#rksdcasting20

There was approximately two hours worth of material that could be used on her burrowed camera. None she was satisfied with. This shouldn’t have been that hard, she thought to herself, frustrated and disappointed with the turnout.

The choreography in itself is created by herself with the help of a dance instructor from Samsung’s group. It took them three days to formulate it. An extra day to polish it. But for some reason, despite practising it every second that she can, Naeun had decided to film the actual thing five days later than when she was finished with the dance. It was enough time for nerves and insecurities to set in. She could practically hear her mother’s strict and disappointed comments from across the city.

Removing her face from her hands, sitting up straight and taking a deep breath. Naeun closers her eyes, deciding to meditate and try to calmly regain her composure back. Failure now is not an option. Whatever result this audition may bring is something she cannot control. Therefore she may as well minimize all this unnecessary worrying. If it is meant to be, then she’ll earn a spot. If not, then she could still hold her head high and know she’s given it her all, something better would be waiting for her yet.

It took roughly fifteen minutes of meditating before she opens her eyes again. This time with a glint of determination shining in her warm brown orbs. She stretches as she stands up, hastily making her way to the washroom and washing her face to remove any evidence of tiredness and negativity. She reties her hair, making sure its smoothen out and applies a small amount of makeup for coverage purposes. Before finally making her way back into the practice room.

With newfound motivation and confidence, she finds herself facing her enemy of the night. The camera blinks red at her. The smile on Naeun’s delicate features is one she’s learned to master in her years of acting. As far as anyone outside that room could tell, she is the happiest person alive. The music starts and she slips into her role.

The routine in itself is bubbly and fun, showing off her young energy. The song choice a little cheeky considering its lyrics, but her focuses is divided equally between the rhyme and beats rather than the words. Her body moves in sharp grace and elegant precision; one of a natural dancer. For someone who has a heavy background in ballet, a dance-like this may be a little troublesome but she doesn’t show a hint of difficulty in her performance. In fact, she smiles through it all.

Naeun allows herself a few minutes from her final bow before slumping on the floor. Limbs stretch out around her like a starfish. A real smile now glowing on her face. She felt lighter. As though the whole world's expectations were lifted off her shoulders. A small part of her knows she couldn’t have performed that any better, especially because she knew she actually enjoyed the performance. Unlike the rest, that was enough reason for her to go ahead with that specific take, it’ll be the one she sends off.

Picking herself off the ground, like a toddler struggling to wake up in the early morning. Naeun makes her way to the camera, handling the device with care despite declaring it her enemy a few moments ago. Her smile turns into a tiny giggle, nodding to herself as she analyses her most recent recording.

Flicking through the rest of her videos, she stops and presses play on the last video that was dedicated to showing off her other skill set. Choosing to do this song was a little risky, it’s one that doesn’t really scream ‘innocent’ or ‘pure’, again despite its lyrics. But hoping with her approach and subtle it would provide them with a clearer view of her vocal skills rather than focus on the actual song choice. Given she could have gone for something else that would better suit their concept but she would rather be transparent with her talent then cover it up, especially when she’s come along way with singing. After all, it is her secondary skill.

Feeling a little bit more herself again, Naeun quickly transfers all the files she wanted into her USB. Editing it a little bit to include her introduction as well, before closing her laptop and packing up for the night. It’ll only be a few hours till she’s back in the building, training with the rest of the trainees. Something which she actually enjoys doing. To make sure she doesn’t forget to drop it off, she holds the precious USB in her dainty hand.

All day, my heart used to feel restless But it was all for this Emotions that were pressed into a corner of my heart Have awakened from a deep sleep

The clear vocals of the song suited Luda well, or so she was told by a friend. The singing alone wasn’t as much of a problem, but as she wanted to present both skills right at the beginning, she had to choose a song with a good (meaning difficult) choreo (after all, who knew how far whoever was judging these would watch? She had to show them what she got right from the first second!). So the manageable vocal parts instantly became a lot more difficult. And, because that wasn’t yet enough, she wanted her choice to portray the pure concept as well.

Maybe the dances weren’t as hard, but a lot of idols—she found, while researching songs—overacted. Tried to be too coy, too deer-eyed, resulting in them giving an unbelievable image. Others obviously looked uncomfortable with something so cute. Maybe it was still easier than other genres, but people didn’t give it enough credit.

Makes me shake and shake… Windy day windy day Windy day windy day Windy day windy day

The first part of the dance had been a bit easier, but after the little skip, her problem part followed. Whether the moves by themselves were all that difficult, was a different matter. But all the jumping, throwing her arms around and singing at the same time, made her happy that she’d decided to record everything on different days and ask a friend to help her putting everything together. The 30 seconds were over soon, and her old, white, frilly dress changed to a more elegant one that she borrowed from a friend.

And while she had problems with concepts like girl crush (though depending on the song) and especially with anything remotely sexy, this was very much her. Was it enough to debut? She couldn’t tell, honestly she wasn’t sure whether she was ready.

Much better now to let these dreams take flight! Please don’t make me love you Please don’t make me need you Simplify my life just by setting me free!

Originally, Luda hadn’t been sure whether to include this song or not. It wasn’t very pure, but it was indeed challenging, vocal-wise. Many high notes and all, so she decided to go for it. To show her singing skills.

5 years of training, even 10 weren’t unheard of. She was becoming worried, for whether she had a chance at all. Her contract would be over soon and aside from the worry of debuting, she couldn’t help but feel nervous at the thought of not being re-signed.

Promise me you’ll do this Only you can do this Please don’t make me love you Unless you love me

She’s never been in love, nor did she care much for it, her dream didn’t include that possibility until she’d be older. Except she did care deep down, with 22, almost 23, she’d never really been in love, never felt more than a crush and never been in a relationship. But pain she’d felt and that’s what she concentrated on, singing the song, putting her everything into it, until the last notes faded in almost a whisper.

Some of those she was on the mgas with already debuted and she was sure some more would soon follow. There was no guarantee for anything, which she’d known from the beginning, but living it was a bit different, still.

Hey, yeah! I can hear it from anywhere If I open my ears When I open my ears To the trust you have in me Like your eyes that twinkle I’ll tell you a precious story

This time her dress changed into a cute white and blue outfit, part of which she’d recently bought for spring. If this didn’t scream pure, she didn’t know what would. This song, she’d luckily practised for an eval before, so she knew what she was in for. Like Windy Day it wasn’t exactly the easiest, but she still remembered much. At first she’d only wanted to show the dancing, then added the vocals of the 2nd half, but felt it looked awkward to only do half, so she ended up singing everything.

And yet, if Minhee hadn’t convinced her, she wouldn’t be here now, so maybe… she was the one holding herself back without realising it? Worried that if she got the chance, she’d mess up? It would be very much like her, she couldn’t deny.

Open your ears Our unforgettable voices and stories Are filled with my heart for you That fluttered like a dream

On another note though, performing was still as wonderful as her first live stage on the mgas. The feeling of everything coming together as she practised more and more, all her efforts finally paying off as she flew over the stage, singing her heart out.