falling down

rkpcy​: 

( x )

in the middle of his explanation, one of the people he’d handed a spare nerf gun to pops out from around the corner and aims, but with chanyeol’s athleticism, he’s able to get a shot in first, hitting him in the shoulder. 'like that guy!” he says, continuing to shoot at the other trainee, who also rains down bullets on both he and jibeom. it’s time to turn up the dramatics. he steps in front of the younger trainee, spreading his free arm out for full coverage from the assault. “get behind me!” 

jibeom doesn’t usually try to seek validation through other’s opinion of him but hearing from chanyeol that he could be a male lead in a drama (even if in just a joking manner) is honestly nice to hear. immediately in response to the statement, he beams up at the other. 

then when chanyeol pats his head, jibeom realizes how much he likes the affection of older trainees. he’s not exactly the youngest trainee at trc at the moment but he’s still young enough to be considered one of the younger ones. like a younger puppy who follows the older puppy, that’s kinda what it looks like if someone happened to look at jibeom and chanyeol in this moment. 

“i kinda wanna know why you had so many nerf guns in the first place... to even start a nerf war at the company.” jibeom questions out loud but it goes unanswered as they’re suddenly bombarded with nerf pellets. he doesn’t even get to use the weapon give to him as he’s pulled behind chanyeol as the older takes most of the hits. “oh my god, hyung!”

rkpcy​: 

it’s been a little while since he’s pulled this kind of harmless mischief during working hours. he’s sure his skills are rusty and that his aim and precision will be off because of it, but when he’d spotted the weapons in his closet while searching for a specific pair of shoes he’d even forgotten he’d owned, he just couldn’t let them lie in there continuing to collect dust. no, nerf guns were meant to be used to wreak havoc, and though there is always the danger of getting caught by trc staff for shooting foam pellets at his fellow trainees or even some of the friendlier coaches, he’s pretty sure it’s not something he’ll get his contract revoked over. at least, that’s his hope.

in any case, he’s already started a war, handing off some of his other nerf guns to other people throughout the day, and he’s been on guard ever since. he’s already been shot in the back by one of the younger trainees and has never felt a higher sense of betrayal—all dramatics, of course, but who is he if not dramatic?—and he’s not going to let himself fall into a sense of complacency ever again.

he wanders the halls during free practice, the most dangerous time of the day considering the staff is a little more lenient with people walking around. he’s got a nerf gun close to his chest and another tucked under his arm when he spots jibeom in the distance. as quietly as possible, he approaches from behind, reaching out at the last second to clamp his hand down on the younger’s shoulder. “young man, you are walking around during a war unarmed?” he asks, tone serious as he furrows his brows. he offers the last of his extra nerf guns to him, motioning for him to take it. “you’ll need this to get out alive.”

by this time, jibeom’s usually wandering around back and forth to burn off the excess energy he has that he couldn’t expend during vocal or dance practice. he’s gotten into a good routine at trc but every now and again, something always manages to throw him off. in this case, it’s someone.

with his back turned, jibeom doesn’t even notice the body creeping closely. he nearly shrieks when a hand places itself down onto his shoulder and he turns in time to see chanyeol sporting one of those toy guns that jibeom vaguely recalls playing with during his younger years. 

“hyung, you scared me!” for emphasis, he places a hand on his beating heat before willing his heart rate to slow down. before he even has the chance to ask the older trainer what he’s up to, jibeom’s being handed a nerf gun as well. looking the toy gun over and seeing that it was already loaded with the soft foam pellets, he wonders just how prepared chanyeol was for whatever this was. he wonders if any of the other trainees joined in and indulged in this. 

sept 2020 eval starter for @rkrose​

jibeom had never been the type to pay attention to astrology and star signs like most people do nowadays. he’d only recently found out he was an aquarius because of september’s evaluation -- whatever being an aquarius meant. 

although after joining up with his fellow aquarians, or however they’re referred to as, jibeom feels a bit better about the evaluation. traits such as being assertive or independent seem to represent the main characteristics of their sign. after various discussion and input from one another, the group decides on performing kill this love for the end of the month. 

♔ AUG 2020 EVALUATION ; laundry pizza 

♔ AUG 2020 EVALUATION ; preparations

rkjordan​: 

jordan did have to laugh a little. he liked to think that most things he did would be easy peasy, but usually it never went that way. something always went wrong or he ended up not getting the desired results. and while he didn’t really want to completely ruin his trainee life just before it had started he didn’t think the ideas in his head would end up getting them fired or anything. probably just some trouble, but that if they ended up getting caught in the first place. he was planning on doing something and getting away scott free. 

“i am an expert at timers, trust me,” he admitted with a laugh. a lot of when he was pranking friends included timers. and he did it a lot. “glitter is not a bad idea,” it just created a lot of mess, but it didn’t hurt anyone and he didn’t think it would get them in too much trouble. especially if they managed to get far enough away when an explosion happened so no one knew it was them. (though no doubt people would have their doubts). 

”i’m putting all my trust in you, buddy.” jibeom says in english before giggling and switching back to korean. “so are we going with the glitter bomb idea then?” maybe they should have a handful of ideas before they actually pick something to do. at least, he hopes they can pull off a prank really soon. he’s never really had the opportunity to do stuff like this either so he doesn’t even know how long it would take them to plan it out and set things up.  

rkbgyu​: 

You wouldn’t think it considering his personality, but Beomgyu is good at remembering people and where he knows them from. Even if he’s only met someone once, Beomgyu can remember their names and often the location and situation of the first meeting. Even if he hasn’t spoken to someone but heard their name he can often remember them. Jibeom was someone he hadn’t met but he remembered him from the winter contest. Jibeom had won and Beomgyu was happy just performing that night.

Beomgyu had seen Jibeom a few times during classes but he had yet to find a chance to approach him. He had enjoyed the other’s performance that night and he deserved to win the contest. It was lunch time and Beomgyu spied the other male seated alone. The teenager was quick to capture his chance. He quickly sat down across from the other and grinned. ❝ Hi! I remember you from the winter contest. I’m Beomgyu. It’s nice to meet you. ❞ 

It was just another typical day of practice. Not much of anything worthy enough to note aside from Jibeom’s voice cracking during vocal practice. He’d have to rest his throat a bit before he tries again and drink some more water. He’s probably dehydrated or something. 

By the time lunch rolled around, Jibeom was happy for the chance to just sit back, eat, breathe and unwind before the next practice had to start. He thinks it might be dance practice next and that one will be killer. He’s prodding his rice with his chopsticks when he’s surprised by a new presence at the table he’s seated at. Welcoming the new guy with a shy smile, he bows his head in a quick hello.

rkjordan​: 

“as you rightly should,” he offered with a quick grin, reaching over to somewhat clap jibeom on the back in a friendly gesture. not that he supposed he really would mind very much if hi friend didn’t trust him, it was rare that anyone did when they found out that he was prone to blowing things up and pulling pranks left right and center. 

he did have to think over the current ideas in his head, sifting through them one by one. “well, let’s just say that if we get caught for any of them, we are going to get into trouble. a bit of it,” and he couldn’t really promise that they wouldn’t be kicked out because of it. so maybe it wasn’t the best of ideas to go around pulling pranks and mischief in this particular building. 

though he still wanted to all the same, humming as he rubbed at his chin in thought. “we might be able to get away with it. set something off on a timer so we’re not around when anything… happens.” 

“ahh, well in that case, it should be easy peasy, right? get in, get out, don’t get caught.” of course, that was easier said than done. not to mention, jibeom hated performing under pressure so there will be some heavy reliance on jordan to take the lead. not that jibeom expected any less. “i mean... that’s the idea.” he just hoped that he didn’t give them away or anything. he’s not the best at masking his emotions. if they pull it off, he knows he wouldn’t be able to stop giggling or grinning like a maniac.

starter for @rksohee​

after a particularly grueling day of practice, jibeom decides it’s only right for him to treat himself to some snacks at the nearby convenience store once he leaves the trc building. hiking up his bag on his shoulders, he steps through the shop’s door and greets the cashier who barely acknowledges back a hello. he’ll remember that for next time and pay only in coins. 

rkjordan​: 

“don’t you have a little more faith in me about picking my friends based more on them that how much money they’re willing to spend on me?” he did have to offered with a slight laugh. “though, have to say, it is a nice bonus.” 

it was unlikely that things around the company were going to change that much, but jordan could still have hope. as he was someone who did not do very well in monotonous routine and needed something to spice up his life before he got too bored. otherwise he would try spicing it up himself and that usually just ended up with him getting into trouble for breaking something or causing a big mess. 

“oh, i can think of many ways to spice this place up off the top of my head,” he offered with a grin, “but all of them would probably get us into some serious trouble.” 

jibeom rolls his eyes. of course, he has faith in jordan. after all, they were friends and it wasn’t like the other has steered him in the wrong direction either. “i believe you.” he says, with a smile on his face. “well then, can’t say i’m surprised.”

leaning in, jibeom’s ears perk up at the mention of jordan having a plethora of ideas to spice things up. he knew he could trust his friend. “hmm, how serious are we talking? i’m down for a lot of things but just don’t get us kicked out of the company and you can call me your partner in crime.”

rkxbin​: 

“hm, well, i can dance, too.” with a matter-of-fact tone, changbin nods as if jibeom hadn’t just witnessed him attempt bm’s part with questionable success. with that, he does a final stretch of his arms before doing some basic dance moves taught to beginner level trainees with a dead serious face. he’s jesting, of course - out of all people, changbin knew himself best. it doesn’t hurt to make fun of yourself once in a while, though.

as jibeom gets back up and they start to actually get into practice, changbin hums in agreement at the other’s suggestion. at the very least, he’s gotten more flexible at performing different genres of music - actually, having to rap such a wide variety of songs has given him inspiration to try out producing new genres when he can. it’s an upside to all the times he’s stumbled trying to adapt or all the hours he’s spent worrying that the coaches might comment on how his image really doesn’t fit certain idol concepts.

pulling up his phone to get the lyrics, he uses his curled up hand like a microphone, before rapping a few lines based on what he remembers from the song. taking on a more aggressive tone to fit bm’s style, changbin raps coolly, a distinct difference between the him now and the one who had been dancing in such a silly manner only moments ago. it goes well until he reaches the spanish, which he stumbles over and most definitely pronounces incorrectly. sheepish, he looks up from his phone, caught off guard by the change in language and trying to defend himself in case the other laughed.

“see, ‘beomie? this is why rappers write their own lyrics.”

jibeom giggles. “i dunno if you can classify flailing like a fish outta water as dancing, hyung, but i guess close enough.” he sticks his tongue out at the other to show that he’s only poking fun. “kidding, love you~”

he watches with undivided attention as changbin starts rapping bm’s lines from the song and he stares in awe. “waaaah, no, you were good, binnie! like really good!” maybe he’s also biased because this is his friend but either way, they definitely could manage to pull this song off, dancing aside. “like... yeah you messed up a little but that part isn’t even in your own language so you’re fine. just gotta keep practicing.”

“rappers or idol rappers? although, i think idol rappers are venturing into writing their own raps into their songs nowadays.” jibeom pauses to think about it before he shakes his head to keep from getting distracted. “buuuut, i’d imagine if you debuted, you’d probably have to cover lots of senior artists as respect for them as rookies.” but jibeom does understand because there’s a certain flow that goes with an original rapper’s part. having to copy that and have the right flow without it sounding awkward or forced is hard. he’s proud of changbin for trying, though. 

there was only one thing standing between jibeom and relaxation: july evaluation. granted, it wasn’t a difficult evaluation at all. in fact, he’d even go as far as to deem it an easy and very doable one. to pick a song that was not only upbeat and fit the summer-y vibes but they needed to get the crowd pumping. 

while jibeom might be the winter singer through name alone, his voice was meant to heat things up no matter the weather, through sunshine or rain. honestly, he hates his title because people might assume he’s 1) a good singer, 2) specifically a ballad singer and well, those are the main reasons. still, jibeom thinks it’s hard to live up to a title like that because then it puts an expectation on him that he really does no want. not right now. 

but it’s summer, right? who has the time to stress about that? not jibeom. certainly not. he’s got bigger fish to fry. namely, he has the july evaluation to deal with. as much as he’s practiced with changbin, he’s still worried. he even turns to his friend and pouts. “changbinnie-hyung, i’m worried....” at this point, he keeps wringing his fingers together due to his nerves acting up. 

he seems to always get like this whenever it comes to performing. albeit, he’s better than he ever was years ago when the stage fright was too awful to do anything. now he just panics and stresses and can actually go up on stage. progress is the name of the name and that’s what people like to see. hopefully, trc notices the kind of hardworking trainee he’s been so far. 

by the time their turn to go and perform comes around, he’s feeling a lot less nervous than before. he squeezed changbin’s hand one last time for good luck measures before they took their places. 

he’s trying his best to not feel embarrassed at the choreography. it doesn’t matter if the original part was more feminine. jibeom would absolutely throw it back just like jiwoo. he could be sexy and hot just like that. the thing is to be serious and act like he means it. if he does that, then the people watching would also take him seriously. 

Wildin' all day, wildin' all night Wildin' all day 난 매일 밤밤 Wildin' all day, wildin' all night Wildin' all day 난 매일 밤밤

jibeom thinks that the chorus especially would get people hyped. it’s the type of song that gets people waving their arms in the air and grooving and shaking their whole bodies. he just hopes that he and changbin did it justice. of course, he knows changbin managed to execute the rap part pretty well. when it came down to it, jibeom knows he wouldn’t have been able to pull off a rap like that for this type of song. not yet. that’s why he wanted to focus on his vocals for this time around. 

thank god their evaluation was over. jibeom didn’t even care if they didn’t do as well as the trainers had hoped. considering the length of time that he’s been a trainee and his own personal limitations, he’d say it’s a pass. 

rkjordan​: 

jordan hummed a little under his breath, acting as though he was actually having to think about it for just a moment. “maybe a bit of both,” he offered after a moment longer with a slight grin curving the corner of his mouth. without jibeom and his snacks then training would be a lot longer and a lot more boring, of that the american was sure of. though he was just thankful that he did actually have friends in this company and was not just having to struggling through everything by himself. 

“maybe one day things will switch up around here,” though since being here in february it was indeed just ‘same shit, different day’. the same coaches, same training, same schedule day in and day out. t was starting to get a little tiring, come to think of it. no wonder some people never made it very long and decided to call it quits after a couple of months. though jordan was not going to be one of those people, he was planning on sticking around until someone told him to piss off. 

“honestly,” jibeom starts off before he sticks his straw into the banana milk and takes a long sip of it. “i can’t blame you because same. maybe that’s why we’re friends.” 

he raises an eyebrow at the statement. things don’t or rather, they won’t change unless they tried to do something about it. or if trc actually has fun plans in store for all of them. at the rate things are progressing though, jibeom’s going to end up as the second ghost of trc and haunt every trainee that passes through. “yeah, maybe in our dreams.”

rkxbin​: 

( ... )

“i’m sure the coaches will have a fun time laughing when they see me. i won’t let you down, though – if i mess up this time, i’ll owe you a favor.“ 

with that being said, he watches as jibeom attempts the move, and immediately bursts into laughter before the younger tells him not to. the scene is undoubtedly surreal to anyone who would walk in at that moment; for someone who appeared so impassive all the time, the smile on changbin’s face is blinding, and his laughter is pretty loud. he feels a little bit bad afterwards, but the only thing he can manage to choke out is a muffled “sorry, sorry.”

taking a moment to catch his breath, changbin rests his hands on his hips, and stares at their reflections in the studio mirror with a baffled expression.

“what are we going to do? we can rap and sing, but this dance… we might be in trouble.”

he intakes a breath, before exhaling sharply. donning a determined expression, he turns to jibeom. it’s kind of silly how serious he’s being, but he’s comfortable enough showing this side of himself to his friend.

“let’s work hard, okay? we can do this.”

“i know you’re right... but even practice can mean nothing if your skills stay stagnant which i’m pretty afraid about. although, the training at trc’s been kinda tough. i’m not sure if it’s just the company atmosphere but there’s no choice but to get better unless i wanna get dropped.” 

jibeom nearly pinches changbin’s arm. “you had a backup song? i didn’t even have a backup song.” who has time for that when there’s too many options to choose from in the first place? hopefully, they get a good amount of practice for bomb bomb before jibeom’s indecisiveness makes an welcomed appearance again. 

he’s laying on the floor now and he stares back at their reflecting. he huffs a stream of air upwards to blow the hair out of his face. 

“i can dance. it’s super fun. it’s just having to dance like i’m sexy or something when i know i’m not is the real struggle.”

he looks up at changbin and grins back at seeing the older trainee’s expression. jibeom stands back up and gets back into position. 

rkjordan​: 

he couldn’t help the laugh as jibeom sat down, “oh you know i did babes. can’t live without ya.” jordan did always enjoy the banter between him and his lifelong friend, thankful that there was someone in trc he had known for years and years of his life. actually, he was extra lucky to have seunghun there as well, and now, beomgyu had gotten signed as well. it seemed all his friends couldn’t leave him alone. 

“but if you’re that staved for attention, i’m right here, hun,” he offered with a playful wink. though he hoped jibeom knew he was joking about that. then again, everything he said most of the time was a joke and should not be taken seriously under any circumstances. “but you know there isn’t,” he responded to the question with a shrug, “just same old shit day in and day out.” 

jibeom rolls his eyes but there’s a teasing smile on his face. “can’t live without me or can’t live without my gifts.” training at trc has been pretty good so far. at first, he’d been absolutely afraid of not only the training process but also just not knowing anybody whatsoever. but making friends was surprisingly easy here and he’s even lucky to have a longtime friend in the same company. most people aren’t that lucky. 

yejirk​: 

“i’m telling you, there’s a ghost in the practice room.” she looks at him with wide eyes, taking a sip of the coffee that she had bought from the convenience store during break time because she already knew that tonight would be a long one. there was still the song that she had to finish arranging, the parts that she had to learn, the lyric sheet that she would print out and mark up, and all that would have to take some time and then she’ll have to eat at some point and before she knows it it’ll be dark and the ghost will be there again.

“the other day i was alone in there practicing, and i swear i heard a thumping noise, but the music was turned off and everything.” she recounts the story, wondering if he thinks she sounds crazy, or if she seems like she’s making everything up, but she’s so sure that there was something there. “i was so scared i got my stuff and left immediately and went to another practice room. and that’s why i came here today. because at least if there’s a ghost here i won’t be alone.”

this is the second time someone’s mentioned a ghost in the trc building. jibeom’s starting to suspect that either there’s really a ghost around or the trainees that have been around longer just like playing pranks on the new ones. “so... you mean chanyeol hyung was telling the truth?” his face pales and he looks towards his left and right as if something might just pop out suddenly. “it’s the ghost of a trainee that didn’t get to debut, i’m telling you!”