & girls are welcome to join this performance! It will be fun and interesting how everyone will deal with the little surprise.  

the music will stop after tzuyu’s clap as it is 1 minute into the song. 

notes: they will be going on a shopping trip to find some nice dresses or shirts for the performance as they’ll be going with prom theme then eat lunch all together afterward. this evaluation would be a good bonding experience for everyone involved. ♥

♥ roles ♥ 

nayeon - @rkxeve

jihyo - @rkssoojin

dahyun - @rkjiwvn

sana -  @rkrose

chaeyoung - free

momo - free

mina - @seulgirk

jeongyeon - @rksoojung

tzuyu - @rkxminhee

[rkhongjoong]

             ▆▆▆▆▆▆                 `          FEBRUARY EVALUATIONS   ___    ❤︎                                                                                                                     。。。      p e r f o r m i n g   h u t a ` s   y a

it’s not that jinseok doesn’t have a singing voice.  it’s just not very refined.

so this month is a challenge.  when he decides on his performance for the evaluations, his coach gives him a quizzical glance since (  they have tricks up their sleeve  )  because he knows that jinseok isn’t a vocalist, but jinseok simply gives him his beaming smile and says he’ll work on it.  there’s nothing wrong with challenging yourself to do better, and if he’s meant to debut, there’s going to be some singing to it eventually.

jinseok wants to be an all around performer.

at the very least, jinseok knows what his limits are.  of course he’s not going to be a great vocalist overnight, and picking ya as a potential song was actually a process of elimination.  of everything that he considered for the month, he feels like huta’s vocals, style, dance and rap are closest to what he’d be able to manage for a performance at the end of the month.

it takes a lot of work.  for a long time, he throws himself into focus on practicing for the performance because it helps to distract him from the other things that he doesn’t want to think about: the breakup, the fight with jinwook, the worry of his parents when he practically begged to spend a weekend back at home.  lately, jinseok’s been standing on a knife’s edge, trying to balance life and everything that comes with it.  thankfully with the appearance of jaehwan in his life, and being able to throw himself into practice like this, it helps to bury the storm for a time.  

he knows that he’ll have to deal with it eventually, but for now, jinseok works on his vocals.  he works on his dance.  he sweats, until he makes every move pop where it should and until his vocals don’t strain or give out while he dances.  then he sometimes stays with jaehwan, other times he goes home to sleep.

(  sometimes, he thinks of jaehwan when he practices and it makes it come a little easier.  )

performance day comes and he isn’t too worse for wear.  perhaps he’s not perfect because no one is going to be a main vocal in a month, but jinseok’s done enough practicing and enough polishing to give a solid performance.  that much he can give himself credit for, and he’s pleased with the results from this month.  hopefully, his coaches will say the same.

he’s a little confused though, about what the coach tells him.  he’s never not finished a performance, especially one for an evaluation so it’s a little hard to understand what they’d be reminding him for now.  jinseok still takes it in stride, and nods his head in agreement with a promise that he won’t let his coach down.  that he’ll show just how much he’s improved over the month, and give the performance that he wants to show.

the music plays, and things go off without a hitch - at first.  the amount of practice he put in makes things a lot easier, though that’s the same with anything: the more you work for something, the easier it’ll come to you.  the results you want will always show if you take the time to work for them.  

but then, things start to go wrong.  the backing track cuts out and jinseok honestly doesn’t even notice at first - the music still plays in his head and he moves along with it, so it takes a few seconds for him to realize that the audio isn’t playing in the background.  

but why should that matter? 

it’s starting to make sense though, why his coach told him he has to finish the performance no matter what.  after a simple and single quizzical glance upward, jinseok does as he’s told: he finishes the performance.  without the backing track, it’s a lot easier to tell where his vocals stand a little weak and clearly won’t match those of a polished singer, but he continues nonetheless.  where jinseok lacks in vocals, he still shines in dance and shines in rap - all of that hits well on key.

jinseok wants to be a well rounded performer.  that includes all the mishaps that come with it.

[rkjeon]

                                       FEBRUARY 2019 EVALUATION - acapella                                               performing whisper by vixx lr                                                                  with @rkmyg

jeongguk’s genuinely happy when evaluations come around again, giving him the easiest excuse to spend more time with yoongi to work on the performance. he never really thought about the fact that they could end up in different companies, and their time spent together if few and far between because of it.

he’s also especially clingy towards yoongi in general lately, still suspicious that his parents are going to show up again.

he’d wrinkled his nose up at the fact that they had to sing or rap at first, not confident in his ability. he can sing, yes, but he still hasn’t taken the time to work on it very much. even during training he mostly focuses on dancing, always trying to stay ahead.

the song turns out to be rather easy, atleast from a dancing standpoint. the original singer, however, is leagues above jeongguk’s capability. his voice is higher, sweeter, and jeongguk has to lower the tone just to hit the higher notes during their evaluation. yoongi had given him praise during practice, so he can’t be that bad, the younger smiling thankfully at him for it.

jeongguk much prefers yoongi’s parts in the song to his own, enjoying the breaks in the dance to be able to just watch his boyfriend perform until it’s his turn again.

as soon as the build up before the chorus comes, the music is suddenly gone, leaving jeongguk completely flat footed as his body just continues with the dance like nothing happened. meanwhile, his mouth trips over the lyrics for a second before catching back up, smiling hard as he works through the pressure of having to finish their evaluation without any background music. it’s slightly awkward, since they hadn’t practiced it that way, and he’s trying hard not to stifle a laughter when he sees that yoongi is off beat as well, trying to just find amusement with the situation.

the look on yoongi’s features isn’t amusement though, and jeongguk’s smile is quick to fall from his face and replaced with a small frown, worried.

when they finally finish, jeongguk’s quick to hurry to yoongi’s side, pressed against him with concerned looks as they leave the room.

[memoriesofyccjungrk]

( ♦ ) ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT FEBRUARY ‘19 EVALUATION  –  ( rumor – pd48 )

upon learning that february’s evaluations would be focused around love, yoojung wasn’t really sure what to feel. maybe it was just her want to avoid her own feelings swirling around in her head ( mostly because she wasn’t really allowed by her contract to be in a relationship anyway, but also because she really just didn’t want to act on anything she wasn’t sure about ), so she was mildly disappointed that they had to perform a song about love. but avoidance wasn’t the only reason she wasn’t really excited about the evaluation – yoojung didn’t want to perform some bubblegum-pop song about her oppa and how much she loved him. that just really wasn’t her – so when she went looking for songs and tried avoiding anything of the like. it wasn’t exactly easy, the moment anyone looked up a song about love, it was cutesy and just something she wasn’t willing to be a part of. the other groups began forming quickly, and yoojung simply couldn’t see herself being a part of any of them.

however, it didn’t take yoojung terribly long before she found a song.

being a part of a competition show, yoojung didn’t exactly favor watching them – after all, being a part of one was too much already. but, yoojung had heard a few songs that had come out of the show, so when it came to choices the song ‘rumor’ had sparked her interest. although it was maybe a bit sexier than yoojung herself was used to, it wasn’t something she was entirely opposed to – so, she set out to find people to be a part of it. it went even smoother than she’d expected.

it seemed as though yoojung wasn’t the only one who didn’t exactly favor a cutesy song, as the parts were taken relatively quickly – and they were practicing as soon as possible. what probably made her the most excited was getting to work with somi for the first time since the mgas. after all, the two had barely been on the same teams together, only getting together when it came to one performance – not to mention they hadn’t been together since then. other than that, they hadn’t performed together, even once they were both trainees. but yoojung decided it was okay, because somi was busy with trc things, and now that they could work together, things would be okay. better, maybe, even.

but just because she was able to work with a group she enjoyed, that didn’t mean there wasn’t issues. the first of which started when wendy ended up leaving the group for fuzzy reasons yoojung herself still wasn’t sure of, but she simply smiled and nodded as the older girl left acting like everything was okay. however, it wasn’t long until jisoo joined the team, taking the part as main vocalist. having to teach someone new the dance all over again wasn’t exactly thrilling, but it was what they had to do, and the members moved on with ease.

the problems didn’t stop there, however – because yoojung knew something was wrong with somi. while yoojung had suspected that her dongsaeng may be debuting with trc’s new girl group, she was shocked to see the younger finally participating in evaluations with her – which probably meant that she wouldn’t be. and yoojung understood the younger being upset about it, if that were the case – but that didn’t help her reason why somi didn’t have that same spark in her eye while performing. yoojung had been somi’s instructor for the better part of a year, and she knew what it looked like when someone was passionate about what they were doing – but it didn’t look like that anymore. when yoojung had pointed it out, somi didn’t seem too happy about it, but had made little comment about it other than what yoojung was learning was a fake smile, claiming she was fine. but yoojung was smarter than that – she wouldn’t question the younger in front of the rest of the group, however.

instead, yoojung just moved on with the performance with the rest of the girls, perfecting her part as much as possible and working hard alongside her groupmates. working with jisoo and lisa was nice, as yoojung was able to get a bit closer with her royal girls, which was always helpful – especially lisa, who yoojung barely spoke with since she’d been signed to royal. but overall, it was a good time, and yoojung was actually excited to perform – which wasn’t exactly common nowadays.

things weren’t fitting together properly, not how yoojung would like things to. instead, it was still jumbled and stressful – she really wasn’t trying to think too much about what was going on within her head, because it was to much work for her to try and figure everything out. instead, she pushed things away, she pretends like they really don’t affect her. which wasn’t healthy, she knew, and it was why her brain felt fuzzy all the time, and things in classes were taking too long to stick in her brain – but that was fine. she was surprisingly getting by in classes, even if she wasn’t able to work as hard as she’d like to, and even though she seemed like she was doing a million things at once – and that was enough for right now. the trainee life wasn’t easy, especially not mixing it with the student life – but she was living, at the very least.

and even though she was also in the middle of a move, yoojung showed up ready to perform once it came to the day of evaluations. the girls were quickly shoved into a practice room with a panel of judges in front of them, which felt vaguely familiar to auditioning for the mgas, and got into position. the performance seemed to be going well – just as they practiced it, movements perfectly in-sync as they’d been every time the girls had performed the song before. yoojung’s voice, despite the back-track, was still strong and firm as they progressed through the song. all was going well.

until the music stopped.

it had happened suddenly and unexpectedly, throwing everyone for a surprise. yoojung’s eyes went wide, for which she was glad that she had her back toward the judges once the music stopped – she was sure they wouldn’t appreciate her facial expression break. there was only a second that the panic set in – until somi continued her lines, despite the lack of backing vocals – and the performance continued. yoojung was just as strong in her rapping as they worked through the song – because what else was she supposed to do ? after all, they had all worked hard on this performance, they couldn’t just throw it all away because the music stopped. thus, they continued. as long as they all stayed in sync, they’d be fine. yoojung herself ensured that her movements were as strong and crisp as possible, attempting to be a resource if any of the other girls lost their place. if yoojung could do anything, she could dance – she could keep time even without the music.

in the end, all the girls finished together, and did the best they could do.

[rkwon]

⯁ ROYAL FEBRUARY EVALUATION: LOVE IS IN THE AIR !

FEBRUARY 24TH, 2019: A CAPELLA CHALLENGE WITH MINGYU ! SAN E & BAEK YERIN’S ME YOU ( SELF CHOREOGRAPHED )

he never thinks anything of it, though perhaps he should have. hearing the topic of love songs, a million and one options run through his mind. it feels to won like almost every song in existence is a love song, pulling at the heartstrings of the romantic to lure them into spending their money. ( and it works; he’s a testament to that. ) thinking of love songs with considerable rap portions narrows his choices down considerably, not because little exist but because won doesn’t know the genre as well as he should. it’s mingyu who suggests their chosen song, one won has heard before ( probably from mingyu, in all honesty ) and as he listens more and more, he thinks the upbeat, playful melody fits them and the time of year rather well. spring is starting to bloom by the end of the month and won wishes they could’ve performed this outside in the fresh air, even if his fingers would likely need warming after. 

as they prepare, he encourages mingyu to engage in the choreographing process. he knows his boyfriend isn’t as confident as won wishes he was, but he doesn’t feel it’s fair to just tell mingyu what he has to do. he involves him in every step, every beat and eventually they come to a finalised piece that’s respectful of their need to sing and rap at the same time as dance and the lighthearted tone of the song. it’s by no means an intensive choreography ( at least not by won’s standards ) but it’s another he’s had a hand in creating and he’s almost embarrassingly proud of it by the time they stand in the practice room on the 24th. 

( especially given that they had less time than usual to prepare. he wonders why they’re holding the performances four days before the end of the month, but he supposes maybe there doesn’t have to be a real reason. maybe samsung just likes sundays. )

mingyu starts the song about ten seconds in, giving them chance to play around with their starting formation and act silly together before transitioning into consistent choreography once won comes in with his verse at around twenty-five seconds. he follows the beat in his head as mingyu raps, joining him for a little harmonisation here and there. even when mingyu takes the foreground, he continues the choreography in the back so he’s kept moving. ( honestly, even if he had chosen to stand still to allow mingyu to shine, he thinks his body would likely at least naturally and involuntarily follow his movements ever so slightly; won thinks it’s a dancer’s curse that he can’t stay still when music plays. ) 

자꾸 기분이 up 돼 생각만 해도 찡해 장난 아냐 no playing 확신이 들어

they join for the chorus, mingyu’s first verse following. maybe he’s a romantic but he’s always thought their voices matched well together, his deeper contrasting similarly to how baek yerin’s soft vocals do with san e’s more distinct, piercing rap. again, he’s probably biased but he thinks mingyu suits the song more than the original, san e often a little grating on his ears ( even more so since he found out what an ass he is but he can’t deny he really loves this song and baek yerin’s voice, regardless ). even when he’s fiercely rapping, mingyu’s voice brings him comfort, makes him smile as he continues into his verse. 

there is something going between me you me you me you me you it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me and you.

they’re turning towards one another when the music cuts out. at first, he thinks it’s an accident, falters just in case, but then he remembers the instructions they’d been given going into this performance — execute your song to completion no matter the circumstances. now he understands what they’re evaluating; your ability to continue despite the disturbance. if his momentary hesitation counts, perhaps he’s already failed, but he quickly picks back up on the beat from mingyu’s unaffected rapping, clicking his fingers to mirror the beat he’d counted for them in their practices when creating and teaching the choreography. 

(so what)

I think I’m in love

자꾸 기분이 up 돼 생각만 해도 찡해 장난 아냐 no playing 확신이 들어

there is something going between me you me you me you me you it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me and you

he doesn’t miss his cues after that, harmonising where he should and singing his single solo line just before the hook, their hands meeting in a fleeting romantic hold. truthfully, his assisting clicks probably help him more than they help mingyu. he is used to dancing with no music, but only alone. moving around mingyu isn’t as easy at full speed without the beat to guide him, even if mingyu continues to rap through his verses with ease. still, he’s determined not to mess this up, if not for himself ( he doesn’t know if he could live with the embarrassment of failing something so trivial; perhaps if they’d changed the song, he wouldn’t feel so guilty about faltering a little, but it’s not as if he can’t — and isn’t already — playing the song in his head in its absence out loud ), then for mingyu. if he messes up, there’s a chance mingyu will, too. it’s not like it’s so easy to continue to dance with won standing on his toes or bumping into his chest, after all. thankfully, he and mingyu have always had ( and built ) strong chemistry over the years and with small glances when they can, won knows he and mingyu are in sync enough to get through the rest of the song unscathed. he doesn’t wonder how this might’ve gone in a group, with so many people around you and trying to manoeuvre around anyone unsure or struggling and help guide them back onto the beat. he’s grateful mingyu is professional ( and talented ) enough to barely even react to the near silence in the room at the minute mark of their performance. his boyfriend continues to awe him, though won doesn’t think he’ll ever stop. 

he adds his own adlibs where he can, feels comfortable enough that they won’t disturb mingyu’s concentration, to help build the song back up again. it’s strange with no music; he feels all the space in between lyrics, feels the short seconds where they don’t move or are changing formation, calmly stepping back or forth or around one another rather than subtly as they dance. 

자꾸 기분이 up 돼 생각만 해도 찡해 장난 아냐 no playing 확신이 들어

there is something going between me you me you me you me you it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me and you

after mingyu’s second verse and their third chorus, all that’s left is another repeat and the calming of the outro. though it might sound strange, won really enjoys the break down of the final thirty seconds. steadily losing layers of the track feels more natural than an abrupt ending or a fade in the last five to ten seconds at best. but mostly he enjoys it because it’s another chance for them to goof around with their choreography, with each other, smiles bright on their faces as they interact for the sake of the performance, matching the song’s playful vibe. ( just the words ‘me you’ have had won meowing on and off for the past two and a half weeks and that’s strange enough given that it’s only recently he even decided he liked cats. before, he’d have declared war on anyone who dared even compare him to the creature. ) 

자꾸 기분이 up 돼 생각만 해도 찡해 장난 아냐 no playing 확신이 들어

there is something going between me you me you me you me you it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me and you

me you me you me you me you it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me you me you me you me you, it’s you and me and you

and me and you and me and—

finally, they’re brought to silence and with a deep bow, they exit, won’s head held high. he’d ( hopefully understandably ) faltered a little when the music stopped, but there’s nothing he can about that now, and almost ( but quite ) as much as mingyu’s professionalism shone through in being unfazed by the change, won thinks perhaps his ability to get back on track so quickly is a sign of that professionalism, too. 

maybe he’s just thinking so positively because he had so much fun. stood beside his boyfriend singing a cute song and dancing a choreography they made together? what could be better? 

[rkseokwoo-blog]

— i’m the one

@soljirk

Working with Solji again was fun and relaxing--relieving--and he was thankful to return back to the normalcy of being in Seocho practice rooms and working on an evaluation for the coaches to see. After the last month, and the stage in Jeju, this grounded him back into place. His arm coming up to wipe away some of the sweat on his face, smiling over at Solji as he moved to pause the music for now. They were working on perfecting the choreography for the song they’d picked, and he’d happily worked a sweat before they decided to have a break to catch their breaths. Seokwoo’s hands going to rub at his right knee gently. There had been a jump in the dance and moments where they had had to rest on their knees, and the mixture of them in succession, over and over. He’d slipped and jarred his knee enough for their to be a dull ache remaining.

“What do you think of the song?” is not the question Seokwoo had wanted to ask, but he’d learned from Bin that randomly blurting out that he had a girlfriend now seemed to be too shocking for the system. There was history between Seokwoo and Solji as well, although they were good friends now -- Seokwoo was conscious that he didn’t want to throw it at her and cause any harm. He moved to where their bottles of water were, collecting both of them up in his hand and taking Solji’s to her, holding it out when he was close enough. “I like it because it’s kind of.. cool? And upbeat. I don’t like doing sad songs very much,” he confessed with a soft laugh, his eyes curving into crescents. “I like that we get to do love songs this month though. I’m enjoying them a lot lately.” 

[ncbodyknows]

➟「恋だ」how love is。

@rkjohnny

Quite frankly Youngjae was waiting for that one thing that could show him that this might after all not have been a bad idea as he had initially thought, but yet again it didn’t happen. The theme was something he could live with even if he didn’t personally endorse the topic of valentines and how out of proportion it had been blown, but yet again they demanded of him to dance. Yes, he had actually tried to put focus on improving, especially since the failure that was the new year’s stage, but fuck if it was that easy. He was up against some people here who had been dancing since they could walk after all, so if these guys were going to keep favouring dancers he would be stepped on throughout his entire career of being a trainee however short lived it would probably end up being before they finally realised they had made a mistake in signing him.

It was by a pure miracle he had managed to latch onto some sense of security and familiarity when he had heard of someone doing a Japanese song of all things. No, he didn’t care one bit for AKB or any of their units, but he was more confident in his native language and to make things better Japanese idols weren’t as tough on dancing as Koreans were. This actually started to seem manageable. Enjoying a coffee break in between training, he finally had time to give the guy who had planned this whole thing out a good look over. There was something that had struck recognition in him from the very beginning, but he just couldn’t place a finger on it. “Johnny...” he said the other’s name half through a breath. “You’re name was Johnny right? Hmm...” and then almost as if struck by lightning the memory of a single threatening text from Yuta popped into his mind, a name he had heard before. “Oh my god, you’re that American dude aren’t you!”

[rksungho]

okay okay.

@rkmseok

he’s in another fucking group with taemin, and sungho wants to scream. why does this keep happening to him? it puts him in a sour mood, but as much as he doesn’t get along with the guy he has to acknowledge his talent. he better be fucking talented after being a trainee for what, like five years? though to be honest, sungho can’t complain too much about the talent in this group. he might not like or know everyone, but they’re pulling their weight.

this kid, though, is surprisingly okay.

sungho doesn’t get along well with anyone, but there’s a special place in his bitter heart for idol wannabe brats with no sense of realism. maybe minseok’s smile grates on his nerves when he’s already tired and frustrated, but the kid has the skill to backup his go-lucky attitude. where he’d usually want to throw a fit practicing one on one with a trainee he hardly knows, sungho finds himself okay with this. maybe he doesn’t like it, but he doesn’t quite hate it.

“your voice could be better,” the look he sends the kid isn’t quite a glare, but a calculative narrowing of his eyes. “you should work on that.” a sungho to human translator would be able to tell that he means the words encouragingly, though a rough tone makes it harder for a stranger to understand.

[rkmg]

〈♦〉EVALUATIONS - FEBRUARY 2019 - A CAPELLA CHALLENGE                  ↳ kim mingyu & jeon won • me you by san e & baek yerin

apparently, given it was february, love songs were encouraged for this month’s evaluations. hopefully, that would mean that mingyu would have the opportunity to perform something with his boyfriend without feeling like he was throwing himself under the bus. of course, perhaps it would have made more sense for him to choose a female to do the song with, but maybe they would understand someone preferring to perform with their best friend of many years opposed to someone that they’re hardly acquainted with. even though he loves won romantically, that doesn’t stop him from being the same boy that he grew up with, which just so happens to be someone that he can also trust more than anyone else that he’s ever met. if he wants to do well, why wouldn’t he rely on someone that he knows has the talent to help him do so?

mingyu realizes that he has been giving won a hard time lately. he is sure that won would never admit it, and maybe it doesn’t even affect him as much as mingyu thinks that it should, but he has been a difficult boyfriend. he’s been letting pessimism, negativity, and fear control a good chunk of their relationship. he won’t hold his hand or even hug him, even when most people would probably view it as an innocent gesture between friends. the issue is that they’re more than friends, and mingyu feels like someone will come along and realize that and then everything will be ruined for won... because, of course kim mingyu has little regard for himself.

this was something that he had to do. well, not really, but he wanted to do it. no one was holding him at gun-point or anything, but this was important to mingyu. he wanted to show won that he wasn’t going to continue letting this control his every movement. if he could perform with him at the spring festival almost two years ago, long before they were dating, why can’t he do this now? why can’t it be the same thing? even if they’re no longer supposed to be boyfriends when they leave their home, why can’t he sing this song and do this dance with the boy that has been his best friend since the moment that they met? he can’t let the fact that they’re dating affect their friendship. he can’t allow himself to become distant and pull away just because he is afraid of what someone may find out, and that it could poorly affect won in some way. that was just stupid. it was stupid because then, won is being punished in a different way, when it’s totally unnecessary to begin with. he can’t keep creating more wounds for himself, so this was his first step in the process of healing from yet another event that has caused him pain.

so, mingyu was the one that came up with their choice of song. although he was no longer a fan of the creator, that didn’t mean that he couldn’t take it and create a better version. the song can be salvaged with a better performer, so that’s who mingyu was going to be. then, with won’s incredible skills, they worked on the choreography for the song. mingyu didn’t truly believe that he would be of any assistance throughout this particular step, but won seemed to disagree. he wanted this to be something that they did together, apparently, so mingyu did his best to give input and feedback when he could. in a way, he felt a little sad that the choreography wasn’t as good as it could be. due to his lack of dancing skills, he considered that perhaps he was holding won back. however, it wasn’t something that he wanted his mind to linger on.

performance day seemed to come a lot faster than he thought it would. time has been doing that lately. it just zooms past and the future creeps up on him. but, he wasn’t too nervous. after all, this evaluation was one that he worked hard to perfect. given that he was working with won, he would be damned if he let him down in any way. at the beginning, when they were given their instructions, he thought that they were a little odd. what he was being told was usually self-explanatory, right? obviously they weren’t going to stop in the middle of a song when they have done all that they could to put together an entire, full performance. but, he didn’t dwell on it for too long. he didn’t even have the chance, being that it was time for them to start moments later.

it all went fairly well in mingyu’s opinion. even a minute in when the music stopped and they were meant to go on without it, he managed. he didn’t miss a beat with his verse, even though his movements did slow a little. he was caught off guard, but he feels like he could rap this in his sleep now, so he trusted himself and let his mind and mouth do the work that came naturally by this point. it did feel awkward with all of the silence. without the music, it didn’t help with his dancing. he still tried his best, and won’s attempt at continuing the beat helped some. even though he was embarrassed and not at all proud by the end of it, he didn’t think that it was the most horrible thing in the world, either. there had to be someone that did worse, right?

[rkrosememories]

♡ february evaluations, ‘19 — “what is love?” — featuring rose as sana minatozaki

it was a given, totally obvious, that the evaluations for february would be surrounded around the idea of love. strangely, contracts had forbid relationships and romance of any kind, yet coaches were happy to sit through performance after performance of trainees doing their darn well best to project their feelings of love, it contradicts itself. rose however, was lucky, having known exactly what it was like; falling in love and being in it. of course, she knew the feeling of heartbreak all too well also. but thankfully this evaluation and the group she had found herself amongst had picked a song which focused on the purer side of love and the feelings that come with it.

she’s amongst trainees both new and old, some rose actually knows and others she only knows of, while newer trainees have also made their appearance. it felt strange being considered one of the senior or older trainees, given the fact that rose was in this very position a few years ago. her distribution for this song isn’t vocally demanding. she didn’t seek out the lines of the main or even lead vocalist; instead, she takes lead for the beginning of the chorus. more center-esque, so it seems as though rose was taking her new found center confidence rather seriously. 

her costume for this evaluation seemed to be following the last evaluation in suite, a blush pink gown with a matching hair bow and white heels, comfortable enough to move around and dance in. the group had done their best to practice on the routine and their vocals, everything seemed to fall into place. rose wasn’t nervous about the performance, she hadn’t any reason to be. still, it felt better to actually be present and in the moment, ready to enjoy it regardless of the outcome.

they assemble on the day of the evaluation, all dressed up from head to toe, looking like they’re ready to storm a high school prom. they stand in formation and begin the routine the moment the song begins; their smiles bright and their reactions genuine, wholesome, after all the concept of the song was wanting to know what love was. this was easy for rose, she knew too well. the smile on her face throughout the performance is warm and bright. the song is on the cuter end of things, not exactly within rose’s comfort zone but not entirely out of her ball park. 

she takes the center for the chorus, her voice sweet and sugary; the distribution isn’t demanding, so she’s able to go easy on herself for once and just enjoy the performance as it is without the worry of stuffing the entire thing up. 

i wanna know, they say it’s sweet like candy. i wanna know, they say it feels like flying.

her mind drifts back to jiwon asking her about how she best portray this song, having not been in love herself. rose had struggled to provide an answer. yet singing these lines, it feels exactly like that. although this song portrays feelings of love which are a little more foreign to rose.

i wanna know know know know, what is love? what does love feel like?

in the moment that the music cuts out, amidst minhee’s center performance, rose is certain that everyone in their group has the same reaction to her. deer in the headlights. what the fuck is an immediate thought that pops into rose’s head, but she knows that a professional, even like her, mustn’t let a backing track stop them from carrying out their performance. so they go at it without any backing track, completely acapella. they support one another as they can, giving eachother reassuring smiles, clapping their hands and stomping their feet to provide some form of beat for others to go off of. if anything, this performance shows off their teamwork and the preparation that went in to perfecting this evaluation. rose felt both relieved but also happy to leave it behind.

[rksora]

will this kind of love come to me?

          ━━━━━━━━━━━         @rkrose  ◞  ❤

while it’s not the hardest thing to fake being in love -- jiwon knows it comes no easier than faking happiness, even though, when it comes to that, jiwon had a bonafide phd in. but like most performances, the expressions one puts on in them are just as important of an aspect as the choreography or the song, itself. the expressions their faces play off of were the ones people saw if they weren’t completely thrilled with the dance routine. this was something jiwon had learned the hard way through all of chaerin’s scolding during her time in dance club all those years ago.

so, when it comes to expressions for this particular thing, jiwon isn’t quite sure who to go to. while she doesn’t know most of the girls, she still feels uneasy with the ones she’s gotten to know. yet, she tries to push through, fighting her own self-consciousness at being needy for help and goes to the first girl that comes into her line of sight. and while it happens to be one of the more famous of the girls in their troupe, jiwon tries to squash the anxiety that comes as she taps the elder girl’s shoulder and quietly clears her throat for rose’s attention. “um, rose-ssi? can i ask you a question?”

[memoirsofrkxjiyeon]

* better late than never

@rkluna

An unexpected appearance of a new member joining her evaluation group truly caught Minhee by surprise because ‘What is Love’ isn’t her type of thing as it quite a cutesy concept which she would not enjoy but she was happy to see that Luna has joined the ranks thanks to Eve bringing her in. Minhee could recall her being not so happy about doing the Yayaya song during the Christmas concert and that song still haunts her in her dreams too. The older female opens her water bottle taking a sip of the water during the break as this song choreography was slightly bouncy and require a lot of energy. She took the opportunity to approach Sunyoung offering a kind smile, “You know I bet you are thrilled to do doing a cute song for the evaluation again- How would you feel if Baek Jiyoung debuts you in a really girly group like Eclipse?” she said jokingly as personally, she loves Eclipse debut album especially One-Half that’s her go-to shower song.  

[rkxhyunjin]

♥ KT ENTERTAINMENT’S FEBRUARY EVALUATIONS: PERFORMANCE - VERBAL JINT FT. 10CM - GOOD MORNING

Maybe the closest thing to romance Hyunjin had experienced was a ‘maybe’ relationship, a ‘something’ relationship. An unspoken connection that at times felt more unrequited than not – and Hyunjin supposes he had experienced that too, unrequited love.

Although, can he really call it love when at the time he was barely a teenager? A girl who left him with water beading down an iced bottle of strawberry milk on a hot summer’s day? Perhaps the term ‘puppy love’ serves as a better descriptor for that experience, it hadn’t taken Hyunjin too long to get over it, but that didn’t mean it hurt any less. That was Hyunjin’s experience with an unrequited… puppy love.

The ‘maybe’ relationship was during his first year at his new school – a ‘something’ relationship because there was something between him and the upperclassman, even if it was never spoken into existence. Lazy nights with tangled legs as Hyunjin sneaks peeks over at the other male perched on the bed, eyes darting back down to his textbooks when he was caught. Soft teasing and a subtle warmth that stayed with Hyunjin the entirety of the next day. Curious fingers that stray a little too far, cross the border from ‘something’ to a subtle unintelligible ‘yearning’ as they press against the upperclassmen’s lips just to see how they feel – it’s the first and only time Hyunjin does that.

‘Something’ crumbles away into ‘nothing’ when post-graduation, the boy never contacts Hyunjin again.

To say it didn’t break his heart a little would be a lie.

Even if his heart was left a little bruised, a little more cautious, Hyunjin doesn’t regret this ‘something’. When he recollects that year, Hyunjin’s feelings are nothing but warm, light-hearted with an innocent skip to his heartbeat. It’s an aspect that he makes sure to consider while he’s choosing a song, while he’s choreographing for Verbal Jint’s Good Morning. Airy and weightless steps combined with his signature dance-like signing become a way for Hyunjin to place his ‘something’ into physicality – just this once.

He practises endlessly – half out of routine (to escape the anxiety that scratches at the back of his mind if he’s not entirely immersed in the performance), and half out of fond nostalgia; fitting his memories into the tones and chords of the song. The rapping and singing are both at a comfortable level for him – the rapping almost a little bit more lyrical than anything else, and the singing nothing too showy. Originally it’s meant for two – a duet of a rapper and a singer, but it’s a small obstacle Hyunjin easily overcomes, picking and choosing portions where the two voices intertwine to emphasise specific nuances here and there.

Good morning – that’s what I texted you I think I’m into you, it’s dangerous

Hyunjin remembers when he first realised what they had was ‘something’, when late nights spent together and a hand pressed against his waist as they fell asleep after a long day of studying was no longer a simple circumstance of ‘close friendship’. As Hyunjin dances, one hand signs half of the sign for ‘morning’ while the other presses flat against his core, hand flattening and fingers widening as it slides into a single-handed hug around his waist.

The things I said last night You probably won’t remember it all Whenever we go, the restaurant gets ready to close After it was just you and me

Although Hyunjin lived off campus, he was an exception to the school’s rule that required all students dorm. The other boy would sneak out after hours (or occasionally if he was feeling brave, Hyunjin would sneak in), and sometimes they would meet up halfway between the school and Hyunjin’s home. Duck into the safety of a late-night street food cart’s awning, shoulders pressed close and fingers intertwined to stave off the cold. They’d both sacrifice sleep for just a little bit longer, making a game of jumping from one claw-machine arcade to another, laughing and sharing stories. As Hyunjin crosses the stage, he’s signing for you and me – the pace of movement comfortable and almost relaxed.

Just Like Jun Lam Hwae’s song I made a tacky and awkward confession I clearly remember your face

One thing Hyunjin never did was confess. With every movement, Hyunjin was showing he loved, but never did he say it to the other boy. The way they’d press their foreheads together and laugh, giggles turning into silent peals of laughter because it was just that funny – that was how Hyunjin showed his love. Playing the role of a shy confessor, Hyunjin’s toe draws a large circle against the floor of the stage while his hands are busy signing I clearly remember your face.

It was like a red flower bloomed on your face (Because of the lighting) I believe that it’s not just my misunderstanding

The boy doesn’t seem to possess a limit when it comes to complimenting Hyunjin. From running long fingers through the younger boy’s hair as he calls Hyunjin ‘clever’ to a padded thumb mindlessly rubbing a circle against Hyunjin’s wrist as they sit side by side; heavy textbooks wide open in front of them. A soft flush can’t help but dust against the younger’s cheeks, especially when he realises that feelings might be involved. Believe he signs, the side of an index finger extended from a fist meeting the centre of an open palm.

Good morning – that’s what I texted you I think I’m into you, it’s dangerous Oh it’s okay if you don’t reply back

It’s okay if you don’t reply back- (and the boy didn’t, the boy never replied after he graduated).

When the music stops, Hyunjin doesn’t even bat a lash, body working on automatic as it moves to music that’s been running on loop inside his brain ever since he started to piece together the choreography. What does stop however, is his voice. Not nearly as automatic as dancing and physical movement, as soon as the music cuts off Hyunjin’s voice seemingly goes right along with it. A few seconds pass, and a few seconds more before he realises that the music isn’t playing and more importantly, his voice isn’t singing. The boy is quick to correct the error and start singing once again, but he’s lost some of the confidence that he originally had; all of a sudden thrust back into his mind when usually he spends so much time outside of his mind during a performance.

By the time he steps off the stage his hands are shaking and his breathing a little faster than normal. What he had been doing to prepare for performances wasn’t enough. Simply couldn’t be enough if singing was still so separate from his physical movement. Practising over and over to make dancing a rote manoeuvre wasn’t enough – not when performing was equally about the singing as much as the dancing. (And Hyunjin had thought, had assumed he was getting better but this performance tells him otherwise). The realisation is nothing short of devastating.