스탭 바이 스탭

aesthetic & headcanon / career trajectory 

taejin debuted in 11, marking 2021 as his tenth year in the industry. where many of his members have branched into the music scene, taejin found his own solo career in the form of modeling, fashion, and acting — enough to the point where he feels he has these three things mastered. now, he’s able to distinguish himself apart from titan in this new mold that bc has made of him. now, hair makeup, fittings, and late night call times mean nothing new to him. warnings / none wc / 698

▬ bc vacay retreat @taejinfmd

cloud’s schedule was just right for max. he had enough room to indulge in his own projects and focus on diving further into the depths of composing and producing while still getting to perform with his boys and release new music. getting out a repackage right before the end of the year craziness began was a smart move of bc in his opinion so max was happy to be running from schedule to schedule, promotion period packed with shows and recordings. it gave him less time to think, less time to question or reflect upon potential negative shifts in their group dynamics after all of them moved out of the dorms.

always the one to focus on positive things he liked to think the cloud boys had only grown closer now that each of them had their own space. then again- it made him wonder if daehyun minded still rooming with max.

the moment the fresh winds of jeju hit his face however max decided to leave his worries back in seoul and enjoy this retreat for all its worth. smile widening across his lips he almost bumps into taejin on his way towards the beautiful view ahead of him, hands flying up to steady himself against the elder male as he stops abruptly to avoid a collision. “woah- sorry hyung. didn’t see you there.”

taejin remembers the younger years inside titan as blissful innocence. the kind of innocence that swallows the rose-tinted optimism that a ‘company resort’ stands more for face value than what it really entails — now, he’s ragged. ruined into knowing the actuality in where the truth lies: bc needs content. but even the sharp edged reality, shattering through any half-full cheer doesn’t make him exempt nor immune to partaking in the duties: stepping outside for the cameras in a pase of a wave, chattering with idols in the superficial conversation, nor does it exempt him from being able to wallow inside his own homemade cell, hotel room, all day. 

he’s found a breath of relief when he’s managed to sneak past anything he presumes to be the shutter of a lens, sneak past the hawk-gaze of his manager always balancing in check — instead, he’s found himself right in the middle of a beach, like some stereotypical portrait of a loner man.

his hotel room was for two people, except sharing one bed - something that no one would really put their finger on. the perfect disguise in a way. it was a way of no one managing to suspect anything, really. even if he had his own room, he would somehow end up finding himself in maverick’s room, nonetheless. he really just slept better that way, to say the least.

but, now, he was out, wandering the streets with taejin, sometime after doing the tour. he feels like he’s blended into the crowd a bit with the older, the various chatters entering his ears, before falling out in quick succession, before moving onto the next. it was something that he was used to, rather accustomed to walking the streets. he looked upon taejin, a soft giggle leaving his lips, before he’s nodding his head. “when in thailand!” he reiterates happily. 

every time duri was on tour, he always missed homemade food - something that he simply enjoys making and eating. but, going to a restaurant was probably the closest thing to that, wasn’t it? he thought so. 

he thinks upon the question for a moment. “ah, khao soi! i could really go for soup and egg noodles,” he said.

thailand, and rigid memories only bring him back to the fan signing tour left on his tails. gone and slipped right through his fingers, yet another reminder that he’s hot completely off the hook yet — bc’s got him wrapped around when they parade him on stage for titan duties. it’s okay, however. at the very least, he can make the most of it, thinks he can make the most of it.

“thailand’s just always hot and humid — never good for the hair, if you get my drift.” and that’s the truth that coincides with his fingers brushed straight through his unkempt hair. “at least the stylists are around to fix the mess.” a laissez faire joke, partially soured by his half-hearted chuckle at the end of the words and he takes the corner around into the main food street with no disclosure to what eyes may catch up on the sight of two titan members strolling on the street.

save it for bc, and taejin’s willing to take his chances.

ziqi felt his hands curl into fists as the elder continued talking. he was never a very violent person but talking to taejin was starting to make him feel a lot more violent. murderous even. but maybe that was the fact he was tired and angry and he just wanted food and taejin was cutting in front of him and claiming senior privilege.

ziqi was all for showing respect to one’s seniors. he had grown up being taught that respecting those who were senior to you was incredibly important after all. he just didn’t like the idea that anyone senior to him could do whatever they wanted.

he wasn’t exactly wrong…which is what ziqi hated the most. going by pure seniority three years was nothing compared to what titan had under their belts. he forced a smile. “you’re right. i don’t have the same years of experience as you.” he said as sweetly as he could. “my bad. elders first.” it was the best that he could manage in this situation.

it’d look bad to start a physical fight but if taejin was so hung up on who was the senior here then ziqi would certainly have no problems falling right into line with that.

winning a petty game — kim taejin shouldn’t be smiling so smugly with his brows pointing a sort of ‘know-it-all’ attitude. yet, he stands with his hands tucked deep in his pockets, mouth curved from one cheekbone to the other, carved out and topped with the tilt of his head.

“in a few years, you might have enough experience. but by then, i’ll still have so many years above yours — but not to worry, i’ll always keep in mind your name.” taejin pauses, letting his tone waver off into a subtle quietness. “oh wait, pardon my manners. i’ve forgotten to ask. and your name?” whether he’s asked before, or the name sulks in the depths of his mind, the answer’s clear: he doesn’t care. least not enough to pull it inside his memories when everyone’s face just enters the revolving door of random hello encounters.

self para / 혼밥 

taejin goes to a meal by himself, and finds this feat now easy / second nature. he goes to a 맛집 all by himself, and has some sort of inner satisfaction because of it. warnings / food cw wc / 424

playlist / taejin songs

taejin has a nice image — particularly clean inside of knight, and in the industry. no scandals, and no real smudge on his career. however, the main issue amongst his fandom is the fact that he hasn’t had a promoted single / album, despite their calls for wanting taejin to venture out solo. as a result, since fans can’t listen to taejin sing, they’ve created songs that remind them of taejin. these aren’t songs that fans necessarily want covered but more so that the general gist / aura really feel “taejin” to them. inside his fan cafe, you’ll see compilations of taejin in song form playlists — this is just one of them. warnings / none

Schedules keep Daehyun busy and active - something he’s thankful for. As someone who is easily bored, Daehyun thrives in fast paced and chaotic schedules and situations. This lull in his schedule allowed Daehyun time to reset and relax before schedules kept him busy once again.

Daehyun is still new in the industry compared to most idols he’s met. There are still so many idols and groups he’s yet to meet and interact with. Having grown up all over the world, he’s still not used to the Korean culture and way of life. He’s learning as he’s going and he is thankful for his members and the idols who are understanding and help guide him when he’s at a loss. Thankfully, Taejin was someone he’s met before.

Daehyun nodded at the elder’s words and instructions. ❝ Right. I’ll try everything on for you, hyung, ❞ he smiled brightly. ❝ I’m sure I’ll like everything though since hyung is the one who picked it out. ❞ Daehyun slipped away towards the change rooms and changed into the clothes given to him. He looked over himself in the mirror - impressed with how different he looked just with the clothes alone. Taejin really knew what he was doing.

He emerged from the dressing room and made his way towards the older male. ❝ How’s this, hyung? ❞ He asked as he held his arms out to the side so the other could get a better look.

taejin passes his time with each second marked with the soles of his shoes, despite spending a few momentary pauses to flash the suave grins to pass the low expectations of everything the camera picks up.

his eyes pour towards the vision of the younger idol walking his way, taking a detailed look at the fit. “it’s not bad...” taejin begins, his voice falling to a pitch shorter — detailed looks, and extra attention to the small crinkles on the shirt, and the loose centimeters hanging over the circumference of the leg lead him to wave over a stylist. “i think we’ll need to actually go a size lower on the pants, and trim up a few centimeters off the bottom for a relaxed ankle hit.”

in an image that has him hinged up to a facet of perfection, kim taejin makes no risks in half-doing anything — give your all, as bc would preach. 

a hotel room to himself, and taejin doesn’t expect himself wandering the streets at night — let alone, with his member. but there’s more things to do, and when tour rakes in the monotony, the most he can do is carve out anything to do other than stare at the same messages popping in and out from the glow of his screen.

his hands are lodged deep into his pockets, his head turned to face the sky before his attention skews to the chatter and clutter of the street noise and cheer of a crowd far too deep in their own after-work hours than to focus on two overworked titan members. “i heard this is the place to go for all the good thai food — when in thailand, might as well, right?” taejin muses out loud, voice dulled to a hum. 

lately, he’s been subject to too much room service and delivery food that miss the touch of authenticity. (funny, how he thinks he’ll manage finding that touch in a country how many kilometers away from seoul). perhaps, he’ll be caught in surprise, just as the pattern of life has strung itself to be as of late.

self para / alcohol woes

taejin drinks whiskey, thinking of his first legal drink he shared with his father. warnings / alcohol tw, alcoholism tw wc / 437

Having lived a busy and chaotic life, Daehyun’s never really had time to settle and focus on one particular thing. Even now he’s always moving around and finds it hard to stay still for a long time. There’s too much to explore and learn and too many people to meet. He’s an extreme extrovert and thrives in social situations and areas with massive crowds. A photoshoot was nothing to Daehyun.

One thing that Daehyun did when meeting other idols is become a major fanboy - especially if it’s a group he loves. Taejin was someone he’d been admiring from afar for awhile. Taejin was an incredibly talented vocalist and to be paired with him for this was like a dream. He couldn’t get rid of the wide grin spread across his face.

He listened to the older idol and nodded along with his words. Taejin seemed to know what he was doing plus  he was a very stylish person. Maybe, if only briefly, Daehyun can finally look like a normal person. It didn’t take long before Daehyun was lost. His expression dropped to one of confusion and he blinked numerous times the more Taejin spoke. He had no idea what half of the things the other were saying were. Slacks? Minimalistic? Ami or Wang? ❝ I-Um- ❞ He grabbed the clothes given to him and headed to the dressing room.

Suddenly he felt very sorry towards Taejin.

dressing another idol becomes the last of his worries when he’s been strung from schedule to schedule, fitting to fitting, barely salvaging sleep in between shuttle van to photoshoot set. 

too many people in passing — the staff, his members. some washed up group of a smaller company. then, the younger faces of the new generation. the tedium of schedules leave him to forget how to interact with the chiseled grins and modern-day rose-tinted filters of younger idols. but it doesn’t take long before he’s jolted back into the baseline remedy of an idol, taking an inhale as he bobs his head forward.

“for now, just get changed into this. you can learn as you go along.” it’s calling orders like a drill sergeant, light enough that it bites as a joke for the cameras rolling. “and if you don’t like any of the clothes, just try it once — however, if you really don’t like it after you try it, we can find something else.” 

it felt like just yesterday that debut happened. but, time has moved by rather quickly and titan were already in their tenth year as a group. who would have thought they’d get here so quickly? it almost felt unexpected, to say the least. 

he nodded his head, “i am! it’s september 16th, it’s a full album after two years!” he says, a bit excitingly. though, truth be told, duri was rather excited for this album because of how much the album means to him. “all of my life was last year! i promoted goodbye at the end of july into early august,” he explains to the older, he didn’t find much odd that taejin didn’t know, taejin was rather busy himself, so it made sense. sometimes you just didn’t know. 

he chuckled softly, “ah, i really like pastel colors! maybe sometime in the future i’ll get more pastels for the ballads?” he says, shrugging softly. “i think i am a dreamer is gonna be slightly darker colors again,” he tells the other. he nodded his head, “that sounds about right. though, i always end up losing count because it becomes second nature at that point,” he says, a giggle leaving lips. 

“after two years?” a testament to how fast time phases out, and his eyebrow raises, tilting his head back. “has time already passed by that fast?” taejin’s been living life day to day, but the day to day transcends as the years flash in a blink of an eye — now, too much time’s passed to discern any of the finite details blanketed from his memory.

or maybe, he’s just been too hyper-focused on himself. 

it’s instincts in play, a survivalist industry of a dog eat dog world. yet, there’s a nagging feeling of guilt? high-strung apologetic ties? tugging at the pit of chest — it’s a reminder, he’s human too. no longer immune to the effects of an i-don’t-care attitude when spitting reminder of where his past decade loyalties lie.

he could have approached sooner, though the task would have been daunting all the same to himself. not many groups were able to be around as long as titan anymore, so there was much less to fear on taejin’s side. reasoning was solid, yet, why was his stomach sinking further down with every word? taejin may be a bit forward, something pretty much guaranteed to him with what time he’d had in the industry, although every sentence was properly polite. was he genuinely put off by the person in front of him, or by his own failures? it’d probably been too long stuck in his own head. sung internally knocked his brain around looking for the specifics of what had been asked.

“um, it’s alright. more memorable now that i’ve met you, and you haven’t rejected me.” sung attempted for a joke with that statement, though it fell flat even to his own ears. “i’m choi joosung, of quantum. i have a stage name too, um,” he paused to yank his lips upward into a semblance of a smile, and flower pose his hands under his chin, “sun.” that felt like a slight less of a failed joke, though, failure all the same. when his hands dropped, they balled up onto his pant legs. he nodded to the bar, “do you have a strong stomach? i wouldn’t have expected that.”

confusion finds itself in taejin’s face — slips and hides behind the glass he brings to his mouth. one gulp down, and professionalism smoothens things over inside a barely wavering expression, and a nod forward. “meeting me isn’t all that memorable.” at least, not inside an industry shindig. “and i don’t reject anyone — least not any junior idol that’s approaching me for the first.”

maybe it’s a lie, or maybe kim taejin’s just buying his boredom away from the executives. 

either way, he polishes on a look of interest, eye brow quirked up. “quantum — that’s dimensions, right?” too many groups, and not enough curiosity leads him to piece everything based on second-hand intuition, given however many years he’s put forth in the industry. (it’s a mere mental note to keep more tabs when he’s not completely extrapolated from the industry quite yet).

self para / friendships

friendships aren’t easily created, least not the kind that always has an open arms welcome. there’s the superficial ones but always the brick wall in between.  warnings / none wc / 402

yejun lets out an airy laughter at the response to his joke, his eyes shifting from the male and onto the rack of clothes, “ are you saying you would not look wearing a potato sack? ” he feigns ignorance, surely taejin knew he would look good in almost anything so yejun really had his work cut out for him.

“ something that flatters you? ” he gives the other a look of playful disbelief, “ might as well ask me to solve world hunger, giving me such an impossible task. ”

 jokes aside he was fully aware of how attractive taejin was and what clothes would suit him, with legs longer than both their careers, minhyun would truly suit anything that he was put in but he had already parepared something. something comfortable that would suit the weather now getting cooler. from the rack he pulled forth a pair of jeans, a black belt and a simple black linen shirt, “ i was thinking we could take our pictures outside today. ”

yejun hands it over to the other, “ here you go. ”

“as if.” taejin blurts, huffing out his chest wide. “more of a, i’d prefer not to be caught dead in a potato sack.” with a cesspool of different outfits, different eras. different time stamps throughout the ages, anything becomes cemented for permanency in today’s modern world of constant sns uploads, and flashes of cameras. there should be a morsel of understanding telling him to accept any outfit and move on, but on the contrary: he’s kim taejin — and kim taejin refuses to look anything less than perfect for the screen.

his laughter cuts the break of the self-imposed haughtiness as he acts back into the days of the schoolboy glean — entertained, half-composed. the bridged into a lopsided smirk. “black isn’t my color, but suppose i can make an exception for today — also, linen crinkles easily. do you prefer the setting be tucked in or let out? you’re calling the shots today.”

the series of questions asked, and taejin answers as much as he can to public scripts. (boring answers)

☸ STYLE ME ☸

Bang Daehyun was perhaps the least fashionable idol currently. He often wore whatever he happened to grab at the time and wouldn’t bother to check if it goes or check the style. His airport fashion was atrocious and he was often teased by fans for his poor fashion sense and lack of style. So when he had heard about the latest photoshoot and the things associated with it, well, he felt deeply for whoever he was partnered with.

Thankfully, Daehyun discovered he was to be paired with @taejinfmd​. Having admired the other idol for some time, he was aware of how stylish and, to be honest, cool Taejin was. He was actually excited to see what the duo could create. As long as Taejin didn’t want to model then they were going to be fine. In fact, Daehyun had made it known that he wanted to be a model rather than the stylist.

❝ Hyung! Can I first just say I’m a big fan of your style and look. I’m excited to see what we can come up with! ❞ He grinned brightly. ❝ What should we start with first? ❞

there’s two things taejin cares about: himself, and how he looks in the seat of an observer.

it’s each reminder of how he’s perceived forcing his spine to tighten a bit straighter and to fine-tune his words for the polite composure in light of any wandering eyes on set.

it doesn’t slip past when he’s walking through set, a collected professional when he spots exactly who he’s supposed to — another bc face, a junior. someone he doesn’t really know, but even an arms distance doesn’t separate the formalities that bc upholds their family relations to.

his chin dips, a small facet of a grin barely surfacing along his mouth. “thank you.” and what he means is, i know. but modesty is key when dealing with manners. “we’re going to be doing something minimal — every person needs a minimalistic photoshoot at least once in their life. we’re going studio lights, and just a plain white back drop, touching on warm tones. as for clothes, try these slacks on.” 

base magazine self para / group photoshoot

georgio armani and taejin complains for 234329 hours about how armani sucks as a brand and how much he hates wearing armani because it’s for 40 year olds. his ‘ugh as if’ moment. warnings / mentions of smoking tw wc / 431