lgcminki

[lgcminki]

minki feels a little bad for coming up to yura like this. after all, he should be more happy about the news—the fact that he’s debuting, that he’s finally realizing his dreams. all that jazz, and more. he can’t help but feel that it isn’t fair though, that there should be someone else by his side. instead, he’s doing this on his own, without someone he used to call his partner. dreams of debuting together long gone, no point in wishing for a ghost to come back to life.

“oh, don’t worry too much about it!” a laugh comes out of him, a little bit awkward. it’s the type of situation where he shouldn’t even be laughing, but he can’t help it. honestly, minki never knows how to react when the subject is being brought up. it’s hard, not knowing what to do in the face of this situation, which is why he hasn’t been able to talk about it all that much either. not to mention he doesn’t know who to talk to it about.

of course, saying that yura shouldn’t worry would only bring about the opposite effect. if anything, it gives yura more reason to worry in turn, despite minki not wanting her to. he believes she has enough on her plate already as a busy senior idol, not to mention her admirable work ethic and current schedule. he shouldn’t be taking too much of her time, but he does miss her, in general. maybe he just wishes circumstances were slightly less daunting on his end, so they could have a lighthearted conversation.

he does try to keep it lighthearted, somewhat. “thank you though, noona.” he tries saying, smiling softly, not knowing how to approach the subject. “i think… i don’t know, i just wonder how different things would be if he was still… around, maybe we could have debuted together. we always talked about being on the same group when it’s our time to debut, but i think you’ve heard us talk about that during our breaks way back then. you probably told us to hurry up and get back to rehearsing too.” he remembers the memory a little more fondly now, even though it still makes him chest feel weird.

“oh, i wasn’t even sure if i was allowed to tell you about that…” he mumbles, not knowing how much about NKND he was allowed to say to someone who isn’t that involved, but surely there have been talks about a recently started project being started that’s related to debuting a new boy group.

“i think i should be excited, but i’m not sure how to be,” he admits, another laugh escaping him. “sorry again… i guess i started rambling a bit.”

previous reply.

no matter how busy their schedule gets; no matter how early they have to wake up (or how late they have to stay awake until); yura will never be ungrateful for the opportunities she gets. even if it's tiring and exhausting as hell, she'll always be thankful that she--and crystallis--are wanted enough to warrant these filled days. to her, it's a sign that they're doing well; that someone has expectations of them - and yura is more than happy to meet it, if not go beyond and prove their worth and talent.

however, it goes without saying that the busier they are, the less down time they have for their hobbies or meaningful relaxation and resting. which also means, they have less time to meet up with friends or family, especially when there's very different schedules to be considered as well so when yura manages to find a chance to catch up with someone she cares about, she takes it-- and minki is definitely someone who belongs to that category.

"why are you apologizing? i'm the one who agreed to meet up," yura laughs, shaking her head as if to wave away the apology the other didn't need to make. "if i was really busy, i would've told you." what she doesn't mention is she probably would've made time to see minki anyways, even if she was that occupied. as much as she's tried to be more open and forthcoming, old habits die hard.

"but thank you! i'm glad someone believed in me from long ago," she grins, truly thankful and appreciative of the other. yura knows she can be pretty strict and relentless in the practice rooms (maybe even ruthless and borderline intense if you ask certain people) so she was no different the times she would mentor at her old dance academy; however, she understood that her attitude may have soured some people's opinion about her teaching style--or herself in general.

she doesn't miss what minki means when he says 'us', though, which causes her smile to falter just a bit. although she's doesn't know the full situation (as the busier she got, the less time she could spend at the academy and thus, the less plugged in she became; in fact, sometimes she's not even up to date on the going-on's within legacy), yura does know the gist based on what she's heard from others; gossip always travelled fast in these circles, after all.

"kind of," she ends up answering, albeit slowly, considering how to reply. yura only knew of the passing itself and how close the young dancer was to minki but nothing more; she supposes that's enough to connect the dots and assume the rest but she also didn't want to prod unnecessarily if the other wasn't ready to and above all - she was just terrible at handling delicate situations.

"i don't know if it's the right thing to say but i'm so sorry about what happened..." she's slightly frowning now, sad that such a thing ever occurred and even more so that it affected someone she cares about. "i won't ask if you're okay but how are you holding up? can i do anything to help? i hope you know that if you ever need anything, you don't have to hesitate about asking me."

[lgcminki]

minki thinks it’s kind of ironic, that iseul is teaching him all about what he should do once he debuts, fanservice that he’s supposed to perform. surely there’s a proper class all about this—there is, but minki isn’t exactly the model student when it comes to the material. besides, having to practice all this in a professional setting has been rather… awkward. so it’s nice, having someone he deems close to helping out.

“you really have all this figured out, don’t you?” minki isn’t all too surprised, it’s iseul after all—whatever that means. “you have all this down and ready once you debut. from there, you can probably steal our fans just from fanservice alone.” he jokes, but there’s some truth to that. not that he’s complaining.

he thinks iseul is basically already a good enough idol for the future, hoping that his friend would get the opportunity he so clearly deserves later down the road.

“i’ll sign a bunch—but you should keep one for yourself, or i’d feel offended and stop signing anything that you give me,” he nudges iseul with an elbow, followed by a laugh. “i do wonder how high the market would go for a signed photocard though.” what a mystery.

and then iseul calls him cute—an unexpected compliment. “really? that’s the first i’ve heard of it. i don’t usually get people calling me cute these days!” he did have some sort of growth spurt and started hitting the gym more often. that changes people’s perspectives.

“okay, you’re the only one who gets to see these spoilers though. so don’t share with anyone else!” he warns, wagging a finger in front of iseul.

“really? okay, well… since i know you’ll be collecting, i should do my best now.” minki plays along, as usual. then again, he always had trouble saying no in general. it’s even more difficult when it’s iseul. sometimes he does want to see what happens when something doesn’t go iseul’s way, if iseul will try to fight for it or if he’d pout—but he should save that for later. definitely not when it comes to the art of posing for photocards.

minki blinks though, when iseul mentions putting a photocard on the back of his phone. “oh, right, that’s a thing,” minki says, sounding like he’s kind of impressed. “does that mean you’d be carrying me everywhere?” that’d be a little amusing. “i heard there’s cute photocard holders out there that you can put me in.” he has seen a few designs, some of them strapped onto the bags of a few trainees in legacy.

as iseul delivers his review, minki listens diligently. there’s no point if he doesn’t take this seriously after all. “i didn’t realize my hand was shaking that much.” instead of trying again with the camera, minki turns to iseul and poses exactly as iseul has instructed, puffing out his cheek a little more this time. he stays like that for a while, giving iseul a moment to asses, before he relaxes his face muscles.

“what about like that? was that good enough?” minki asks. “i wish someone else could just hold the camera, maybe it’d be easier. but i guess that makes it a lot less personal? i’m not sure,” minki hums. “hey, doesn’t this mean you’re getting free spoilers to my future photocards? that sounds kind of special.”

[lgcminki]

“a bit of shaping to make our face look a little more round? make us look youthful. do i look old though?” okay, now that’s just him criticizing himself—he’s mostly joking though, he knows he doesn’t actually look that far apart in age with the others or anything. still, sometimes he wonders whether he’d visually fit the energetic and youthful concept that he thinks is being marketed currently.

honestly, minki doesn’t actually know whether that’s the proper theme going forward—things like that mostly fly over his head—he’s just glad he hadn’t been typecasted to a fratboy-esque boy group right now.

“i know right? who would’ve known i’d start becoming a little more creative with merch upon debuting. it’s probably because i surround myself with lots of dolls.” minki laughs, that hasn’t changed at all. his bed is still decorated similarly to when he was a trainee. “we should bring this up to the marketing team! we’ll make it worth their while. prepare presentations and everything.”

there was a time some years ago when minki could’ve pulled this off. sadly, that’s all the way in the past—there’s no going back now. not that minki regrets it, but he does know this ‘concept’ would fit him a lot of better if he hadn’t spent hours in the gym. that isn’t to say jocks can’t be cute—no one should adhere to just one genre or concept—but minki struggles to find that within himself. the most he can do is pout, or maybe wink. would that look cute now?

minki isn’t offended when jasper ends up laughing too, he takes it in stride—he laughed at himself, after all. “i need our younger members to teach me again! i know we aren’t supposed to… aegyo on camera for a photoshoot or anything. but still, makes you wonder how they’ll pose us to look cuter than we naturally are, huh?” minki isn’t exactly the model type of idol, so this is another whole new world he’s stepping into bit-by-bit.

“maybe if they just don’t pan the camera down, our faces would be enough for cute,” minki suggest, but knows that won’t happen. “it’d be funny though, if our mascots did end up like that. you know, small cute animal heads with big muscular bodies. i personally think it would be a hit.”

[lgcminki]

there’s no time to waste—even though their debut has finally come along, minki knows this is only the beginning of a long road ahead. no matter what happens, it’s crucial that he doesn’t slack off. there’s already another schedule ahead, rookie idols who have just debuted come with the burden of needing to prove their worth.

minki stays in the studio, it’s basically like a second home to him at this point after very minor adjustments ( like adding a few little trinkets here and there ). it’d be easy for any mzsd member to find him there should they need him, this time the person who comes barging in is wenjun.

he looks at wenjun’s screen with a smile. despite everything that has happened so far, minki hasn’t been able to truly celebrate the moment—the fact that he has debuted. “wow, we really made it, didn’t we wenjun?” minki’s smile widens, raising a hand as if signaling for the other boy to high-five him.

“let’s read some of these together then!” minki makes himself comfortable on one of the chairs, dragging another closer to him. “hm, let’s see… ‘they seem high energy, good for them.’ is that a compliment?”

disbelief starter for @lgcminki

he bursts into his shared studio with minki in pure excitement, there's a sort of adrenaline that's running through him that he can't quite place his finger on. "hyung," he says, and he wastes no time climbing onto their sofa, placing his phone right in front of the older boy's face. "have you read this?"

the article titled MZSD DEBUT is bright against his phone screen and wenjun thinks he sounds a little giddy, a little dazed. "this makes it feel even more official," he says in wonderment, he passes minki his phone, not worrying too much about what exactly his teammate might find there.

here, he feels a little at ease, he feels a little more like he can breathe. he rests his body against the sofa and his smile is wide. "this is crazy, isn't it?" clearly, wenjun's been practicing his korean, with the way the words leave his lips at a rapid speed. "i was going to read the comments myself, but i'm a little nervous. i know how netizens can be but... i want to know what they think of us," he admits.

[lgcminki]

SAN :: ICE ON MY TEETH

[lgcminki]

“really? okay, well… since i know you’ll be collecting, i should do my best now.” minki plays along, as usual. then again, he always had trouble saying no in general. it’s even more difficult when it’s iseul. sometimes he does want to see what happens when something doesn’t go iseul’s way, if iseul will try to fight for it or if he’d pout—but he should save that for later. definitely not when it comes to the art of posing for photocards.

minki blinks though, when iseul mentions putting a photocard on the back of his phone. “oh, right, that’s a thing,” minki says, sounding like he’s kind of impressed. “does that mean you’d be carrying me everywhere?” that’d be a little amusing. “i heard there’s cute photocard holders out there that you can put me in.” he has seen a few designs, some of them strapped onto the bags of a few trainees in legacy.

as iseul delivers his review, minki listens diligently. there’s no point if he doesn’t take this seriously after all. “i didn’t realize my hand was shaking that much.” instead of trying again with the camera, minki turns to iseul and poses exactly as iseul has instructed, puffing out his cheek a little more this time. he stays like that for a while, giving iseul a moment to asses, before he relaxes his face muscles.

“what about like that? was that good enough?” minki asks. “i wish someone else could just hold the camera, maybe it’d be easier. but i guess that makes it a lot less personal? i’m not sure,” minki hums. “hey, doesn’t this mean you’re getting free spoilers to my future photocards? that sounds kind of special.”

"for you? maybe," he says, trying to keep his facial expression and tone of voice as neutral as possible. it's kind of a funny thought, though iseul admits he's kind of considering it. he doesn't really collect any photocards, if he's honest, though he does like to get the cafe drinks on his friends' birthdays specifically. and he's also gone out of his way to buy the funnier photocards he's seen online when it's haru's or yushin's but he hasn't really collected any.

will he become a collector for minki photocards?

possibly.

he doesn't really want to look into why he might do that though.

"maybe if you have a really legendary photocard i can put it in the back of my phone," iseul jokes, referring the to trend of kpop fans putting photocards in the back of their clear phone cases. he might get in trouble for it, but he would do it for the bit if he ever debuted.

he watches his friend take the selfies he had asked for, nodding seriously and he takes the phone afterwards. "see, these two are blurry," he comments, showing them to minki. "you might need to be a bit steadier when you take the picture. i like the cheek poking one though ... you could maybe puff out your cheeks for one? or pout, those are always super popular."

[lgcminki]

there was a time some years ago when minki could’ve pulled this off. sadly, that’s all the way in the past—there’s no going back now. not that minki regrets it, but he does know this ‘concept’ would fit him a lot of better if he hadn’t spent hours in the gym. that isn’t to say jocks can’t be cute—no one should adhere to just one genre or concept—but minki struggles to find that within himself. the most he can do is pout, or maybe wink. would that look cute now?

minki isn’t offended when jasper ends up laughing too, he takes it in stride—he laughed at himself, after all. “i need our younger members to teach me again! i know we aren’t supposed to… aegyo on camera for a photoshoot or anything. but still, makes you wonder how they’ll pose us to look cuter than we naturally are, huh?” minki isn’t exactly the model type of idol, so this is another whole new world he’s stepping into bit-by-bit.

“maybe if they just don’t pan the camera down, our faces would be enough for cute,” minki suggest, but knows that won’t happen. “it’d be funny though, if our mascots did end up like that. you know, small cute animal heads with big muscular bodies. i personally think it would be a hit.”

maybe a year ago sure, you could have called jasper cute. however, between puberty hitting him like a cement truck, and the amount of time he spent on his body these days, well... it seemed like those days were far behind him. though occasionally, the stylists seem to still think he's that young boy fresh from overseas. in a way, he often was. this time though, cute was definitely not in his vocab naturally-- it seemed it had to pull out the old guns.

he's critiquing himself in the mirror again, trying to put on his best aeygo, since it had been a while. it's then he hears minki, looking over. he studies his face hard then, pressing his lips together to prevent his laugh, trying to take it serious, only to burst out when minki does the same. "no it was pretty good i'll have to give you that!" he offers with playful shake of his head. he's pressing at a cheek with his index finger. "honestly i don't think i've been 'cute' in quite some time. the members have us beat on that." he tells him with a shrug.

"maybe itll revitalize us, yeah? we get the niche fans that like those plushies with the muscles but the cute faces."

[lgcminki]

all things considered, it was a fun experience, albeit a little stressful whenever the mean voice in minki’s head would tell him about how the chocolates he’ll make will contribute to some sort of food poisoning panic. that’s highly unrealistic at the end of the day, but it is a thought in the back of his head.

“i do wish we had more time with the chocolatier too,” minki sighs, agreeing with the other boy. “it feels like i’m stepping into a lion’s den with no guidance,” he whispers under his breath, hoping his lack of confidence can only be heard by haneul and no one else. “what did you end up picking, by the way?” minki questions, curious to see what someone else would choose. “i felt like my pick is kind of boring, to he honest. i was just playing it safe.”

minki hums, considering haneul’s question. “that’s true, we should treat ourselves to our own chocolates, right?” a laugh comes out of him. “or do we have to sneak them out ourselves?”

Haneul may not have been the next master chef, but he has traveled enough and eaten enough chocolate to come up with something tasty that he knows the fans would like. The discussions with the experts also helped, and he feels pretty good about his flavor choices. He has left it in the experts' hands, and he only wishes he could also try the combinations the others have come up with.

"It was so much fun," he says to Minki with a laugh as they wait in the studio. "I felt like I didn't have enough time because I wanted to pick the chocolatier's brain more, but we managed to narrow it down to a specific flavor profile inspired by one of the travel stories I mentioned." Once they're given the box and told how to pose, Haneul follows Minki's lead, as Minki is still the older one. "I think the fans would. After all, the chocolatier is there to make us look good." He winks at Minki for good measure. "Uh, so, do we get to take out the chocolate and eat it?" Haneul jokingly asks the photographer for good measure. Turning back to Minki, he adds, "And I like to think our chocolates will taste good. We came up with them, after all."

[lgcminki]

MZNYANG !

cats. who knew they’ll suddenly be a significant portion of the start of his career as a member of mzsd? when he heard about his next mission—for lack of a better term—minki thought he was still stuck in some sort of dream. apparently, he isn’t, and it’s true that he had been told to pick his cat. whatever that meant. but if minki knew anything about cats, it’s that he isn’t the one who will be choosing them, they’ll be the one choosing him. he’s pretty sure the other members have that same thought as well.

and so… off to search for his fated cat. at least, this will be his genuine attempt at getting one to like him.

walking into one of the shelters, minki didn’t know what to expect. should he have treats ready, lure them in and hope one of them stays long enough without the treats? yeah, that feels like the appropriate step to take for now ( a.k.a he has no other ideas in mind ). so he walks up to the counter, asks the nice older lady for a bag of treats, and sits in the middle of the room.

as he suspected, the feline creatures that paid him absolutely no mind just moments either were starting to come over once they sniffed the treats that he had taken out. quite a few of them approached as minki sat down, holding the treats up in the air. it doesn’t take long for them to lose interest once their bellies are full though, leaving minki behind—all except one.

this one is a cat with mid-length fur, its coat grey with its paws and face colored black. “oh, it’s a norwegian forest cat!” the lady explained, cooing at the cat as it meowed back. soon enough, it crawled onto minki’s lap, making itself at home just like that. “go on, pick her up! she loves cuddles, the lady insists.

minki does, slowly picking up the cat as it purred, gently kneading its paws into minki’s shoulder. “haha, she’s asking to play with you! let me grab some toys,” the lady says, going to the other side of the shelter to grab the aforementioned toys.

“so, which treat got you to like me? was it the tuna-flavoured one?” he questions, to which the cat purrs in reply. “it was, wasn’t it? i knew it.”

[lgcminki]

THE CHALLENGE !

the sudden drop of all four tasks wasn’t something minki had expected, but he does accept the challenge—he can’t back down now! minki wouldn’t consider himself the most sociable guy, but he knows in the future he’d have to fix that. after all this, he’d have to learn how to cater to strangers he has never spoken to before. he’d have to be the one carrying the conversation, be entertaining outside of the stage itself. this is probably the hardest challenge that minki had to have done, as opposed to everything else. that being said, he’s determined to see it through!

finding someone with MZSD in their playlist isn’t too difficult, at least at first glance. minki’s plan was too hang around a few music stores, watching people who approached the shelves filled with music from his company, and then asking them about the contents of their playlist. of course, consent is important—he first asks if it’s okay to film. to his surprise, he finds a middle-aged office lady who admitted she has their songs in a playlist. “the high energy keeps me going at work!” she says, smiling to both minki and the camera.

as for the dance challenge, minki decides to find someone who often does tiktok challenges first. he comes across a boy by the street, who ends up familiar with their dance challenge! they decide to do the challenge together—makes it more fun that way! before he leaves though, the boy stops him and points to the girl holding the phone that had been used as a camera, telling minki that she’d want pictures with minki. he takes the opportunity to tell her, “sure, as long as you sing-along to one of our songs with me!” they decide to do new boyz on the block for that, with the boy holding the camera this time.

that was a lucky one, but the next challenge doesn’t come out as easy. he doesn’t expect anyone to recognize him right off the bat, especially because he just started… was it because he was wearing a mask? should he ditch it? it’s getting late and he’s about to call it quits until he feels someone gently call out to him, asking him if he’s hwang minki. he feels a little silly, he looks out of breath and less presentable after walking around so much, but this marks the end of his challenge! posing with the girl, pressing their fingers together to make the shape of a heart, it’s finally over. he hands her his photocard, and he can hear a squeal from her.

well, that was exhausting, but it was fun meeting their fans and talking to them like this too.

[lgcminki]

cutesy.

unfortunately, minki wouldn’t categorize himself as part of the cuter people in their group. that’s something he has come to accept and knew from the very beginning, honestly. furthermore, he doesn’t think he can pull aegyo very well—overtaken by a strong sense of embarrassment every time he tries. however, the theme for this photoshoot is cuter than what he’s used to. he gets why, given the season, it just means he has to… practice.

turning to @lgcxjasper as the two of them are facing the mirror. “i know that the photographers will give us directions to follow later on… but do you think this face can pull off cute?” he asks, trying to purse his lips and make a cute expression, like how the younger members would do. immediately, he starts laughing when he sees himself in the mirror. “wow, i can’t take myself seriously at all. what about you?”

then again, with their… body type, the two of them don’t exactly embody adorable upon first glance.

[lgcminki]

choco frenzy.

minki is, admittedly, not a cook — even less of a baker. he isn’t entirely sure whether he managed to pick the right intricacies with flavour when it comes to his personal chocolate. the most he could do was quick research on his phone in hopes that he’ll find a recipe that sticks, and he discussed it with the expert in great length ( as much as he could in the time that was given to him ), but he can only hope that whatever he prepared would be good for the fans.

either way, it’s already time for the photoshoot and whatever he has created is probably already pre packaged by this point. while waiting for further instructions alongside @lgchxneul, minki lets out a small sigh. “what was your chocolate-constructing process like? do you think the fans will like it? honestly, i’d just be glad if what i made wasn’t poisonous at least,” he laughs. “i felt like i was using up so much of the chocolatier’s time making sure what i’m talking about sounds edible.”

[lgcminki]

@LGCENT JUST POSTED A PHOTO!

2025.02.28

happy 24th birthday, hwang minki!

#lgctrainees #lgcent #hwangminki #lgcbirthday

(a/n: this was posted on 28 february 2024.)

[lgcminki]

SIDE EVENT PLOT CALL !

helloooo everyone! it’s been a while since i posted a plot call 😵‍💫 but i wanted to use this opportunity to get more threads for minki and @lgcdongha related to the new side event that just dropped!

MINKI needs… another member of MZSD to thread with about the photoshoot (he will be struggling to believe he can be… cute)!

DONGHA needs… another trainee to thread with about the event happening in the conference room (he is vibing as always)!

please like this post or reply if you’re interested in any of these and i’ll come to you 🙏

[lgcminki]

EWF… WITH SEO HANEUL !

minki hadn’t expected this big opportunity to graciously be given to him, not like this. honestly, minki holds the belief that there must be others within the group who are a lot more fitting to be haneul’s assistant. he shouldn’t keep thinking like this though, he shouldn’t keep downplaying everything that he has been earning. after all, those in charge wouldn’t have allowed this to be entrusted to minki if they didn’t believe minki was capable of handling it. he should start drilling that into his brain, permanently.

the first time he meets up with haneul to work on the choreography, minki expresses his gratitude verbally for being chosen. he feels like it was a rather awkward string of words, but he’s sincere about everything, meaning every word. with that, minki is eager to start working on the choreography. who else gets this chance to work with haneul—on something he’s passionate about too?

and so, minki begins to learn the choreography first and foremost. upon first impressions, he could tell it was a difficult choreography that requires a lot of stamina and energy to go through. that being said, he loves it—it completely encapsulates the concept that he thinks mzsd will be going for, and it’s fun, even though it leaves minki lying on the ground trying to catch up to haneul during the beginning of everything, labored breathing echoing throughout the practice room.

whenever minki is done and clearly drained after a day’s worth of practice, he has a feeling haneul is pleased. almost as if he gets a kick out of seeing minki dancing his heart out and then needing a minute to feel the burning all over his limbs and take a breath.

he’s excited about this though, eager to share the choreography with the rest of the members, wonders how they would perceive the choreography.

[lgcminki]

“hiro, was it?” minki repeats the name. he’s not too familiar with the movie, so the name is foreign in his tongue—with wenjun’s explanation though, the name sounds rather on the nose as the protagonist of the movie. the hero, hiro. minki decides to keep that comment to himself though, there’s a lot more to find out about the character once the movie begins.

as wenjun is setting up the movie though, minki doesn’t see the harm in looking up the character, at least when it comes to appearance. he types in the name of the character and the title of the movie, glossing over text to avoid spoilers—he doesn’t want to ruin his first viewing experience with a friend—clicking on google images and browsing through. “oh, he’s just a kid… something really bad happened to him at the start of the movie, huh? did he lose someone? wait, don’t answer that.”

minki can’t help but make guesses and saying them out loud. that being said, he’s just making verbal assumptions, he still wants to find out through watching the movie by himself. not that the description he just uttered is anything original and unique—that’s usually what happens to younger protagonists.

wenjun’s attempt at rebellion is honestly kind of cute, minki can only laugh, winking at the other boy. “i’ll keep this a secret, don’t worry. no one will find out—not from me, at least! no movie police will be showing up at our dorms, i promise.” he plays along, before getting himself comfortable when he realizes wenjun is about to start the movie.

“you have been saying that i’m like baymax,” minki confirms, curious to see what wenjun had meant. right off the bat though, minki blinks—his previous prediction coming to fruition. “oh my god, i was right… poor hiro, his brother…” minki mumbles, furrowing his eyebrows, feeling for the character through the screen.

this feels like some sort of standstill.

minki isn’t sure where he had gone wrong, if his weird feelings about dancing had gotten in the way of his work ethics. picking out when his anxieties outshone his determination, moments where it’d look like he was slacking off. scrutinizing his every movement, trying to find something amiss. whatever he did that wasn’t enough, whatever he did that hindered their progress so abruptly that their debut was postponed.

he’s working on making up for his shortcomings, that has been the plan from the very beginning. even with this ‘break’ they’ve been given he doesn’t let up on his usual routine. it helps take his mind off of things, keeps his mind focused on bettering himself—for the most part. other times, like when he looks in the mirror after some solo practice, he can see the flaws in his steps. how it could be better. how he could be better.

it’s another day of pushing himself further, of replaying the memories in his head to remember his own mistakes. he’d just finished a post-practice shower when he hears someone at his door. it’s wenjun, and a smile graces his face as the boy sits next to him. he hopes he doesn’t look at tired as he feels—not when wenjun is probably thinking about a lot as it is.

“if i’m baymax, then what does that make you?” minki hadn’t watched the movie yet, but he does know of the character. while he doesn’t know the details, he is curious to see what exactly wenjun has been comparing him to.

“sure we can!” minki replies, never one to say no. it could be nice, taking a moment to truly enjoy a break before they’re thrown into more debut preparations. something at the back of his mind grates at him though, tells him not to slack off again—but he shuts it away.

“are we going to be watching it on your laptop?” he asks. “you bought the movie already? or… are we watching illegally?”

[lgcminki]

iseul is right, minki isn’t exactly privy to this world—he doesn’t know much about collecting. even though he’s a fan of a few artists, he never collected any photocards for himself. seldom does he have the opportunity to spend his money on physical albums, much less hunt down specific photocards of his favourite members. he’s usually satisfied with digitally listening to their music, dancing to their songs. there is a thrill in collecting these though, minki believes. he probably shouldn’t distribute… disappointing photocards.

“i’m not surprised you’re friends with a lot… are you going to be a serious collector?” he questions, teasing a little. iseul had implied that he would be, for minki’s photocards. “well, since you’re going to be one of my collectors, i guess there’s no harm in putting more effort.”

truthfully, minki doesn’t know if this lesson will click in his head. when under pressure he might still pull out the same poses anyway. “you know, if they did make a meme compilation of my one pose, maybe the video could go viral?” he reasons, although he’d not too serious with using that as his debate point.

minki blinks, laughing slightly—embarrassed that iseul had just called him handsome. “that came out of nowhere,” he comments, eyeing the camera sitting at the back of the phone. “i’m getting mixed signals. so i don’t angle it at 45 degrees?” he blinks, deciding to take a shot anyway—a few of them, actually. with variations of poses where minki touches or poses his cheek.

“alright, review please, teacher.”

snap & pose.

it starts off with a small comment from @iseullgc, really. nothing too major, simply iseul telling minki that he’d make a mission out of collecting minki’s photocards once he debuts. initially, minki felt touched—it’s a sweet sentiment, although he doubts iseul’s luck would favour him at every album purchase.

another thought pop up in minki’s head though, and he said it out loud at the time without much thinking. “i don’t think i know how to take selfies for those photocards,” minki had admitted, which is why iseul decided to teach him exactly how to pose now.

minki held his phone up, switching the camera to selfie mode with his eyebrows slightly furrowed. “is it that urgent for me to learn now?” he questions, turning his head to iseul. the other boy seems 100% serious about this, which is why minki relented in the first place. he doesn’t have the best track record when it comes to saying no, particularly when it comes to iseul.

“i’m sure it’ll be a while until my future fans get bored of the classic peace sign pose,” he reasons, although he has a feeling it’ll fall upon deaf ears at this point.