— COMPANY NOTICE

JANG HYUNKI has joined sr media as of JUNE 5, 2024.

jueun was almost done putting the finishing touches on hyunki's makeup when she decided to take a step back to admire the work she's just done. "you should go around like this more often. drawing your brows like this definitely makes your eyes pop even more!"

while she hadn't been actively searching for a following, jueun's garnered a decent amount of followers on instagram for other people to reach out for her for collaborations. it's how she got to know hyunki as well and although they had different audiences, she didn't see how a collab would hurt. if anything, it'd only further her outreach.

although the bootcamp only lasted for two weeks, it felt so much longer. perhaps it's because there was so much involved and the number of lectures she found herself participating in, but it seems that they spent almost a month on their acting.

needless to say, chaerin was kind of glad it was over, and she was looking forward to returning to her regular training schedule. jumping from one big activity, aka next gen, to another major event like this acting bootcamp was a lot, and so going back to what she was used to would almost feel relaxing.

it's only been a few days since jueun's actually become a trainee, but it seems she's joined right when they were having a bootcamp. while she's admired the actors and actresses seen on screen, she wasn't sure if she ever dreamed of becoming one. of course, it looked fun, and she likes to think that if she were to debut, she'd love to jump into the scene. however, it all seemed too soon.

maybe that's why she's a little relieved when her and hyunki are paired up to act out a scene. everything's so new but hyunki isn't. he's someone she's comfortable around, which means adjusting will be a lot easier. looking down at the script they're given, she scrunches her nose together upon reading the lines.

he's drunk – on both happiness and alcohol. it's the first time his team has won something, the first time he's received some sort of praise on next gen. and it isn't like siwoo's unfamiliar with praise ( growing up the way he had, he was surrounded by it. though whether they were genuine or not, would be a different story ). still, the feeling of winning... of being looked at, it felt good.

it had started off as him inviting hyunki over for some celebratory drinks, nothing too fancy. a simple; "we should head over to my place, as a celebration." but it would have been a lie if siwoo said that he hadn't noticed the glances, the subtle stares – it would have been a lie if siwoo had said that he'd never reciprocated. that he didn't find something fun in the way he let his hands linger a little longer on hyunki, anticipating what kind of reaction the boy would give.

it's cruel, on siwoo's part. but it's fun too – and siwoo's always been one for fun.

with only the last round left, it almost feels like they've all come full circle. jueun remembers being in this same practice room with hyunki as they prepared for their first group stages and how she teased him about not forgetting her when he placed first. now, here they were with her in the first position instead and only the live finale left.

it was wild that it took this long for hyunki and her to be put in the same group, but she's glad it happened to be this last one. jueun had the upmost faith in hyunki's skills, and she believed they could do well with this final song. "the song lyrics kind of reflect our situation, don't you think so?"

he’s been watching his previous performances and studying himself; there’s a reason why his rank isn’t going up. he’s good. he knows this, but that spark isn’t there yet. a spark to tie all elements of his performance together. there’s something holding him back, as if there were invisible chains clasped around his legs, a looming shadow over him.

this was going to be a great performance, seira wanted to make sure of that. she’d never worked this hard on a performance, not even during her idol days. nothing could go wrong, every detail was important to seira. she’d learned her parts of the song and the dance a long time ago, now she was just making sure everything was good. she’d never done a concept like this before, which feared seira a bit, but she was sure with hard work she could bring a good performance.

she finds herself with fellow team member hyunki, the two going over the dance and their facial expressions together. “for this part, would it fit better if i tried to look serious or sexy?” she asks the other, any advice during this performance very important to her.