a dancefloor made for two

Singing while jogging had been a staple of his training routine even before getting signed with studio delta so his vocals were pretty stable. There was a lot more for him to learn though, and this kind of workshop was almost geared to his vision.

the other studio delta trainees seem to have that same mindset. at least, the ones he know of, like dohyun. “honestly, i hate exercising… but i know why that would be part of the training regime. like—it works! you can really train your voice to become a lot more stable if you practice singing while doing something strenuous.”

“I don’t think I’d make it out if they had us lifting while singing..” he shakes his head, flexing the little bit of muscle he’s packed on since working out his arms. “I need way more concentration for that usually, I’d probably drop the weights and break something. I can’t get better at dancing with a broken foot.” He laughs under his breath at the mental image of dancing in a walking boot, the clunking of it across the studio’s hardwood.

dohyun probably shouldn't be back at the studios after spending his whole week's extra training time there.. and yet.

he's not really expecting to see anyone else in the rooms, knowing where joomi and ren are right now and seeing other trainees in the mirrored studios, but he notices a familiar face while walking past. dohyun hadn't seen jay around in a while at the apartment unless they were missing each other every time he came home, which was doubtful. it wasn't something he felt the need to ask siwoo about, especially with their limited time seeing each other, busy on his own end. he hadn't gotten to know jay very well but he liked to think he got along okay with him.

a knock to the door and a wave inside to the other trainee, dohyun was opening the door quietly and letting himself in.

being a trainee helps, though. jay can pour all his thoughts and complicated emotions into song. whenever it’s free practice jay makes a point to work on something more personal, and right now he chose a mash-up of specific songs woven together by the keyboard he’s playing.

it doesn’t take long until he hears a knock on the door. despite focusing on what he’s currently doing, he’s aware enough to notice when the door opens and someone comes in. another trainee; siwoo’s roommate.

“has it been that long?” jay questions back, laughing a bit. “i guess we never had the chance to properly talk even after i became a trainee! funny how that works out.”

he moves to sit next to the other trainee and takes a peek at the equipment jay’s near. “what are you working on?” dohyun had spent the last couple of weeks holed up in the studio working on bits and pieces of projects to distract himself from thinking or feeling too much. he hadn’t worked on a piano or keyboard for a while though and missed the freedom of creativity it allowed him.

“some sort of project for work or something?” most of the solo stuff he’d been writing was done with the vision of a girl group in mind, more personal things were a bit too touchy at the moment.

There were some familiar faces this time with his group, and Dohyun only hoped they weren’t disappointed having him as a coach again. Yuwol was one of the contestants he was getting closer to over time. Singing was something he was confident in, something he had been doing for as long as he could remember. When he offered to do a bit of practise with whoever wanted to join, Dohyun was relieved when Yuwol was one of the group members that had asked to join.

“i’d like that, thank you,” yuwol nods. “have the others left already?” he questions, taking a quick scan around the room. yuwol had gotten caught up practicing on his rap, seeing as how his lines are mostly rapping for this song. it’s another new skill that he just picked up from signing onto next gen. it’s… fun, though. learning new things.

yuwol nods, humming. “i was thinking of just letting my face go off-camera… so there are implications of a forehead kiss at least, but nothing definite. the viewers at home can make their own assumptions.” he believes that’s the best route he can do this time. but, who knows. he’s trying to think as creatively as possible—while making sure to be intimate and give a good performance.

at dohyun’s review though, yuwol can’t help but let out a small laugh. “i think that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but if what you say does become true, then… i don’t know, i’ll treat you to something?” yuwol knows that his own parents would think he’s making a fool out of himself for taking this stage so seriously. but, he still wants to try and do his best regardless of the future consequences.

“i’m pretty confident… we’ve done a lot to practice for this performance. i’m grateful to be in a group of creative people.” he smiles. “this is my first time rapping, but i’m sure the effort i put into practicing the few lines i do have will shine through somehow.”

it’s rare for him to have such a positive outlook, for once. “and… yourself? do you have faith in us?”

despite his own nerves for the group, he lets himself smile genuinely. "you've practised a lot and that'll help- you can focus on having fun with the stage and looking like you're having fun. i love covering girl group songs because a lot of my favourites are all fun concepts, joyful and having the time of their lives. it doesn't just feel like a performance."

it's what got him his audition in the first place. he had fun filming that submission video with all the sparklers and having a good experience with the kids of his community despite the pressures of his life at that time. it's why people listen to music- to experience someone else portraying an emotion or situation to relate to.

right now though, he's focused on his own part. each member will have a turn with the camera, while the rest act as supporting characters ( keeping the modified choreography and the song in mind, of course ). however, it's a little awkward to practice his solo part with just a camera when he needs genuine feedback to make sure he's doing everything right, even more so because this will be heavy on the acting aspect.

@bedohyun, ever the eager and helpful mentor, is happy to help. leaning over a makeshift desk, pretending it's the kissing booth they've planned. dohyun sits on the other side. "i'm pretty sure kissing booths aren't exactly a definite part of carnivals, but it's been kind of trending... and it's a cute idea, isn't it?" honestly, yuwol's not sure, he has never been to carnivals.

"for my part, obviously no actual kiss on the lips." it's all pretend sake, and it's not like he's going to press his lips to a camera. he doubts the judges want that, but they want the feel of that type of mood. "but, maybe... i'll make use of a lip balm." as he says that, he lifts one up, uncapping it and swiping a bit of the product onto his pointed finger. "then i'll... pretend i'm putting it on myself." he does just that, but continues on. "afterwards, i'll look over at the camera, and..." with dohyun acting as the camera, he pretends to glide his fingers over dohyun's lips, as if he's putting the lip balm on it. in actuality though, his finger is hovering a significant distant away from dohyun.

during his group's practise, it quiets a bit. he can see that their idea is strong and the concept makes sense- if he was one of the judges it would objectively impress him. it helps- seeing how put together everything is and how everyone is putting in the practise to ensure it flows smoothly when the actual filming takes place. their idea is fun and cute; dohyun's honestly a little jealous he doesn't get to participate in this week's performance. that's its own relief though, if he'd had to show his face on stage again.. well he's lucky he made it outside last time.

yuwol's voice pulls him out of the hazy cloud abyss he'd been thinking into. "i've actually never seen a kissing booth or been to a carnival.. but it's always been cute when it's been in dramas."

dohyun angles the phone stick he's using, biting on his tongue as he compares what looks better and what would catch the light well. "honestly i think they'll deduct points if you do try to kiss the camera.." he lightly nudges at yuwol's shoes with his own to mark he's joking.

they continue with the slow run through and dohyun can't help but make a silly face as his part of the POV, wondering how the other guy can keep a straight face through it. "i think.. you're going to end up with a million new fans and a million other grandmothers wanting you as a grandson- i would call that a success." he pulls down the phone mount on the end of his stick to stop the recording, they'll review later as a group with everyone's little clips to get a feel of the whole thing.

starter for @bedohyun

"you left early today," siwoo walks into the practice room, sling bag on one shoulder, and a lunch bag in his hand. "i thought i told you to eat breakfast before leaving for training, or you'll get tired easy, he passes the lunch bag to dohyun, completely forgetting the cameras surrounding them.

it's easy though, to forget that he's being filmed almost 24/7 while he's in here. even more so when he's around dohyun — a longtime friend and now a... coach? of next gen. but siwoo can't exactly switch from "friends" to "coach" with dohyun just like that. especially when he'd been friends with dohyun before the whole next gen shenanigans.

he's also sort of grown accustomed to preparing breakfast for dohyun before his friend would go for training. something that he would do because siwoo was by nature, someone who was early to wake up. it was easier that way anyway, making breakfast for two. "ah, we can order something in for dinner tonig..." his voice trails off when he spots the camera, and he blinks. oh, right. oh shit.

"ah, i shouldn't have texted you, thanks" he shakes his head and accepts the bag. he hopes he's vague enough that it just gets brushed over in post. siwoo is sweet, kind of like a golden retriever, but he's sure the other would say something of the sort for him too. they clicked really well as roommates even though siwoo could be oblivious.

wait. dohyun turns dramatically slow to look at his friend. if this was an tv show, this would be the point where dohyun's eyes would turn blood red and he would suddenly climb up siwoo's body to reach his head and shake it with all his might- but it's not. dohyun's human and death notes aren't real.

"yes, it is." he does face palm now, to get some of the excess energy out so he doesn't explode into a million pieces. "just because you threaten me with a good time doesn't mean you'll get special treatment," dohyun whines out in a joking manner. "it is better than waiting in line for seats.."

the team he'd been assigned was also a curious mix. he wondered how jordan and siwoo would be reacting to the comments they'd heard, along with one of them not being allowed to join mcountdown with the rest. hyunki didn't know dohyun until the previous episode's practices, so he didn't know much about their coach. nevertheless, he was excited to see how the four of them worked together.

"i'm feeling good so far," and he was. the mix of contestants had him excited for the challenge. "i'm happy we got the song we did, to be honest. i'm a sucker for catchy girl group songs and i think we can bring the right energy with all the different strengths we have." he turned back to hyunki with a wide grin, "plus, sometimes they're more fun."

pink venom in particular was a song that dohyun felt they could personalize pretty well and get creative with.

"with something like this, it's good to go with the flow of things- you can't get into your head too far when things happen, because they will." he grabs the dried seaweed for the tuna balls but just holds onto it while he speaks, waiting. "there will be lots of ups and downs, that's part of the challenge; weathering the storm and coming out on the other side."