lost in translation

both the previous and this year seemed to be filled with schedules for cloud, thankfully this year was no where near as busy as the previous year when it came to releasing music. they had gotten sometime here and there to relax, but their energetic promotions hadn’t even ended until they were pushed into the practice room again. where they were stuck for a while learning another choreography for a new title track and at this point, it just feels like bc are trying to milk them for what they are worth.

haneul found a moment to breathe between practices though, even though currently he wanted to avoid that since he was busy looking for a new apartment but he had get to find one. the time was up for cloud’s dorm life, his members were moving out and he needed to do so as well. 

he is pulled out of his wondering mind when a familiar voice asks him a question, he looks up at the taller and smiles at him, sweat rolling down his temples as he nods at the older male, “ of course, ” he says and lifts his water bottle up so the other can grab it, looking at daisuke made him feel nostalgic all of a sudden. haneul admired him, not only for his voice but also for how hard he worked on the group’s choreography because haneul knew how hard everyone worked, especially those that were not considered ‘dancers’ perse ( if they asked haneul he’d say they were good dancers in their own right though ).

“ how’s the choreo going? ”

“Thanks.” 

He reached out for the water bottle after it was handed towards him, giving the shorter male a grateful nod before he brought it up to his lips and took a sip from it. There was a time in the past where he wouldn’t have dared to do anything like that. He wouldn’t have drank off of just anybody. That was something that he only did with his family. It wasn’t that he was a germaphobe or anything, but the thought of someone else’s saliva that he didn’t share DNA with’s was off putting to him. Now that he had grown to see the other Cloud members as more or less family, he did it without a second thought. Besides, there were plenty of times he would have been thirsty with nothing to drink if he didn’t ask another member for some of theirs - just like now. 

He shrugged his shoulders at the question. Daisuke was far from being the best dancer, so he didn’t really know how to answer. Especially because he really only learned the choreography just well enough to get by, not to really add any extra flare or anything to it. “Depends. Do you mean have I memorized the choreography, or am I confident in my ability to perform it?” If it was the latter, the answer would probably be no. The tall vocalist had never really been comfortable dancing, and it showed whenever he danced. No matter how much progress he made, he wouldn’t be as good as his members - that was something he had long since made peace with. 

Getting into arguments wasn’t really Daisuke’s style. He wasn’t one for going back and forth with people. Whether or not he was in the wrong or the right, he felt as though arguing would never really solve anything. However, he knew that sometimes arguing was just something that two people needed to do. It was something necessary to work through problems - as long as those two people knew to come back and revisit the issue after they had calmed down. Even though it was necessary, he didn’t necessarily like it. In fact, he hated it. Especially when it came to his disagreements with Sung. He liked to think that they solved most of their problems without really arguing with one another, but there were a few things they butted heads on that they couldn’t really get past. 

Like Daisuke’s constant failure to keep Sung updated on what was going on with him career wise. In Daisuke’s eyes, it wasn’t really important. Sung got the bulk of his time away from time spent doing work, and he liked to keep his work and personal life and time separated. So whenever he came back to their shared apartment, the last thing he wanted to do was discuss work. He might mention something here and there, but for the most part he stayed silent - which Sung didn’t really care for. He’d told him that before in the past, and while Daisuke tried his best to not go against his wishes, it was a hard habit to break. 

There were few things that Daisuke hated more than having to ask someone else for help. He didn’t like feeling as though he couldn’t figure things out on his own - especially considering the fact that most of the things he felt passionate about he picked up on without much of a problem. However, producing a song isn’t something that someone can just magically learn how to do on their first time. It took a lot of practice, dedication and hard work. And it would also take some time. It wasn’t like he was impatient or that he lacked the ability to commit to learning something he was interested in, he just didn’t really know how to go about asking. Or who to ask. 

The latter question was a relatively easy one to answer. There were plenty of producers, both idol and non, that wandered the halls of BC Entertainment, it was just a matter of who to ask. He wanted it to be someone that he respected and someone whose music he enjoyed. It didn’t really take long for him to come to a conclusion of who to ask. And fortunately for him, it didn’t take too long for him to get in touch with the other idol and come up with some kind of meeting time where the two of them could sit down and talk. 

@dai.official uploaded a post ! had a bit of free time today and wanted to revisit one of my favorite songs. thought i’d share it with my hearts.

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duri was sure to go over everything, as best as he could with the time that he had. of course, it was probably really easy for duri to end up missing something, even if he was carefully going over it in the time that he had. but, he was sure that it was good and there was nothing that he would end up changing. duri didn’t really have experience with rock, to say the least. but, he had always wanted to do a rock sound and this had ended becoming his chance to do something like that. sure, they were taking a popular song from a popular group and changing it, but duri was sure that it was something that was going to work out rather well in the end. 

the older was interested in what the other had to say about the arrangement. his eyes look upon the notebook that daisuke had brought, reading over it. he nodded his head, clearly understanding what daisuke had done, hearing it in his head - it was always able to just envision what something would sound like in his head - it probably had to be due to the fact that he has level ten certificates in three instruments and all those vocal lessons. plus, he was getting more into composing as well. he nodded his head once again, “i heard it in my head!” he said, giggling softly. “but, please play it so i can hear it ear wise! from what i’m looking at though, it seems really good, and i can see where i missed something in my own looking over,” he said, beaming some more.

Daisuke was always a little hesitant to show off his true music preferences, especially considering what part of the industry he was in. He was a K-POP idol, which meant that he primarily adhered to the general instances of what K-POP was ‘supposed’ to sound like. Upbeat songs, or songs that fell along the same vein of pop. When in all actuality, if Daisuke had to choose one genre to listen to for the rest of his life, it would be rock and all of the sub genres that fell underneath it. He oftentimes worried that fans wouldn’t accept the music he felt connected to the most, but he knew that at the end of the day, true fans would accept what he loved. He just hoped that his senior would accept the changes he made to their arrangement. 

When Chiaki had first debuted she’d been quick to learn that filming work, whether that was music videos or music shows, often involved a mixture of hurrying up and waiting. She’d been perfectly happy to fill her current waiting cycle with a cute, mindless mobile game when she heard her manager call her name. The woman looked a little disgruntled as she motioned for Chiaki to come over, almost herding her out the door. “Whatever business you have, be sure not to take too long, yes?” she was told before the dancer opened the door and slipped out into the hallway.

“Daisuke-kun!” she greeted, a little surprised. “Oh gosh, it feels like ages since I’ve last seen you!” Okay, maybe ages was a little bit of an exaggeration but it had been a good amount of time. “You look a little tired! Is BC working you hard or is it just me projecting my promotion season exhaustion onto you?” Chiaki grinned up at her friend before nodding down the hall. “There’s a drink vending machine nearby, it’ll be my treat! What do you say?”

Maybe it wasn’t the best time to come see Chiaki, but Daisuke knew that he wouldn’t have been granted any other time to do so. At least not without putting both of them in a more compromising position. With how popular both of their groups were, and in turn how popular the two of them were, it wasn’t surprising in the slightest that they wouldn’t be able to meet outside of work related places with ease. At least not without getting caught. The last thing that Daisuke wanted was the get Chiaki in trouble just because they wanted to catch up and get takeout with one another. It was one of the downfalls of being an idol - being unable to have healthy friendships with people of the opposite presenting gender. 

Part One: Dance

Summary: A breakdown of Daisuke’s dancing separated into 3 categories: Musicality (timing, natural rhythm and flow), Artistry (personal touches, extra flare, etc.) and Technique.

Note: I’m not a professionally trained dancer, but I’ve done research and watched a bunch of dance analysis content, so hopefully I don’t sound like a complete idiot lol. 

Word Count: 517

Even though he wouldn’t exactly call himself a people person, Daisuke could find the enjoyment in hanging out with the people closest to him. Due to them being allowed to move out of Cloud’s dorm just three months earlier, Daisuke had already long since moved out and had gotten a temporary place to stay until he could find a permanent residence. He had been one of the first members of Cloud to move out - not because he hated living with five other guys, but because he just needed his own space after living with other people for so long. He had been a trainee for a few years before debuting and needed to live in trainee dorms, only to move out of those and straight into Cloud’s dorm. It was a lot, especially for someone who preferred solace in silence and being alone, like Daisuke. 

That being said, there was a part of him that missed being around his members. Maybe not as big as the part that enjoyed being by himself, but big enough for him to notice and acknowledge it. Which was why he had made sure to carve out some time in his schedule for him and Daehyun. With them being two of the eldest members of the group, they had formed a bond through that. And while Daisuke wouldn’t say he was closer to Daehyun more than anyone else in the world, he did consider him to be family, much like he did the rest of his group members. 

the younger of them pauses, then scoots a little closer to the other main vocalist; hoping that the closeness wasn’t a bother. he just didn’t want to speak too loudly & be disruptive. “are you okay, though? did you just sleep in?” rioh queries, licking over his lips. “i was hoping that you were running late because you stopped to get us coffee first, but… you’re empty-handed, aren’t you?” with that, he jabs the other in the side with his elbow; chuckling mischievously.

Daisuke wasn’t going to pretend that he was really all that excited about hearing the new music they were being given by their company and its producers. Their next comeback was supposed to be some kind of part two to their EP they just released with Energetic as the title track, and he hadn’t been too much of a fan of that particular EP for the most part. In all honesty, he hadn’t found himself excited about a comeback for Cloud since they had released “Oh My!” and the rest of their releases after that had been rather lackluster for him. It had gotten to the point where he had to learn how to just separate his indifference towards some of Cloud’s releases and focus on having a good time on stage, which he did for the most part. 

“Hopefully I like this one better than I liked the last one.” He was glad he wasn’t too late. He hadn’t missed out on what was really important, so he couldn’t be too upset with himself for oversleeping. He knew that their title tracks were where all the money and attention really came from, so he had actually made it just in time. And apparently he had slipped in at a good time as well, because all he was given was a spare glance by their manager when he sat down, and he hoped that meant he wasn’t in too much trouble for his late arrival. 

he shakes his head at the question, “i don’t think i do! i played around a lot with everything we came up with, just to make sure it works, and it works really well!” he explained, nodding excitingly. “was there anything you wanted to change to the arrangement or anything that you found doesn’t work or something like that?” he decided to ask as well, just so they’d both be sure to share opinions. 

Seeing as how this was something that Daisuke was looking forward to doing and wanted to make the best out of that particular moment, he had gone through the rewritten arrangement and everything they had talked about over and over again, trying to see if there was any way that it could be improved upon or made better. They would be taking one of his favorite K-Pop songs and turning it into a rock song - his favorite genre of all time. It was no surprise that he was being hypercritical and kept thinking of different ways to make it sound better. He also knew how brutal fans could be, especially diehard fans, and he didn’t want to put anything out for the public eye to see if it wasn’t as close to perfection as possible. 

It was the final day of Cloud’s promotional cycle for Energetic and Daisuke couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. Not because he hated promoting the song, and not even because he disliked the song, but because he knew that Cloud was just going to turn around and have another comeback before the year was over. There was going to be a big rush to get everything together, record songs, learn choreography and film the m/v and any other content for it. He was already exhausted just thinking about it - and on top of that, he’d be releasing his own album just a week after Cloud’s promotions for their next comeback ends. Booked and busy was an understatement, to say the least. 

Despite the impending feeling of exhaustion, paired with the already there exhaustion of consistently performing high intensity choreography, Daisuke still made time to reach out to his friends; even if it was in between live stages. He knew that technically it wasn’t “allowed” - but he didn’t care. Even though their groups had been promoting their music for about a month, Daisuke had only run into Chiaki once or twice during that time frame, which wasn’t a lot when one considered just how many schedules idols had in the same places.

Maybe it was the fact that he was tall and perpetually awkward looking due to his long limbs and large stature, but Daisuke had never taken that well to dancing. It was the thing he struggled with most as a trainee, and even to this day, four years later, he still had his issue when it came to dancing. Luckily for him, he wasn’t as bad as he used to be. 

Daisuke wasn’t a horrible dancer, but he was nowhere near being the best. He could just barely keep up with his group’s choreography without looking too out of place. He’d learned different tips and tricks on how not to look so out of place compared to his members. Now his flaws were only really noticeable if you were paying close attention to him. And even then, it wasn’t like it was completely detrimental to him and his image. He was a vocalist, not a dancer, so people didn’t expect much from him dance wise. That didn’t mean that he didn’t expect much from himself though. There were very few things that Daisuke hated more than giving a lackluster performance on stage - that included falling short when it came to choreography. Even though he wasn’t apart of dance line, he still made sure to put his best foot forward when learning the moves to their dances. 

With the bulk of their promotions for Energetic coming to an end, BC Entertainment had already told the six boys of Cloud that they would be preparing for their next comeback. It’d only be a repackaged version of the one they were just coming off of, but Daisuke was already dreading it. Don’t get him wrong, he didn’t dislike performing with his members or promoting music with them, he just knew that he was going to be permanently and perpetually exhausted for the rest of the year. With Cloud coming off of promotions, preparing for their repackaged album, promoting that for a month, and then him turning around to promote his own solo album just a week after Cloud’s promotional cycle? He wasn’t going to see more than a handful of hours of sleep at a time for the foreseeable future. 

He put up with it without really complaining though. He did it because he loved music. And he also did it because he had fought so long and hard for BC to finally give him the opportunity to release something that felt one hundred percent authentic to himself and the style of music that he felt resonated with him the most. He just hoped that other people learned to like his music too. 

duri had always been a big fan of girl groups. in general, he has always been mainly a fan of artists that present as female - he wasn’t entirely sure what it was, but there was something that he liked about them the most. he’s a big fan of whitney houston, beyoncé, céline dion, mariah carey, lily, candy, and a few other female artists. of course, he’s a fan of artists who are male presenting, but he was a bit more into the music that was put out by female presenting artists. simply put, it was really just what he enjoyed, and always gravitated towards that type of music. though, of course, duri is always known as someone who listens to all type of music, so it wasn’t like he placed himself within a box. 

duri was excited about the idea of covering a candy song. they were always such fun songs, in his own opinion, and he knew that he would have a lot of fun with covering the song. not the mention, he would be doing the cover with daisuke of cloud. he met daisuke when the younger was a trainee and duri had introduced himself in japanese. duri had even rooted for daisuke when he was on cloud6, and was really glad when daisuke had made it into the final group in the end. now fast forward all those years and the two were now doing a cover together, it was always funny how things worked, wasn’t it?

duri had appeared to the set with his manager in toe. it was how he would show up to schedules with chanmin either following close behind or duri following close behind chanmin. however, most times, chanmin was telling duri to go first, so duri would tend to listen. he was dressed rather comfortably, but in his usual fashionable sense. upon entering, he had greeted members of staff with his bright smile, before moving towards the set. when daisuke speaks, his smile beams a bit more. “i’m really excited to do the cover!” he spoke, giggling softly. he settled down upon one of the chairs himself, adjusting the microphone in front of him for a moment. 

Even though his favorite music artist of all time was a man, Daisuke tended to listen to artists who were women most of the time, no matter what the genre was. So it was no surprise that his favorite group within the idol industry would have been a girl group. He had listed them as one of his favorites time and time again in the past whenever the subject was brought up, and it seemed as though every time he mentioned it, people were shocked by his answer. He could see why it would surprise people, but he didn’t think it warranted as much shock as it gained. It was good music after all, and if the music was good, Daisuke would nine times out of ten be a fan of it. 

“Glad to hear that. Me too.” He nodded his head, offering the older male a smile in response to his words. He was definitely excited too, although his excitement wasn’t easily construed or properly read by other people. A lot of people seemed to lean towards the opinion that Daisuke didn’t really care about anything or that he didn’t really find excitement or joy in anything, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. He just had a little bit of a difficult time expression himself and his emotions, but it was something that he was working on. And the people who were most important in his life knew how he was and could interpret his intentions, so that was all that mattered. Or at least that was what he was consistently trying to tell himself. 

It may have come as a surprise to most people because of the vibe he gave off as well as his very vocalized love of rock music, but Daisuke was an avid lover of girl groups, some of his favorites being ones who executed the cute concept very well. He enjoyed a wide range of concepts, none more than the other, but there was something addictive about a bubblegum pop song that Daisuke’s ears and brain couldn’t resist. One of his all time favorite girl groups would have to be Cloud’s little sister group, Candy. He’d been a fan ever since their debut a year and a few months after his own with Cloud, and he doubted anything about that would be changing any time soon. 

His love of Candy had led him to picking to cover one of their songs for the Base Online project - one of his favorite songs from them, What is Love? It was a song that Daisuke found surprisingly deep, especially the chorus. The lyrics weren’t particularly out of this world, but the message and emotion behind it was certainly there. Singing the song with Duri had come about not too long after he made the decision to cover the song, and he was glad that he had someone else to perform it with. Plus, on the bright side, Duri was one of his favorite vocalists in the industry, so it was going to be a fun experience for him no matter what.