hyesun wasn’t normally one to get nervous in front of a camera - she was kang hyesun, after all, full of bubbly confidence and self-assuredness. but she was uncomfortable here, being forced to answer questions after a disappointing performance and a sharp fall from a B to C ranking. the lights were hot, and she was perched at the top of a tall metal stool. even at her height of five foot seven, the stool was so tall that just her toes could touch the floor. it made her feel like she was a child again with her feet dangling like that, so she rested them on the bar connecting the stool’s legs, attempting to ground herself and hide her embarrassment.

q: do you feel satisfied with today’s performance?

“no,” hyesun said through a dry laugh, thinking back to how breathy she sounded live and how her pitch slid all over the place. “i’m happy with how i danced, but i’ve never struggled with dance. clearly my vocal stamina needs work, and i’m grateful for this reevaluation as an opportunity for me to see the extent to which i need to improve. now i will be focusing on improving my vocals with determination.”

q: how did rehearsals for your reevaluation go?

she shifted in her seat but tried to keep her facial expression carefully still. “to be honest, i think i could have rehearsed better. or more purposefully, if that makes sense. coming from a smaller company, i’m not used to having to share the practice room with so many girls at once.”

q: what do you think was the main cause for you losing progress?

she knew the answer right away - she’d gotten too comfortable in her ranking, too confident. she always relied on her dancing skills and that hadn’t worked this time around. but hyesun hummed, acting like she was lulling over the question in her head. “i think i let myself get distracted. with so many other girls around, it’s so easy to stop and chat. i love getting along with everyone, but i suppose i shouldn’t just be focused on making friends and having fun.”

q: how do you feel about your position having watched the other contestants perform?

hopefully the way her jaw tightened was too small to be picked up on camera, but hyesun certainly felt herself tense up at the question. she was never the competitive type, always pleased to succeed with others and feeling secure in her own skills and talents, but this show was putting all of that into question. she tried to draw from the media training her company forced on her before auditioning for select to come up with a measured answer. “there are so many talented girls competing here - it certainly won’t be easy for me to debut, but i’m not afraid of hard work. i will make up for what i lack and impress everyone in the next mission.”

q: what will your strategy be going forward?

“how was music video filming like for the two songs?” 

it’s a pretty typical question that occurs during any kind of comeback vlive. fans were constantly curious about what goes on during the behind moments of any comeback. truthfully, all yurim can remember is the different outfits that the girls were put in and the various sets that were created specifically for each music video. both of them had so much shine to them that she recalls being almost blinded by the reflection of all the lights on the set. 

“there’s this one portion during breakthrough where i have to lay on the floor and the other members step over me and my outfit during that scene was this tight white dress. i love the dress and really all of the outfits we wore for this album, but i specifically remember that one because it was pretty thin which meant when i got to the floor, i could feel how cold the floor was!” she burst out into a short fit of laughter as she recalled the memory. “at least the floors were kept very clean. i could practically see my reflection during the scene, and it was shot pretty quickly so i’m very thankful for the members who did their best to make sure i didn’t have to crawl too many times.” 

she wishes there were more stories she could share to their fans, but a lot of the times music video shoots last so long that she ends up forgetting what she does. other than the naps she takes in between takes, it’s all the same, repetitive things. of course, fans would still want to know all the little details, but she’s not sure what else to say other than she went through about three to four outfit and makeup changes throughout the day.

the next question is asking the members which song they prefer out of the two that had music videos, and this is answer is no trouble for yurim since she’s always been vocal about which one she prefers. “i like breakthrough!” she exclaims while holding up her hand as if she were some student in class. “i think it’s very etoile sounding while still being a little different? if that makes sense.” the comments on the live are soon filled with both agreements and disagreements, but she stands firm on her opinion. 

before she knows it, the vlive is coming to an end after they’ve performed the songs, and she’s waving towards the camera. while comebacks mean being busy, she actually quite likes the hectic nature that revolves around comebacks.