#; decoding...

september schedule starter for @rkwon !

after the day he experienced when filming for the music video, promotion days don’t seem so bad. waking up around 5:30 am is a lot better than 3:30 am, and mingyu was also grateful that they weren’t constantly on the run with no time for breaks or food. at around 7:45, they were back at the broadcasting station and had over an hour before dress rehearsals. even though they would have to be careful not to ruin their hair and make up, mingyu still ate as fast as possible so he could try to get a short nap in before 9.

♦ rkspeakup starter for @rkwon !

mingyu thought that it was really amusing that he was going to be teaching anyone anything dance-related. it’s true that he’s improved so much since he’s been with royal, but there will always be that part of him that remembers how useless he once was at it, and it will likely always leave him feeling somewhat inadequate. he’s just glad that it’s the entire group demonstrating and that he isn’t tasked with teaching anyone one-on-one, because he definitely feels like he’d find a way to screw up if that were the case.

♦ starter for @rkseonho !

mingyu spent several moments scrolling his phone and looking through various social media sites while he waited for won to finish showering. it was getting late and he was nearly ready to sleep, but he didn’t want to drift off before his boyfriend could return in the room. since he kept feeling himself almost dozing off as he was lying there, he eventually stood up from his own bed and approached his younger member. “scoot,” he demanded as he started climbing onto seonho’s bed and took it upon himself to get under the covers. “won is taking too long and so you’re going to have to provide me with warmth until he gets out.”

♦ april 26th, 2020 | starter for @rkwon !

being honest about his feelings is a lot more difficult for mingyu than he wishes it was. for some reason, he’s always struggled to share what’s on his mind, especially when he thinks that it could have negative effects on others. it’s become like a second nature for him to force a smile and pretend that he felt fine around won, though he also feels like his boyfriend isn’t so blind that he can’t notice something isn’t right. he’s always been pretty good at reading mingyu, though he’s also always been pretty good at trying not to push and waiting for mingyu to come forth and speak honestly on his own. admittedly, it took a lot for that to happen this time.

A staff member leads you down Royal’s winding hallways to So Jiseob’s office, then opens the door and leads you inside, where the CEO awaits, sitting at his desk. He doesn’t look up as you enter; he’s too preoccupied with paperwork in front of him. Seated across from his desk, next to an empty chair, is a company lawyer whom you recognize from before; she’d been present when you signed your initial company contract. The staff member directs you to take the empty chair next to the lawyer and then leaves. You hear the door close and the latch click back into place just as your CEO finally looks up and offers the tiniest hint of a smile.

He folds his hands on the desk in front of him, eyes settling on yours. “When trainees first sign a contract with a company, they are devoting themselves to at least two years of training. They usually don’t expect the time to pass so quickly, but it does,” he ruminates mildly.  “Years of training and hopes leads to one dream usually: debut.”

“But, you’re no ordinary trainee. Since our pre-debut project started in August, you’ve been groomed to be a member of DE:CODE, a debut group I have incredibly high hopes for. Since then, I’ve seen you grow a lot in your training. You’ve had your ups and downs, plenty of both good and bad.” He pauses, and diverts his attention back to his desk, where he shuffles paperwork until he sets one singular sheet of paper in front of him. “You are our main rapper, even without training with us for too long. I’ve been proud of your growth here, and I trust you to do your best to continue to improve, even after debut. This, here,” he says, motioning towards the document, “is a contract exclusive to DE:CODE and will tie you to this group, and to Royal Entertainment, for the next six years.”

He finally becomes a little less stoic, and shows the glimpse of a real smile as he slides the contract toward you and hands you a pen. “If we share the same vision of making DE:CODE one of the top boy groups in all of Korea, and you wish to be a part of this journey, you know what to do.”

being summoned is strange. it’s always weird being led down hallways without any emotional support to accompany him in case his hopes and dreams are about to be shattered. of course, he has a lot of doubt that something like that would happen, but his point still stands. in order to calm himself a little, mingyu takes in and lets out a deep breath before actually entering the ceo’s office. it’s not often that they get one-on-one time (figuratively speaking, since they aren’t alone) with so jisub like this, yet here he is. 

honestly, he’s confident that he knows what this is about, which is why he feels himself getting a bit emotional before the man can even open his mouth. of course, that’d be super embarrassing so he manages to control himself, though he’s pretty much on the brink of shedding some tears. he would save that for a much, much, much later occasion, aka never. for now, he was going to remain composed, confident, and... what are other ‘c’ words that would fit here?

♦ royal / de:code starter for @jaehyunrk !

with all of the chaos stemming from the news of debut and then the uncertain thoughts and feelings that accompanied it, mingyu was in desperate need of a break. he needed to clear his mind to an extent, even if he was convinced it wouldn’t be possible to totally ignore the current situation. truthfully, he didn’t want to ignore it, either. he just wanted to calm down enough that his brain would allow him to think through things logically and in a more organized manner. that’s why he was so extremely grateful for jaehyun and this opportunity to shoot some hoops with a good friend and a potential future group member.

honestly, mingyu considered himself extremely lucky. the boys that he had the opportunity of being in a group with were some of the best ones he knew. it did excite him, even if it was also scary. he wasn’t sure if he was as prepared as everyone else... but again, that’s not what he wanted to focus on. if he wanted to do well at playing after having to go so long missing it, he was going to need to get his head in the game ( won would really love if he could have heard mingyu’s thoughts about that one... )

♦ de:code september eval starter for @rkwon !

learning about the fact that they’d be moving into dorms didn’t surprise mingyu. he knew that they would want them to be living together, but he didn’t realize it would be this soon. he was dreading the moment they’d be informed that they had to leave their current homes and make a new one, especially given that he just moved into a new apartment with won in june. they didn’t even have time to totally settle and they were already being made to pack up again. it was stressful, but he was still extremely grateful that they ended up being separated by age.

fortunately, that meant that he wasn’t going to be living without won. he feared that they would be pulled away from one another, so he felt like a burden had been lifted from his shoulders when that wasn’t the case. it was a change, and a big one at that, but it could have been a lot worse. having seonho as their third roommate didn’t cause mingyu much discomfort. he preferred living alone with his boyfriend, sure, but it was nice having someone that viewed physical affection as such an important and lighthearted thing. mingyu wouldn’t have to deny won any attention, cuddles, or snuggles, because they’d be able to act regularly without the younger paying any mind.