bermuda.

* double trouble ,

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. 

“you shouldn’t give your spare weapons to just anyone, hyung…” he aims at nerf gun right at chanyeol’s chest as he turns completely stoic. the façade is quickly broken as jibeom starts giggling with his ears turning a flushed pink from embarrassment. “ahh, i could never shoot you, hyung! that’d be so mean. but how was my acting? i could easily be a double agent, huh?”

the grin that appears on his face is immediate following jibeom’s reaction. he hadn't intended to give the poor guy such a scare, but he also isn't denying that he had known it would be a likely side effect of his attempts at being quiet and sneaky. it's for the sake of concealing himself from his enemies, he swears! he snickers to himself, but that sense of self-pride at such a small victory quickly fades when the weapon he had so graciously offered to jibeom is turned back on him (never mind the fact that by simply offering him the weapon and jjbeom accepting it, chanyeol has brought him into the silent battle within the trc grounds). 

he raises his hands up. betrayal and shock written on his features, though he lets out a sigh of relief soon after. jibeom seemingly unable to keep up his act for long--at least, he hopes it's a an act and not some ploy at the long game where he waits until they're the only two left to shoot him at the end. not that there are any winners in this game, but it's a thought. “now you're the one who scared me!' he retorts with a laugh. “you could be a male lead in a drama, for sure!"

with a grin, he reaches out to pat the other's head, belatedly realizing that he might find it weird, but it's too late to stop now so he just continues on with it. "there are a bunch of others within the building with weapons, too. so you have to be careful," he says, filling him in on the arbitrary 'rules' of the game, so arbitrary, in fact, that no one really knows them and it’s basically a free for all. “anyone could pop out at any second--" 

* maybe he was born with it ,

“you’re right! how could i forget?” he scoffs, hand on his chest as if unable to fathom how he’d lost faith, even if only for a fleeting second. course chanyeol’s great at everything, minho knows that well. after all, they’re both the best at this whole ‘bravado’ thing. he doesn’t even care if that’s the right word for it or not. “you know, i don’t think he’d be very fond of this art medium but, uh, wait, his art is more, uh…” how offensive is it if minho calls it blurry? moderate or very? because he admits it looks pretty nice but there’s no denying it’s not particular about fine details. the image of it gives him more of a ‘bigger picture’ type of vibe. 

“you’re kidding right? aw, come on, where’s that t-rex discount? you know, or like… a bruce discount. since you’re a special unicorn and all,” he snickers, still adamant that bruce was a weird unicorn name but there’s that one viral video with charlie and unicorns, right? damn, he got tired of that joke so quickly. he doesn’t know what’s worse, the unicorn one or the kid who bit his brother’s finger. 

“yeah? that good?” straightening up, he slides a hand down his chest to smooth his shirt down with some notion of making himself look more presentable when, really, he’s gone with wearing his normal training clothes for the day. “come on, lemme see,” he grins, holding a hand out for the phone and settling for looking over chanyeol’s shoulder, bursting into fits of laughter when he sees the first blurry one. “a genius! you’re a genius. really captured my essence there, didn’t ya?” 

“man, don’t go dissecting a pun like that,” he says, laughter trickling from his lips. yeah, he knows van gogh is an artist and not a photographer, but it’s more about being hailed as one of the best in his field, plus he was mostly being dumb about it anyway. honestly, he surprised he didn’t end up making some sort of da vinky joke; that viral video making its rounds is pretty popular these days. even  if he wanted to make a pun with a photographer’s name, he doesn’t even know of any to be able to. “let’s keep things simple. no need to overwork the precious few brain cells we have left.”

shrugging his shoulders, he puts on an air of nonchalance, as if he’s been through this type of argument before, which he hasn’t, because who in their right mind would pay chanyeol to take their photograph? “if you valued me and my talent, you wouldn’t mind paying the price,” he says, flattening a palm against his chest to dispslay his faux sincerity. “but since you did mention our fallen friend who has been stowed away until the next summer pool party, i will have to give you the brucey discount, which means i will lend you my services for the price of one whole donut.” what unicorns have to do with donuts, he doesn’t know.

⭐️⭐️ s-pop channel’s iqs // 이세퀴 ! ⭐️ — 28회: feat. ECLIPSE’s joohyun &  jennie...!

⭐️⭐️ s-pop channel’s iqs // 이세퀴 ! ⭐️ — 27회: blood bonds...! 

* 우리 집에 왜 왔니 ,

the younger nods her head with resolution as if the matter they’re discussing is of absolute importance. “yes, you really can’t be. i think it’s good judgment on their part that they made you the host instead of a snack server.” there was probably no point to such a conversation but she enjoys the triviality of it. often, she’s engaged in thought provoking exchanges and situations where she has to consider multiple things at the same time before she can even say something. it was a nice exchange to be able to say everything without it having to make any sense at all. it reminds her of the childlike energy she missed out on because she had to grow up so quickly. it was comforting to realise that even at twenty-two, she’s still capable of playing.

watching him stumble over made her laugh out loud. the amusement still settling comfortably over her as she reacts to his showcase of dramatics. “wow! who knew all these years of gym time had paid off?” she giggles. he was truly such a character and spending time with the older outside of company walls makes her incredibly grateful that they chose her out of seven other members to appear in this show. joy misses the daily interactions and the friendships she’s made as a trainee. it makes her happy to know that even if sometime had passed, the bond she had forged with them may never change. “of course i can’t just say no. i had to do something to really get the point across, you know? nothing beats the power of words and actions combined!” 

she laughs at him again before looking away, glancing at the mirror for a moment before he brings her back to the present by flicking a finger on her forehead. “ow.” she mumbles with a frown, rubbing the small point her index finger even though it wasn’t really painful. he really was like an older brother. “i don’t want to doubt their loyalty but you never know! still, i hope they all think the way you do and believe that we’re going to be the best forever.” she smiles, her spirits already lifted. even if only a small crop of people would remain in a few years time, she would still be infinitely grateful. “tsk, tsk, this is why you shouldn’t assume things.” she says after a laugh, shaking her head. “it’s yeji, of course! she’s my favourite because i think she’s great. i’m sorry that you were dethroned but it was bound to happen.”

“oho? are you perhaps complementing me? are you saying i’m a good host?” he asks when she speaks, definitely stretching the truth of her words a bit, a huge reach if anyone asked, though if someone did ask, he probably wouldn’t be honest about that either. it’s one of his vices, but it’s just so hard to stop. “make sure you leave a good review with the staff when they pass out the feedback papers after the show. depending on what you guys say, i can get extra snacks next episode!” what he’s saying is yet another one of his white lies, harmless, mostly, and unstoppable once he starts talking. “make sure you write it in big, bold letters, too. ‘you made the right choice in choosing park chanyeol as the emcee of your show.’ throw in a little heart for good measure. no, a big heart!“

he grins, so far gone in his story that he almost starts to believe it himself. if he had even just one less brain cell than he currently has now, he might even start believe that he had passed away and has just returned, resurrected from joy’s almighty punch. “oh yeah, you definitely got your point across,” he says, nodding firmly as he rubs his hand over the area where she’d shoved him, as if nursing a scar or a fresh wound. “i’ve got a permanent hole in my body now. think they’ll give me a bionic arm like the winter soldier?”

t-rex friend

“what do you mean hanzo isn’t considered a cool hero? sounds fake to me.” besides, he didn’t ask the overwatch community what’s cool. he knows exactly why people don’t like hanzo mains but he’s got nothing to say as a junkrat main, even if that choice was largely fueled by the fact that they’re both aussies. gotta represent after all. “hold up, did you just say loki like i’m not better suited for thor? come on, i could totally rock a hammer. ha, get it. rock a hammer.” but he damn near shudders at the thought of thanos being sexy. that’s just gotta be some hardcore josh brolin fans right? people into aliens, purple? a man— er, alien that’s into extremes? because it’s a pretty extreme solution to overpopulation and lack of resources. 

“i’d say if i had some kind of brother complex, hell yeah i’m down to be loki but those horns? the green? i think you’d look better in that than me. besides, the whole horn thing is better on maleficent these days, yeah? angelina jolie looks incredible.” not his favorite movie with her but pretty good. rolling his eyes, he tries to pinpoint why this whiny behavior seems familiar and it dawns on him with a laugh. right. the dramatic girlfriend in movies and dramas. something like that. he’s glad naeun doesn’t even tease him with things like that but something like doubt doesn’t exist that easily between them. he doesn’t believe so. 

“when did i say my three are alive and working? maybe some of them are constantly asleep! barely working. doing whatever the hell they want because i can’t seem to control them much. but one of yours always sleeping? yeah? somehow doesn’t seem right. you never sleep but you like making music. is that why you don’t? gotta balance out all the sleep your one brain cell gets? i don’t think that’s how it works, mate.” looking around, he pretends to survey the area for someone to borrow from. “alright, but how are we gonna go about that? find someone with excess? think they’ll be willing to, like it’s a cup of sugar or somethin’?” he snorts, shaking his head at the idea. at least it sounds cool to be able to share brain cells or thoughts like that.  

“don’t ask me. i, a hanzo main, find him cool,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders, though he does end up laughing still in the end. he’s actually well aware of why hanzo gets a bad rap, though that’s kind of died down after the changes they’ve made with his skill set and more annoying heroes made their appearance. “you can be whoever you want, man, as long as i’m deadpool. that’s it,” he says, making motions with his hands and arms that indicate the end of that conversation, and really, it should be, because anyone who knows him knows how much of a deadpool fan he is, so it’s really no contest. plus, he can’t really argue that minho would make a better thor than loki, visually, at the very least. though, that does remind him of some rumors he’d read about.

“but aren’t they passing the thor mantle on soon?” he asks, trying to figure out if he’s even remembering correctly. he knows another thor movie is going to be released in the future, but the part about natalie portman’s character possibly becoming the next thor is still unconfirmed, as far as he knows. he shrugs his shoulders, unable to confirm or deny his own rumor. “maleficent?” he repeats, flubbing up the name slightly. it sounds familiar, but he can’t quite place it without having to do a deep dive into his memories. “oh! that witch from the cinderella movies? it’s cinderella, right? wait...was there even a witch in cinderella?”

→ september 2020 evaluations ! — kangaroo by wanna one -- triple position…!

he’s feeling a little underprepared, and it’s not for lack of practice.

→ september 2020 evaluations ! — preparations…!

he’s never really been interested in all of that zodiac stuff.

@rkxjongsuk

time to himself is so hard to come by these days that he can hardly believe it when it happens. he’s constantly checking his calendar app just to make sure he isn’t forgetting something, and even then, he’s racking his brain trying remember if he just failed to note it down. try as he might, he can’t think of anything else he should be doing at the moment, so he resigns to his fate, of having just a few hours that day without anything planned, just to himself. it feels strange, though, and after just five minutes of sitting around in his living room doing nothing, he decides to head out to the grocery store to stock up his pantry a little. it’s been looking empty for weeks.

— workaholic

it’s funny, because her mom would often say she had no idea where yeji got her musical talents from, because neither of her parents could hold a note to save their lives ( though her mom does try sometimes? ) and dancing was even more out of the question. but maybe there was an answer in chanyeol — it can’t be a coincidence that they’re both good at this, right? of course, he’s much better than she is, but she likes to think that she’s improving day by day, that she’s growing in her own way maybe? and if she was able to pick out what was wrong with this track then maybe she was making some sort of progress.

“really? you think that scary dance trainer will be easier on me if i say something nice about her?” she laughs, because even she knows how ridiculous it is to even consider anything like that. in fact, she feels like she would be reprimanded if she tried to flatter her, and even so she’s not trying to take any chances. “hey, maybe you could tell my mom! tell her that i’m pretty good at this whole idol thing and maybe she wouldn’t lecture me about it every time she sees me.” yeji laughs, because it’s mostly a joke but her mom has always liked chanyeol anyways, so maybe it would be better coming from him. still, she wouldn’t subject anyone to the wrath of her mother even if it’s for what she considers to be a good cause.

not that her mom was good at listening anyways, which is just one of her shortcomings along with her mediocre food. “you’re right, your mom’s food was always good, i remember having it when i went to your house. remember when i was younger and i asked for more of that chicken she made and my mom yelled at me?” something about it being bad for her body, even as a child yeji was groomed to be the picture of a celebrity. “is she going to come and visit anytime soon?”

“if the dance trainers haven’t given up on me yet after all these years, i doubt anything will break them,” he answers, unable to hold back the loud guffaw that follows. it would be even funnier if it wasn’t also kind of sad thinking about how little improvement he’s made in that department when he’s had over three years to do it. he can say that he has improved somewhat at least, and while that still isn’t good enough, it’s something he can hold on to and something for the coaches to keep reminding him about. “but who knows. maybe she’ll give you a break for fifteen minutes.”

he can’t help but frown at the request she makes of him, even if she’d said it with a jesting tone. his own mother has always been very supportive of his dreams of pursuing music, so the fact that his aunt isn’t as supportive of yeji feels very troublesome. though, it probably has to do with the fact that music was the one thing that kept him out of getting into more trouble back in the states, but even with that considered, he doesn’t see how his aunt can speak bad about what yeji is trying to achieve. “hey, just say the word and i’ll march right up to your house and tell auntie about all the great things you’re doing here,” he says in all seriousness, despite her tone and the smile on his face.

@yejirk

it’s been a while since he’s hung out with his cousin outside of the trc building. he figures that she probably gets enough of him within those walls, seeing as how they’re there almost 24/7 and so he doesn’t invite her over or out as often as he would like. after their conversation in the recording studio, though, about their mothers’ and grandmother’s cooking, he can’t help but to have her over on a saturday night so that he can cook for her. sure, he’s not quite at their level yet (and he doubts he ever will be; that’s just how highly he regards their cooking), but he’s pretty good, if he may say so himself. plus, it’s been a minute since he’s prepared a full course meal for someone that wasn’t himself, his girlfriend, or the new trainees.

finding the time was probably the hardest part of it, between training and socializing and the other commitments he tried to regularly keep up, he barely found time for himself as it was, let alone enough to go grocery shopping, prep and cook food, as well as clean his apartment to make it look presentable for guests. it’ll all be worth all of the effort, though, if yeji enjoys the food he’s made.

@rkseunghun

usually, chanyeol is perfectly fine with the meal plan that trc has set up for him. it can get a little repetitive and boring at times which is why he often eats again once training lets out, but for the most part he sticks to the diet they’ve given him. there are some days, though, that the calls of the vending machine are just too loud, and he can’t ignore its plea. the thing about that, though, is that he hates carrying around change and the weight it brings, so he often ends up buying items until change is no longer acquired, and that is how he ends up walking down the halls of trc with an arm full of snacks from the vending machine, wondering how he’s going to eat it all.

just then, a savior appears once he turns a corner, and a smile immediately lights up his face. his steps quicken in order to close the gap between them, and in no time, he’s walking in step with the younger trainee, arms full, grin wide.

@rkjibeom

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.

t-rex friend

“whoa whoa whoa, hey, come on! i support you and all of your superhero dreams but you gotta trash on mine? i’m not cool enough. i can’t believe this is coming from you. i thought we were each other’s biggest fans, got each other’s backs,” minho ends up rubbing his eyes, pretending to wipe away tears as he dramatically sniffles, chest rising and everything. “so you got to be hanzo before but i can’t even be mcu hawkeye? get outta here!” grimacing, he clutches his chest. “you kidding me? he wasn’t even cool at all! ‘sides, i think i could pull off the whole villain thing a lot better. look at me, no one would suspect me at all. anyway, i don’t like his criminal persona or fake costume, whatever you wanna call it because it was a mess.” 

“i’ma get whiplash being around you,” minho sighs, though there’s no hint of a complaint in his tone at all, especially when he laughs. “uh huh, yeah. see, i knew you fuckin’ love me.” the expression chanyeol gives him sends him into a fit of laughter, but he really ought’a stop cursing now that they’re inside. that’s gonna be a bit of a code switch around chanyeol for sure. he’s used to it by now, speaking too freely. 

“no, no, no, see, i don’t have that many in the first place so missing even just one is a big deal, man!” stifling a snort, he does his best not to immediately shake his head at how swiftly and naturally they fall into this, playing off each other and going along as if it’s a well-practiced— hell, maybe even perfected— act. “three? damn, i used to only have two… how have i been living without you? don’t you know you complete me? i can’t lend you any, we gotta share! get with the program!” 

he can’t help but laugh at minho’s overly dramatic reaction to his words. it’s true that they’re always hyping each other up to the point that many people seem to question the nature of their relationship, but as far as he’s concerned there’s also nothing wrong with a little teasing between friends either, even if it does happen only once in a blue moon. “i think you’re forgetting that hanzo isn’t exactly considered a cool hero in the overwatch community,” he says with another laugh. he can’t recall all the times he’s been called a ‘hanzo main’ by people in game chat and over voice as an insult. “but if you’re gonna be a villain, i think loki suits you best. isn’t he considered sexy by the general public? then again, there are people who think thanos is sexy, too...”

his voice trails off, brow furrowing in worry for those people, but he shakes it off with a grin, reaching out for his friend’s arm and latching on as he bats his eyelashes at him. “you doubted me?” he asks in his best whiny girlfriend voice, shaking his shoulders like those girls in dramas. “how could you!”

— workaholic

she holds her breath as she watches him, move the file, hands curled up in fists at her chest as she keeps her eyes on the screen, unable to look away even though part of her wants to, just so she doesn’t have to see it for herself if she’s wrong. it shouldn’t matter, especially when it’s her cousin, and she’s been wrong plenty of times around him before so why would it be different now? plus, chanyeol has never made fun of her for something like this — in fact, she feels like he would encourage her to try even if she ends up being incorrect. but there’s something about putting herself out there and having it not work out that terrifies her.

yeji audibly lets out the breath she was holding in when she turns out to be right, feeling a wave of relief wash over her. “i was right? it was that one?” she did think so, but she straightens and brightens up, not even stopping the huge grin that spreads across her face from the compliment that he gave her. “i’m hardly a genius, just trying to catch up to you.” not that she could, considering all his experience and the fact that even trc recognized him in the past for his creativity in making songs. yeji is nowhere near that level, but she’s hoping she can take baby steps toward it, and right now she’s just riding the wave of her small victory. “maybe it runs in the family?”

she takes her chopsticks, grabbing a bit of the kimchi and eating it with the rice that she had brought. if they were going to be working into the night, then the least they could do was have a homecooked meal, right? “you’re so right, grandma’s kimchi is next level. i wonder why our moms didn’t pick up on it?” she pauses, then continues. “well, i know why my mom didn’t. i think she kind of hates cooking in general, but she always said making kimchi was way too much work.”

“yes, it was definitely that one,” he answers, unable to keep himself from reaching out to pat the top of her head, a proud smile on his lips. he’s well aware that the coaches and staff likely have more to do with her growth than his own mentoring, but he still can’t help but feel pride in himself for helping her when he sees how far she’s come. and yeah, his song might still need a lot of work and editing before he can present it to any of the staff or anyone else besides yeji, but she really had helped him out of a bind there. he’d been stuck in a rut with that song for so long that it’s nice to get an outside opinion.

he chuckles when she shoots the compliment back at him, and he shakes his head shrugging his shoulders. “flattery will get you everywhere; you’re learning,” he says, letting out another laugh. “and it definitely runs in the family.”  the two of them had always been relatively close, even when yeji moved away to seoul and they were separated for a while, but he feels even closer to her now that they’re both training at the same company, and especially so after yeji began expressing interest in producing and composing songs on her own. who knows, perhaps one day they’d be able to write the song together and release it to the world and have it be a huge hit!

Happy Puppy

Usually, she was more of a… neutral kind of person, but his bright personality seemed to be contagious.

“I’m sure I will,” she smiled back. His choice seemed just as delicious and since it wasn’t impossibly far away, she decided to come back here sometime soon to try everything at least once. It’d probably take a while, especially with seasonal choices, but if it was worth it, it was worth it and she’d soon find out.

“Thank you, I’m sure Mudkip will be excited,” she smiled, glancing down. It was as though Mudkip could sense that there  would be something in it for him as well, just judging by his attentive eyes and wagging tail. He’d looked happy before, but this definitely different, even she could see that, his eyes awake and he looked ready to start snacking any second.

“Hmm, exhausting, but good,” she answered earnestly once they were sitting, though careful of her wording. Half a year was surely enough to get the hang of things, especially for someone, who usually adapted pretty quickly. “A bit more free time would be nice, but I’ve always spend half the day dancing anyway,” she chuckled.

“There’s one thing I’ve been wondering, though. As someone who’s been doing this much longer, are there any tips or tricks? Not for anything specific, just to make the daily routine a bit… easier, I guess? Or fun? Or anything good to know, really.”

once they’re settled down and sitting comfortably, he grabs the bag the carrot cookies are in and reaches inside, watching the pup as he does. he seems alert to what’s about to transpire and he can’t help but gush, grasping onto the cloth of his t-shirt just in front of his chest. “so cute!” he murmurs, breaking a small piece off of the cookie before leaning down to offer it to the dog. “i’m sure you wouldn’t blame me if i stole him, would you?”

he’s joking, of course, but there’s also a part of him that wishes it wouldn’t be illegal if he chose to do it. he think if those purge movies ever became reality, the first thing he’d do would be to steal a dog, though he’d probably end up giving it back in the end.

“tips or tricks?” he repeats, sitting back up straight when the question is asked. he’s never been good at giving advice, but as a senior he feels obligated to give a good answer, so he mulls it over for a bit, looking back on his several years of training, taking a moment to reflect on it all in a general sense.

“i don’t know if there’s anything that’ll make it easier,” he says finally, shaking his head. “if it’s easy, then you’re not working hard enough. you’ll get left behind by the others if you’re taking it too easy.” he purses his lips, wondering if his words are coming off a bit harsh. “i guess, for me, the fun is in getting better all the time, so i’m constantly striving to surpass my own goals for myself, you know?”