#c:hc

           chorong sidles her way to a good spot and keeps her features schooled blank as the males close by shoot her interested glances. clearly the unflattering oversized hoodie wasn’t doing its intended job of hiding her presence and chorong clicks her tongue in disapproval the moment one foolishly brave soul steps closer to her. he freezes in place when chorong coolly stares back at him, satisfaction blooming in her chest when he correctly reads the silent rejection in her expression. 

          she’d come here to see her friends: seulgi and yoongi, who both had promised performances for her listening pleasure, and perhaps seolhyun, too, if the other had chosen to do so (and what a surprise that would be!) chorong gladly listens to the acts that come before and in between her friends’ own, her eyes glued to the stage and absently nodding along as the public performers did their best to ‘wow’ this crowd. the key difference, she notices mildly, between this stage and the one for the trainees had to be the level of pressure. chorong could confidently say these listeners were far more happier and encouraging of those who showed off their best than the others had been within the companies. without the threat of official competition, did everything feel so much more relaxed?

          yoongi’s rap moves her, in the way that tears burn behind eyes and cause her throat to tighten in compassion. seulgi’s violin and dance cheers her up, coaxing out a rare smile on chorong’s lips and silent plans to tease her roommate later. it’s clear that the two are talented and chorong keeps her hopes unsaid; a future in which all her friends could join her in sphere together someday. she misses them terribly, even if she sees seulgi every evening, but chorong keeps it quiet and closely guarded deep inside her heart. for the two who chase their dreams as vividly as she does, they only deserve the best paths they could possibly be given. 

          and this workshop is useful because chorong plans on singing for the rest of her life and useful because it affords the girl ample opportunity to observe what korea’s new generation of idols are capable of (see: competition.) some can sing-- that’s obvious-- and many more can’t, which, as sad as it is to admit, is not surprising in the least. idols didn’t need to be talented in everything, or anything really, if their visuals were competent enough to lure in the loyal fans. how lucky to be able to live that way, so carefree and dependent that one lovely smile can snatch a dozen potential cfs!

fact #3 learned during summer camp: jealousy is a thing.

          “good,” the instructor praises as she circles around chorong’s pairing and listens to each one of them vocalize the lines to chi-chi’s “mister mister.” a terrible song choice for any occasion, in chorong’s opinion, but it was the price for asking the other singer to accompany her for this workshop exercise. just by listening during the previous warm-ups, chorong honed in on the royal girl as a worthwhile partner to train with and easily slid into her hemisphere the moment the instructors told them to break off into groupings.