prodigy

“trying to get my name out there too, i guess,” zak said with a shrug. “not to mention i’m huge overseas, inho. what better way to get the international audience hooked on not only ginny, but whatever future endeavors i have too?”

“are you sure, cuz i’d never heard of you,” he insisted with a little pout. “all i’m saying is that hyunjoo is way more famous than you are.”

“i don’t know. i haven’t been on the show in years at this point,” dongeun said with a shrug. “people are definitely going to be weird about it, but everyone gets weird fans, right? and we’re going to have good security. plus, it’s not like i’m still a baby. i think i can do whatever concepts i want to.”

“yeah, i guess so. at least you’re an adult, too. that means you can kind of do whatever you want,” inho said. “i dunno. i feel like it would just feel weird to see someone at a fanmeet who knew what i look like as a baby.”

the teenager approached his future leader and pulled him into a hug, sniffling. “i’m sorry. you should be going to the next round, not me. you fit this concept and stuff way better....” @rvxilhoon​

“Sure, I’ll just corner some PD in the elevator while they’re on their way to lunch. I’m sure they’ll hear me out and make it happen,” Eli joked. They knew he was just being hypothetical. “Like… I’m not disagreeing with you or anything, I think it’d be cool too. But there’s not really anyone actually pitching that idea, and we’re already here.”

“not you,” inho snorted. “but like.....if someone big at liberty did it.... burnout is really popular. i bet people would want to see mnet build another burnout.” he paused. “yeah, i guess. well.... good luck, then?”

“it totally shows through,” rin assured him, leaning forward a little with a huge grin. “oh, just four or five of us! no one will say as much, but it’s probably those of us who are set to debut after the new boy group does. you know, so we can see this stuff up close and absorb it and everything.”

“i......good,” he sputtered out, tongue getting tied through his words, staring at rin. he’d been a trainee for a while, and though higher’s trainees weren’t segregated by gender quite as much as other companies, higher’s female trainees were a lot older than him, and most of the people he spent his time with were the other trainees set to debut with him in s.o.s. this was the first time he’d been so close to such a pretty girl, his age, who seemed even a little interested. it was hard for him to wrap his head around. “i.... why didn’t you come on the show, then? if you’re a trainee and everything. and if you’re getting ready to debut.....”

“That would be a better idea…” Eli mused. “I kinda get the feeling they wouldn’t really want to foot the bill for that to happen, though. You know… from the impression I’ve got of Liberty this past year. In any case, I’m gonna stick it out as long as I can and see what comes of it.  It’ll be tough, but I think it could be fun.”

“yeah, but i bet if it was pitched to mnet the right way, they’d foot the bill,” inho insisted. “people love competition shows, and these regular ones are getting boring. remember how popular miss trot was? i bet a musician one would be cool as fuck.”

rin turned her head quickly, eyebrows raising. “oh! you’re that boy from higher! you’re cute– i love your rapping!” she said enthusiastically. “i’m rin– i’m a spotlight trainee. my trainer is the guest mentor this week. she wanted all of us to sit in the audience and learn.”

he blushed, furrowing his brow and clearing his throat awkwardly. cute girls weren’t supposed to be blunt about calling him cute. that was weird. way too forward too. “thanks. i practice a lot,” he grumbled back, rubbing the back of his neck. “oh.... is there a lot of you who came to watch..?”

“yeah, maybe, but for the purposes of a show like this, you can changed the arrangement and pitch it accordingly,” she pointed out. “i don’t know. i guess i just don’t like that being used as an excuse to keep things so binary.”

“i guess, but won’t you need to pitch it for the guys and the girls? won’t it sound weird when you’ve got a soprano next to a baritone?” inho insisted. “i dunno either. i just think sometimes it doesn’t fit.”

“I guess so,” Eli said with a shrug. “So we can get experience with TV cameras maybe? That’s the main thing I can think of, anyway. There’s not really a lot of opportunities to do that for Liberty.”

“i guess that makes sense, but there gotta be better ways to do that,” he said. “like they should just partner with mnet to do their own show, or something. the liberty trainees from idol project one? no one remembers them and they weren’t there long enough to really get experience...”

“i mean, gender is a construct. anyone can sing any part if it’s in the right range,” hoa answered. “by your logic, you had it the easiest, no?”

“i mean, yeah, we did,” he said with a shrug. “we’re all guys, and it’s a song we all kinda have to know. but seriously-- some girls can sing real deep, and that’s cool, but you’re not always gonna have a deep alto.”

“please. my debut was great– it just didn’t get the attention it deserved because new age didn’t feature dita enough, and the rest of us didn’t get idol project clout.” she rolled her eyes. “i’ve seen you. you’re okay, but you’re a shit dancer, and have a bad personality. idol project will be the only reason you do anything.”

“yeah, cuz your opinion means so much to me. you’re the first person i’m gonna ask if i need insight on who has a bad personality,” inho answered sarcastically.  “i’m not here to fight. you’re annoying and i don’t have the time. just, like, stop whining. people are gonna hate you more and you’re gonna burn bridges.”