she thinks she has what it takes. sorry—she knows she has what it takes. it isn’t only the features on her face, but the way she can work with them. while nakyung had never taken a step on the acting path, the girl could probably do a good job at it. she’s good at lying and at getting what she wants. it’s more than only using your words. you can’t win someone over with a straight face unless they are as much of a psychopath as you are.

when to bat your eyes; when to turn your head. was she perfect? not yet, but that’s why they keep offering all of these workshops. as a trainee, nakyung has access to a multitude of options to help her achieve her goals. this isn’t limited to singing and dancing, but posing and smiling too. you can’t make it in the idol world without a sprinkle of charisma. she likes to believe she has more than that.

the van takes her to the pink pool cafe. it’s cute but not too cute. it’s more on a playful, adorable spectrum than pure. one of the best feelings is getting dressed up and beautified like a doll in a flash game. she likes to take care of herself on her own. going to professional beauty salons and buying designer clothes isn’t much of a viable option, but no one needs to know that. nakyung makes good use of what little she has. as long as people can believe what she puts on her face, then so be it.

they call for her next. lee nakyung. with a gentle smile on her face, the girl walks to the center of the set. it’s not as easy to predict what the photographer wants. modeling is more than just talking to someone and making them believe it. words can’t save her in pictures. incorporating props is still her go-to. what some people could say it’s difficult gives her comfort. even if it’s only a sprinkle of something different, the girl thinks it’s enough.

— likey ;

her eyes are focused on only one thing: the glistening screen of her phone. while her left arm crosses her chest, nakyung uses her right hand to scroll through the endless feed of social media. it’s a beautiful day out, but that isn’t something the girl usually appreciates. she might take a photo of the view later if she looks up. if not, the best she’d get out of there with is with pictures of the food they brought or something jisung might take of her.

“uh?” a few of his sentences are lost to silence between them. it’s probably the first time she left her phone alone ever since they got there. her eyes fall down to the grass and then back up to the taller. “yeah, this can be a good spot.” nakyung takes a step back. he’s carrying the basket, so she hopes he’ll set up the picnic too. “the sun should hit us nicely once this cloud goes away.” and she finally looks up, squints, then looks back down. “yes, this is pretty.”

*·— in a bit of a stretch

her fingers not so gently massage her nose. the moment she realizes the boy has decided to suddenly speak to her, nakyung drops her hands and stares at him. “well, maybe you should have tried it the first time, no?” she snaps. “i don’t remember this being part of the position.” while her tone is angry, the girl tries her best to keep it down. whoever was standing around them were probably already disturbed and she wouldn’t like for it to reach the participants standing further away or the instructor in front of the entire class.

she starts to raise her leg again to try and get back on the position they should be keeping. but she stumbles still on her feet. god, this made her angry. “and stop looking at me!” nakyung tries to raise her leg one more time (this time successful) and holds onto her foot. her face is now a shade darker of pink due to her being the one to embarrass herself this time “this is how you do it.”

*·— no harmony

her lips flinch if that’s a thing. a crack on her mask, even if only for a second. before this reunion, she would have classified kang daniel as both harmless and an easy target. at least one of those two things she knows it to be true. had she not made a good hit, he wouldn’t have responded with the same jab. if he will continue with this game is what her interest settles in. 

“my name is lee nakyung,” she pronounces it slowly for him to understand. “it was said at the beginning of the class. maybe you weren’t paying attention...” her eyes look down at his hands to see what his problem could be. he has many—she’s sure of it—but one thing at a time. let’s only focus on his piano skills this time, nakyung. “...which would explain this, right?” and another smile.

to explain it to him, she positions her hands at the top of the piano he’s using. she wouldn’t to get close to his own on the keys or even get close to suggesting guiding his hands with hers. uck. the simple thought makes her shiver. “when you play the piano is like your fingers are dancing. are you perhaps any good at dance?” she stops, but then quickly continues, not giving him much time for response. “either way, instead of locked movements as if you were playing a computer game,” nakyung moves her hands as a true gamer would move a mouse, “try doing it with less tension. each of your fingers can move on their own, too.”

*·— no harmony

of course, when she hopes that the mgas will come back for her she wishes it to be in the form of a swarm of fans expressing their love. instead, of course, she needs to watch freaking kang daniel walk into her classroom. her classroom! the audacity. nakyung’s acting skills are reserved solely for moments like these. she smiles but towards somewhere else. it’s like ignoring the people you went to middle school with when you spot them at the mall. the problem is, of course, she’s supposed to help all these people with their questions.

eye contact is completely avoided during the first part of the class when it’s mostly the instructor going through what they need to. when it’s time for the students to give it a try themselves, nakyung continues to smile when she’s told to help one specific student. son of a bitch. “hello,” she says with her unfaltering smile. “daniel, right?” she knows, but she chuckles. he knows that she knows. “do you need any help?”

*·— daydream

oh, she hopes this gets to hyojeong as much as it gets to her. as far as she’s aware, the girl also mainly focuses on dance, and the challenge of the month was to exactly not do that. if that wasn’t enough, the trainees would have to battle it out based only on their vocals capabilities. nakyung is the type to proudly take fewer lines than others (as long as she can stand center whenever possible). however, the girl also has a very big need to win, which she hasn’t really been feeling confident over if it’s going to happen or not.

“hyojeong,” she starts. “should we add arm movements and things like that to the performance?” of course, not to distract the coaches from their singing abilities. of course not. kt entertainment is more well known for their vocals, the same way nova is for their dancing. she can’t help but pray that next month they’ll get to battle it out on the dance floor. “i feel like it may add to it more than it takes out. especially since the song is a bit more upbeat.”

*·— number two

she’s been in competitions before and this reads as she’s been in the mgas and she did a pretty good job at it. she had made it to the finals, after all, and the third place was the slot her team got. the main difference between that and now (except for the fact it was a high-quality tv production) is that the trainees were simply bound to singing. there are no coats she can throw for effect or a cool looking dance routine to distract the coaches from the fact they had recently lost their best vocalist to another company.

yoona, in nakyung’s eyes, is what they could find to be her replacement. the main difference between them is that, well, sooyoung is a better vocalist, and she had also helped nakyung a lot when it came to previous singing evaluations. but she can’t run to her previous co-trainee to whine and ignore her advice. instead, nakyung wants to win, and that’s the one thing that makes her drop her strong front and approach someone else. “yoona,” she starts, “can you listen to me sing the chorus? i don’t think i’m doing it right.”

*·— in a bit of a stretch

she can’t do wonders like the splits or putting your foot behind your head, but nakyung can easily reach her toes which some consider impressive. anything that impresses other people she considers a big win on her book. yoga is the hot girl activity she needs to get on. it’s not like she has the time or the money to go to a specialized yoga studio. this comes as the perfect opportunity to start things out. the fact kim jennie herself is teaching it simply solidifies her choice of going. plus, this counts as part of her trainee schedule. big wins all around.

following the instructions isn’t too hard on itself. as expected, they wouldn’t give an intensive class if it wasn’t specified on the title. with these things, they always tell you to maintain a safe space between the people around you. it’s what she kept in mind when she arrived, but not really the dude who got there right after her. she’s sure his foot is not supposed to be this close to her face, but she can’t make a scene in front of jennie eclipse. that’s a whole jennie eclipse and this is just some random dude. it’ll be okay.

it’ll be alright. just breathe in and out like she was told. except it’s a hard thing to do when a foot hits your nose. nakyung automatically lets go of the current yoga pose—which, of course, involved holding onto your foot, which some people can't seem to do! the girl holds onto her nose, but instead of screaming, she tries to only groan very softly. don’t make a scene. don’t make a scene.

                   * —————                                                   ♡♡♡ LEE NAKYUNG

                                   up-and-coming equestrian  ♡♡♡

                                                                       ————— *