break your rules.

rkxroyal​: 

woohyun’s always been curious, especially during promotion times– where they go to so many different recordings. he’s always wondering what they’re going to do, what he’ll say; he’s thinking up various ideas and songs to showcase on variety shows or interviews. with weekly idol steadily approaching, he’s already trying to think of what they might have to do; he’s gone through a couple of the latest release episodes to check the types of activities and corners they’re doing lately. he’s been trying to do better, especially on variety shows– so he’s been putting extra care into trying to have some sort of idea before they officially record. 

he’s in the middle of watching a group doing the random play dance bit when he sees someone enter the living room. glancing up, he immediately pauses, smiling when he notices it’s sangyeon. “sangyeon-ah!” he greets, reaching up towards the couch to pat the seat. “do you wanna brainstorm for weekly idol?” he asks, grinning cutely. he directs his attention back to the computer, humming as he taps through the video. “i’m looking at some of the segments, trying to gear up for it. stay prepared, that sort of thing.” he’s not horrible at improvising, but it makes him feel much more comfortable having an idea of what to expect, or at least to gather up inspiration prior.

this month has been pretty hectic, sangyeon thinks. it’s not a stressful time period but promotions are always filled with them going to and from schedules. not that he minds. sangyeon likes being busy. it occupies his mind and keeps him from thinking too much. ever since he’d been chosen as an mc for inkigayo, he’d spend whatever time he had that wasn’t devoted to dance or vocal practice to practicing his facial expressions for being on screen. 

mtv the show, 09.22.2020, dwc4thwin (x)

it didn’t feel good to him. after convex’s 4th win with don’t wanna cry, sangyeon started thinking and feeling a little too much. more than he should have been for such a happy occasion. he couldn’t help thinking that he shouldn’t be allowed to be happy in this moment. not now, not yet. 

( @rkharu​ , @seungcheolrk​ , @haknyeonrk​ ) 

rkohsehun​: 

oops, sehun muses as he gives the older male a sheepish smile. he remembers shoving a sunscreen in his bag just a moment ago, but wasn’t able to apply it on his skin beforehand. there’s no time, though, they’ve got to head out soon. he just have to remember to put some on before he sprints to the water later. “ah, i forgot to put sunscreen on,” he admits with a light chuckle as he hikes the knapsack further up his shoulder. at least he’s now ready to go. “help me put it on later, maybe?” he grins. maybe his fake maknae privileges will still work on sangyeon.

sehun follows the older male closely, pulling the cap down lower on his head for better shade from the sun. he now regrets forgetting putting sunscreen on. his skin easily burns, too. but the worries are nothing to his excitement. it feels like eons since he last went to the beach. he’s going to make the most of it. “we have to take lots of pictures!” he chirps excitedly, happily wrapping his arms around sangyeon as he grins. “all those hours we spent in the gym comes down to this!”

sangyeon just roars with laughter when sehun says he forgot to apply sunscreen and be bold enough to ask him to help him apply some. “ai-yah, you’re lucky you’re cute, sehun-ah. fine, fine, i’ll help you later so c’mon let’s get going! the beach doesn’t wait around for anybody!”

nodding his head, sangyeon can’t help the grin that fights its way onto his face. “lots and lots of pictures! maybe since you forgot to apply sunscreen and if you burn, i’ll snap a pic to send to the other members. our noodle boy became a red lobster~”

seungcheolrk​: 

“I know so,” he clarifies, his bright grin showing off his gums and poking his dimple into his cheek. it’s a predictable line, cheesy even, but seungcheol has never been anything else and he wouldn’t ever want to be. it’s his own charm being so obnoxiously seungcheol without hesitation and he likes to think the other members agree once they’re used to it, too. “ah, ah, right.” he laughs. “my bad, I’m sorry. I think you’re both, though. what are they saying these days? duality?” he teases, eyebrows wiggling and elbow nudging at the other’s side. 

he’s relieved to see sangyeon so comfortable. it’s obviously been a little while now since their new members joined them, but seungcheol’s main worry around that time had been how easily they’d settle in. he didn’t want anyone to feel like they weren’t as valuable or vital to the group depending on how long they’d been here or how long they’d been training. adjusting to life as an idol from being a trainee is hard enough without the added pressure of being new in an established group, so anything he could do to make them feel at home, he had tried to do for them. thankfully, it didn’t seem like he had to do much; things fell into place naturally, as if they had always destined to. he likes the sound of that. “you bet we will. that’s half the fun of having so many members all in one big chat.” his giggle stops him from saying any more until he catches his breath. “you’ll get to get revenge when one of us has to do something equally as embarrassing on national television, don’t you worry. an idol’s life is full of opportunities to make a lighthearted fool of yourself for fans’ entertainment, so I’m sure you won’t have to wait long.” 

sangyeon rolls his eyes but laughs at seungcheol mentioning duality like that. “ayyyy, don’t say it like that! you’re making yourself sound too old when you say ‘these days’, hyung. you’re not that much older compared to me. you’re not a hag just yet, hehe.” he does have to agree, though. people are really into the duality concept nowadays. but he totally gets it because sangyeon also thinks it’s cool how people can go from being super cool or absolutely adorable like the flip of a switch. 

“ugh, you’re right, but only for you guys.” sangyeon grins. he can’t wait until the others do something cringe-worthy too on television. it’s only fair after all. “hmm, that makes a lot of sense. idols really do have a lot of opportunities to entertain fans in so many ways. we’re always constantly interacting with them.” 

rkohsehun​: 

to say that he had been excited about their LA schedules would be an understatement. of course, he knows they’re there for work, and they had practiced hard for their performances. a day of freedom, as he would like to put it, is definitely a welcomed reward. plus, it’s summer, and knowing he’s allowed to go to the beach is like the cherry on top so he’s naturally more ecstatic. all those days in the gym comes down to this. at some point he can proudly say he’s not the same noodle he had been known for.

ah, but he’ll probably fanboy over sanghyeon hyung more. these ripped hyungs, really. maybe this could be a new concept for convex. who knows.

“okay! i’m almost done!” he chirps, happily grabbing his swimming stuff and shoves them in a knapsack. he jumps to his feet to follow sangyeon. if he didn’t see his excitement a while ago, he would now. he’s basically jumping on the balls of his feet with barely contained energy. if only he was able to bring a camera with him. “oooh, yes! i want to buy some souvenirs for the folks, too! and maybe a ref magnet for myself?” he chuckles. a typical souvenir. but he also want to buy yuzu a gift.

“make sure you apply some sunscreen if you haven’t already! we don’t wanna get a sunburn. the stylists might get mad that they’ll have to cover that. and manager-hyung would be mad that we aren’t taking care of ourselves.” sangyeon waits until sehun’s grabbed all of his things and starts heading towards the direction of the beach. “all right, let’s goooo~”. it’s so nice how close their hotel is to the beach in the first place because it makes everything easily accessible. 

rkharu​: 

when he walks into the hotel room jaehyun streches his arms, rolls his shoulders and is quick to find his bed to throw his body on. it takes him a couple of moments to gather himself from the day, it was much cooler in the room and he appreciated it. after having been in the desert early in the morningh, the cool air against his skin was a welcome feeling. jaehyun was by other words ready to sleep, he still needed to wash up and all of that but his lids were so heavy that it almost felt like torture to stay awake.

jaehyun hears sangyeon’s frustration in the background but he doesn’t expect to be pulled into it– not until he hears his stagename come out of the older’s mouth. he turns his head towards sangyeon and looks at him, “a late night dip?” he yawns as he glances at the time – it was only 9:30PM, “is the pool open this late? the stylist noonas would kill us if they have to do more work on our hair tomorrow morning,” he shudders at the thought of their glares, “food does sound good though.”

a wave of realization washes over sangyeon when he looks at the clock in the hotel room and sighs. “yeah, you’re right... it might not be open this late.” man, he really did like hotel pools, though. it’s different compared to swimming at the beach. “unless we snuck around but that might get us into trouble and i don’t think manager-hyung would like dealing with that.”

rktaeyong​: 

taeyong makes sure to save the best picture as his contact picture for sangyeon — his members are lucky that he’s not the type to save embarrassing selfies of them as contact pictures. he reckons that maybe hyun or jace do something like that, he’s never seen their contact lists before but he bets the health of his hair that that’s indeed the case. however, taeyong is also the kind of person to constantly gush about how good-looking his members are — like a mother would do. insufferable sometimes, but loving nonetheless.

“no, i don’t think it’s the same now — and that’s a good thing!” taeyong says earnestly — he hasn’t been to the states at all for a long time, and much has changed. taeyong’s all for the change, though — everything seems so much more advanced now, efficient.”like… it’s weird that i’m back and people recognize me as something when before i was a regular person.” not to say he’s not a regular person, but he’s definitely not treated like a regular person anymore — whether he likes it or not. and he likes it, most of the time. it’s just something that he isn’t quite sure he’ll ever really get used to.

taeyong takes a quick glance at the street signs, eyes narrowing as he reads from lengths away. good thing he has his contacts in. “ we’re in santa monica, so the beach is nearby — there’s also just a lot of things to see when you walk that way. we can even go on the pier if you like!” he wraps an arm around the younger’s shoulder — thankful that they’re around the same height for him to be comfortably doing this. “if you see something you wanna get on the way there, i’ll get it for you! just let me know ~”

“yeah, you’re not just a regular person anymore. you’re convex’s main vocal, taeyong-ie hyung! although, i’m not sure how popular convex is overseas. do you?” he can’t even imagine being recognized in korea, so he can barely imagine being recognized in another country for that matter. he wonders what it’s like to be essentially unknown and a nobody and years later to come back and be somebody. an idol at that. 

“santa monica?” the words are foreign to sangyeon but he tests it out for himself, liking the way it sounds. “i would feel bad if i’m too tourist-y but this is my first time here after all.” with a pout on his lips, he tries to mull over what he wants to do most without appearing too out of place. “i think the pier sounds fun! what kinds of stuff can we do on it?”

seungcheolrk​: 

nothing makes seungcheol happier than seeing the members get solo activities. over the years, he’s watched them come and go from schedules perfect and personal for them, seeing them shine in print ads in magazines ( he buys them specifically ) or on television in variety shows. he loves seeing each of their individual colours come to light, see fans old and new support them and show them the love they deserve. so when he hears that even their newest members are getting their chances to show off truly how talented they are, his heart swells. what really makes his heart weak, however, is when they ask him for advice — he’s never been a brother before convex, now he doesn’t think he could ever go back. 

“your eye smile is definitely charming,” he compliments, his own gummy smile on full show. “you should definitely smile lots, you’ll have everyone’s eye for it.” it’s really difficult not to coo when sangyeon introduces himself. seungcheol’s always been a sucker for a little cutesy aegyo. changkyun would corroborate this fact, though seungcheol’s not sure how he got away with it with him for so many years. “cute! perfect! now I’m falling for you.” he giggles. “really, though, that was cute. I wonder if there’s a way to get a pun in… I feel like mcs, especially on music shows, always have something really corny and embarrassing to say.” 

“ahhh, hyung, you’re gonna make me blush!” he laughs, covering his face with his hands. as he pulls his hands away from his face, sangyeon beams. “you really think so?” glancing at his own reflection staring back at him from his phone, he smiles once more and there goes his eye-smile. he wonders if that’ll become a thing once he starts mcing. eye-smile prince. consta would eat that up for sure. “i’m not cute, i’m sexy, hyung!” he declares, as if he wasn’t just giggling and smiling right then and there. 

rktaeyong​: 

taeyong’s eyes had been fixated outside his seat window well before they landed in california — it’s been a long time since he’s seen the view, the way that the coast curves in, how he can see the great expanse of big cities next to huge mountains and wildnerness. so much open space in comparison to korea, he feels like he can breathe again. he makes note not to actually take in a deep breath as they touch down, though, because he knows that he’s too used to korea’s much cleaner air and doesn’t want to choke on the smog that lingers around.

taeyong laughs endearingly at sangyeon — he feels like he himself should be more excited to be here, but he just chalks that up to being somewhat of a local. he remembers walking down streets similar to these, and palm trees are constant images engrained in his memory. taeyong remembers acting like when he first saw how green korea’s plants are — so he understands sangyeon’s enthusiasm.

“okay, okay, i’ll take one with my phone,” he says, digging his phone out of his pocket and snapping a carefully positioned picture of sangyeon with as many palm trees he can fit in the background, “i’ll send it to the group chat so the others can see how handsome you are, sangyeon-ah.” taeyong laughs once more, then sighs contently. “the weather’s really nice — ah, i’ve missed this place so much.”

once he’s satisfied with the pictures, sangyeon starts smiling as he scrolls through the pictures sent in their group chat. he remembers to save them to his own phone as well. “thanks hyung, you’re the best!” after pocketing his phone and looking around some more, he briefly wonders what it would have been like had he not been born in seoul and instead was born elsewhere. 

“is being here the same as before or is it different since you’re older now and well, an idol?” he doesn’t know how long taeyong lived here before but after being away for awhile, one is bound to become a little bit homesick. sangyeon feels that even now and he could easily visit his family in an hour so he can’t imagine what it’d be like for someone in another country. 

starter for @seungcheolrk 

sangyeon still can’t believe he secured the spot as mc for inkigayo. this was his first real solo promotion outside of convex’s group promotions. despite having the other members around as his safety net, now he had to actually go out alone and get their group’s name out there as well as make a name for himself. yes, he was convex’s link, but he also wanted to be just link and even just lee sangyeon if possible. 

starter for @rkohsehun 

honestly, having the extra day for themselves to spend in la was much needed and absolutely much appreciated. even if it’s not technically a vacation, one day was enough for sangyeon to enjoy himself. the world was his oyster for the next twenty-four hours and he wanted to spend it either at the beach or by the pool. he didn’t work hard on his abs for no reason after all. 

starter for @rkharu 

immediately after getting back from their first day of filming, sangyeon flops down onto the floor of their hotel room. honestly, it felt cooling to be there and he could probably fall asleep right then and there but was only 9:30. the night was still young. his old night owl ways never truly left him and he wanted to do something before they had to actually sleep and repeat another day of filming tomorrow.