#RKXAYAH IN THE HOUSE BITCHES

[rkxayah]

LUXE 💎 SIXTH EVALUATION debut showcase! july 30, 2018

4:55 pm.

while looking at her reflection in the mirror, eunae can barely recognize herself. where has her tomboyish image gone to? all she sees is this tall, pretty girl in a dress just like the ones her mother always dreamed of putting on her. but she doesn’t feel very in sync with that girl, as if it’s not her own body she’s looking at. when she thinks of herself, eunae pictures how she looked at seventeen when she first came to korea. blonde, tomboyish, cheeks still chubby from the remnants of childhood. but that’s not what she’s seeing right now and it shocks her. she became a woman, simple as that.

she looks at the other girls with a mix of excitement and pride. they all look sublime, but her gaze lingers on sona in particular. the girl looks banging but of course that’s just her biased opinion. “is it me or it’s getting hot in here?” she whispers playfully as she walks right by, nudging her side before standing in line as they prepare to go up on stage for the press conference. they practiced a multitude of questions but of course there isn’t a definite way to know which ones are gonna pop out. she doesn’t doubt royal has some control over it, but they still have to be on their toes.

and up they go, six goddesses greeting the mortals in front of them.

6:00pm-7:00pm.

she’s definitely back in her element this time, wearing tight-fitted black pants and a crop top of the same color. it compliments her figure nicely and makes her even taller than she already is. her hair is tied up in a complex ponytail and french braids and she looks fierce as hell with her makeup on. a girl’s got hype herself up, doesn’t she? and it’s not just her, they all look extremely different than they did earlier. all in dark colors, all in feminine yet very badass clothing. the stylist did a very good job of highlighting each one of their personalities and in a way it even suits the goddess title they chose for themselves.

her nerves start acting up as she looks at each minute go by. she’s restless, even more than usual and the hairstylist has to remind her multiple times not to move or else it’ll take even longer to get her ready. while it’s easier said than done, she manages to stay still long enough for them to finish and soon she’s left to be nervous on her own, with only the other girls as support.

she thinks of her family who have bought their tickets long ago online. her dad, her mom, her two sisters, her brother joey. and she thinks of the four special people she gave her mvp tickets to. yoohyeon, her best friend and probably biggest fan to this day. lisa, her dearest other half during royal survival. bambam, her cousin and the one person that can keep up with her energy and sense of humor. and last but not least, her brother yien. the one person she wanted most to come see her. the one person she wants to impress, and make proud. he’s already been her model, her hero. despite what he thinks he’s worthy of every bit of love that she can possibly give him. and she wants to show him that she worked hard and stuck to something besides soccer for the first time in her life. that she’s found a new passion.

the clock ticks, and the showcase grows nearer.

8pm.

after a heartfelt and emotional speech from their leader cheri, the girls all pull each other into a tight hug. eunae isn’t sure if she ever wants to let go because then it’ll mean the showcase is actually happening, that they’re going on stage and facing the three THOUSAND people who bought a ticket. there are for sure a lot of their loved ones inside the venue, but also strangers. complete strangers who found them interesting enough to spend hard-earned money on a ticket. it’s beyond her wildest imagination and god knows her imagination is wild already.

“let’s do this girls!” xayah calls out joyfully, right hand currently crushed by tiny but powerful cheri. there’s no going back now, they’re debuting. they’re doing this and they will kill it because that’s what they’ve been training and waiting for all these months.

they’re finally about the experience the results of their hard work. and not only theirs, but all of the staff at royal who participated in this debut. she can’t wait to see the reactions, to see where it’ll bring them. the future looks bright right now, so bright it’s almost blinding.

the first vcr starts to play and the girls get ready. the first song performed is not their title track, but what’s probably the most sensual one out of the album. at first listen she wasn’t a big fan of dangerous, just because it’s not her cup of tea and what she thinks she does best. but working alongside members like ella, cheri, sona, yena and celine, she was bound to actually improve her level of sexiness on stage. yoo jaekyung told her to exploit the strength and that’s her intensity. she’s intense in everything she does, from her gaze to her movements and that’s what sets her apart. she’s learned how to regulate it, tone it down during certain parts and go all out for others and that advice actually helped her accept that she can, in fact, be sexy.

luv me comes next and it’s such a contrast. it’s still in tune with the rest of the songs but there’s a definite quirkiness to it that eunae likes. i feel good remains her favorite to this day and it’ll never change but the choreography is so light-hearted and fun that the pleasure they have on stage can be felt by the audience. there isn’t one person who isn’t smiling right now.

for a while she tries to find her friends and family in the crowd, but the lighting makes it pretty difficult to see anything at all so she gives up quickly and focuses on what she needs to do instead. once luv me is over noh jihoon steps in, applauded by the crowd and the girls greet him, still breathing heavily from their earlier performance. from this moment forward she’s not jo eunae, nor is she bekah tuan. “i’m xayah, goddess of fire!” and there it is, her official stage name and title. they said to choose wisely but she didn’t have to think much before she settled on this one. it not only is a perfect match with xayah but it’s also her zodiac element, and just a word that describes her well in general. she’s always been told that there’s fire inside her, to not let it consume her. well, she never did and instead tamed it, which led her to where she is tonight. in front of all these people, greeting them as luxe’s main rapper xayah.

when asked their impressions of the songs, eunae replies honestly. “i didn’t like dangerous at first, not because it’s not a good song, because it is! but because i didn’t think it was my style, especially the dance. but in the end i think it became one of my favorites! i think it’s no surprise that i’m a little less into ballads but i’m glad we get to show multiple sides. i feel good if my favorite song because it’s upbeat and fun, like me,” she laughs before continuing, “but that’s not all there is to me, and also to us as a group. we get to hear cheri eonnie, celine eonnie and sona’s gorgeous vocals in still falls the rain so just for that it’s worth it, please anticipate the performance later!”

and with that she let others speak, either nodding or humming in agreement when they said something that warranted a reaction but otherwise trying not to cut anyone. that’s what she’s practiced the most throughout the public speaking lessons, because she’s usually the type to just butt in whenever she feels like saying something. however that’s not how it works in a formal setting like this one and it looks rude (so they said).

with that portion done, they prepare for still falls the rain and without you and eunae feels so very alive. she almost wishes this could go on forever, like that one evaluation she did back then as a trc trainee.

but it’s soon over and they’re back with noh jihoon, sitting on the stools provided by the staff so they may rest and take a small sip of water. and while she didn’t feel like stopping the music earlier, this game actually sounds fun and she tries to think of the best anecdote to share while the first name is being picked. when he turn comes she grins, brings the microphone to her lips and doesn’t speak right away. “there’s one thing...” she begins mysteriously, as if daring the other members to guess what she’s about to say. “that happened with all of us, right? we were really hungry one night but we can’t order any good food so we called chicken delivery in secret. but they’d find out if the delivery man came in through the door so he tied the box on a shoelace and we pulled it through the window!” she starts laughing and so does everyone else. “and since we thought of ella eonnie too, we made sure to get a salad on the side...” she shoots a playful glance at the older, since they never cease to tease her about her much too healthy and balanced diet. “but did i have to talk about debut?” she looks a bit taken aback. “then i would say my favorite memory is the one we’re making right now, with all of you. i don’t think i’ll ever forget it. thanks for being here, really!”

and with that the segment goes on until they all leave the stage and prepare for i feel good while the music video plays. the music video. it feels so official now that they see it live, now that they know everyone will be reacting to it. she can’t even believe they’ve finally reached that point. back in december, when the group was formed, they didn’t even know when they would debut. it might as well have taken a year yet here they are already.

they cheer themselves up again before going for the final kill with i feel good. it’s the most important performance of the night. it’s their debut song, the one the nation is going to hear either a lot or not at all depending on how well they do. if they perform well, if they catch people’s attention then maybe the video will be shared and it’ll gain momentum. and so she gives every last bit of energy left in her body.

they deliver, she thinks. probably more than they ever did before.

9:30pm.

as they greet the crowd one last time, the lights fade and it’s over just as quickly as it began. eunae finds herself backstage with the other members, preparing to receive their four guests. she wishes all of her family could be there but there’s a lot more than just four so yien and bambam will do for today. they’re both well aware of what she’s doing through, or at least what she went through so they understand more than anyone else the thrill of it all. and there’s lisa too with who she shares so many memories from royal survival. and yoohyeon, her brightest supporter who can experience what it’s like behind the scenes. she’s just happy to have them, and promptly introduces everyone to the other luxe members and even the staff members she crosses paths with along the way.

it begins.