#rknerve

final costume fittings sounded exciting.

of course they had been measured during the week and the focus had been mostly on hair and makeup. sohee’s had been a more darker, edgier type of style. lashes and heavy liner with a smoky shadow could really make a difference on her face. actually, most makeup styles usually did.

she wasn’t the type for a lot of makeup on the daily. she was a more simple girl. even for events she’d go with a more-than-not bare face. she always got comments for it. in reality, she just didn’t want to bother with all that makeup removal. but as an idol, she was going to have to get used to it.

(gosh makeup felt heavy)

“so there’s no doubt that the concept is really hype or something like that,” sohee said to the other male as they waited. they got dressed in a different area (separated, obviously) but they waited in the same area. though sohee had no doubt that the comeback song would be dope. it was always something to could knock to in a club. bigstar was a big name. no matter the genre, it was going to achieve massive sales. “what do you think our outfits are going to be like?”

hair and makeup finalisations just brought her back to her modelling days.

while they were being instructed to work out more (sohee implored herself on doing more core workouts in the meantime) and being given less sugary and high sodium foods, she could only think of how familiar all of this was. even if she’s never done a music video feature before, she has filmed cfs for the brands she’s endorsed. it felt similar. so all of this just felt like an old, familiar routine.

she was ushered out of her scheduled session to go down to hair and makeup. only a few people were taken at a time. while she walked through the halls, she saw a familiar face headed in the same direction. “hey!” she called, skipping towards him. “you excited for our final fitting before the shoot?”

acting tough was her thing, even if daily life easily proved otherwise. it was a mystery many did not understand - and she was certainly one of the many. as she stayed crouched outside the shot, simply watching as the other trainees got their turn to be filmed, xiao hugged her legs while keeping her eyes wide. she had practiced some movements and stares back at home, though that was something she’d probably never admit to.

if she were to be honest xiao actually loved a good cute concept. the thing was that breaking habits wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do. she had introduced herself to the world of rap through some more tough-sounding songs, so that was what she surrounded herself with. most of the songs she had performed so far had been with the style of what her mind jumped to when thinking about rap. not that she was going to complain about it - it had worked quite well with her so far.

When they had come up with the teams for the mv, there were a few people she had in mind and a few she didn't want. Luck wasn't on her side when she found out that Sohee wouldn't be on her team. Yubin could admit she was jealous her best friend wouldn't be by her side but she knew to suck it up. It didn't mean that their friendship was over because of it. So once they had her settled in hair and make up, she went to seek Sohee out. It didn't take long, just a few minutes to push through the bodies around her. Once she finally found her, Yubin wasted no time wrapping her arms around Sohee. "How has the filming been so far?" Her own had been scattered between filming by herself, with Bobby and with the crew.

[ tw: dieting / diet mention / weight loss ]

she would often remember entering the mnet building as if it had been yesterday, though it had happened over eight months before. they fixed her half-hearted makeup and sat her in front of a camera to share what was there to be known about her. truth was back then there wasn’t much for her to share. it was always the same speech: she was from china; she could speak multiple languages; and she could fit her hand inside her mouth.

funny to think back then she had just recently started the school year and now xiao was only an inch away from graduation. they needed to cover the signs of tiredness with even more makeup than usual. the free practice sessions had been transformed into gym workout extensions. as if the dance lessons weren’t enough the girl practiced even harder after her muscles turned sore. she wasn’t practicing for personal growth anymore, but simply to look better.

the speech had changed: she had been an mga contestant, became a trc trainee, knew how to do the splits - and was fat, apparently. she thought the entire concept was just straight up stupid. they had to work extra hard, and eat far less, but only up to the last day of filming - after that they could go back to their regular schedules and midnight snacks. it was like they could be however they wanted to be, except when in front of the cameras. way to be subtle about your embarrassment.