#rkhuidong
While hopeful, he’d been prepared for a bleak outcome.
The decisions by head management and Hyunbin were thought to be predictable by this point by Huidong; after four years in a company, one would think they would know what the company is planning and expects. But, his participation in the project had proved him wrong, and that in fact, he didn’t really know what the staff truly had in mind, or were planning. And it had been a somewhat jarring revelation, particularly while immersed in such a high tension environment. Mentally, he’d thought he’d made all the mental preparations needed. He’d come to terms with the notion of being eliminated at this last step, to remaining at the status of trainee, although that would mean he would be going to Hyunbin with the decision to terminate his own contract. And, it wasn’t a lose-all outcome, if that were to happen. He would return to his family and the general street dance scene, probably go back to teaching and mentoring, and also finally put more time and effort in his own personal life and future with his girlfriend.
But, hearing the announcements to come after Yongsun’s elimination, despite a heavy heart for the fellow Nova trainee, made him confused, and surprised. It took a few minutes for it to dawn on him: there were no other eliminations. He’d look over at Hugo beside him, eyes wide in shock; the red vests had been a guillotine hovering above them all month. And then, he only heard bits and pieces of everything that came afterwards. That both groups would be debuting, and not just one or the other; his name and Sunmi’s, mentioning something about MVP. By that point, his emotions had gotten the better of him. A giant wave of relief washed over him, releasing all the tensions from the past three months. He could heard that he wasn’t the only one; his head down, face buried in the crook of his elbow, he could hear other sobs next to him. It was a happiness that came from years of hard work, to finally hear the news that he would be getting somewhere, and it had been long waited for.
When all official announcements were done, embraces happened as the boys consoled and congratulated each other. In the midst of it all, he heard the approach of an amused voice; he didn’t see her come towards him, his vision too blurred from a flood of tears and his face very much blotchy from crying.
Coughing a little, he tried to give her a look of disapproval but couldn’t quite make it through his quiet sobs. His face felt like it was made of jelly. “I’m jusst … glad for everyone … and uss,” he managed, rubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand and resisting another wave of tears. Although he knew Sunmi wouldn’t let him live this down, he didn’t want to give her more reason to tease him. “Do you have a tissue?”
although she wasn’t reduced to tears nor was she so wracked with emotion; sunmi could feel that sense of relief. her shoulders felt like they could rise. sunmi could stand up straighter now. early on in the competition she had resigned herself to the fact that this would end with her being eliminated. although the idea was frustrating, she chose to leave with dignity when the time came. when she was given the red vest, she already had plans to discuss terminating her contract with the help of her father and just pay off the dues as she went back to work.
she wasn’t going to spend a minute longer in the company after this because she was so convinced that it was a boys-debut thing and that she would get eliminated before it was all over anyhow. she never anticipated for it to be a double debut kind of deal. much less that she would make it to the end. a part of her can’t let go of the idea that something else is going to happen. she’s too suspicious of her own company. maybe that’s what holds her back from breaking down right now like the boys are.
“i’ve never seen you blubber like this,” she teased further, laughing at his attempt to give her a look of disapproval. huidong and sunmi don’t make it a habit to cry in front of the other. it had only happened once when jinkyung left. or maybe twice (did she cry when talking about contract renewals? she can’t remember). but seeing the eldest in the company cry like this made them even with how many times he’s seen her shed tears. it was nice, in a way.
“i know, i know you are,” she reassured with a soft smile. she still couldn’t hide the mirth from her expression as she pat and rubbed his shoulder soothingly. “we were talking the whole time like it was our death beds here. like we weren’t going to make it.” sunmi can certainly feel that relief, excitement and overwhelming joy. it’s muted but it’s there. there’s just no tears. “yeah i do, i was feeling a bit sniffly earlier. i have a whole pack.” she produced the pack of napkins from her side. after performing she had put them there on her waistband just in case she sneezed again.
“there, there. no more crying huidongie~” she cooed and laughed. “it’s okay!”
surprise LIVE!
per_se : 1 YEAR!!! ILY!!!
initially he had planned to write a long and cheesy instagram post. yet that didn’t seem like enough to convey his gratitude to the fans –– words were powerful, but he’s sure that they’d probably at least like to see his face. now that their promotions are over, they don’t exactly have a schedule packed for the month to actually meet their fans, and haknyeon thinks it’s about time he’s started doing more vlives.
he takes a moment to think about what to title it, but settles on something simple and straightforward. “1 year!! ily!!!” he smiles and clicks start. it’s much different than an instagram live, because the hearts begin pouring in and haknyeon stares into the camera for a good few seconds, unknowing if anyone’s gonna watch. but they do and he smiles as he looks at the numbers increasing. he begins to read the comments.
“oppa, are you just going to stare at the camera? say something!”
immediately he turns to look at the camera, away from the comments and laughs shyly. “oh! sorry! i was really fascinated!” he laughs. at that he clasps his hands together and notices that the viewer count has increased, there’s a good number of people watching him now.
“everyone! it’s our one year already!” he beams, and he claps his hands together, smiling wide. “can you believe it’s already been one year with per_se? i wanted to celebrate it with all of you, that’s why i decided to do this vlive!” he continues, and he watches as the number of hearts continue to increase. “it’s something really special to me, and something that i think could only be achieved thanks to our fans! i can say thank you a million times but it’ll never be enough,” his words are sincere as he speaks, and he knows they aren’t face-to-face, but he hopes that his genuine gratitude can reach them. “i was going to write a long… cheesy… instagram post… but i wanted to be able to share this moment with all of you!” he smiles.
from the corner of his eye he spots a comment that says “do you miss hugo?” but he ignores it –– he has to. he’s not too sure if he’s allowed to speak on it, if the company might come after him if he does. it’s not exactly a situation that he can speak so candidly about.
the vlive proceeds, and haknyeon continues to read other comments. “what have you been doing lately?” a comment asks.
“me? i’ve been practicing of course~ i’ve been working really hard on my rapping and dancing and singing too! i want to make sure ceo hyunbin doesn’t call me a terrible singer!” he adds the last part cheekily, referring back to when the ceo had called him a terrible singer on television. it’s not as though hyunbin would watch these vlives, right? he’s sure a little playful jab wouldn’t hurt.
another comment catches his attention.
“i didn’t know you were friends with anna!”
he smiles as he answers, “we are! anna noona and i went to the same highschool! she’s a year older than me and we didn’t see each other much in highschool since she was a trainee back then, but we got a lot closer after i debuted! she’s a dependable senior!”
“are you close to convex?”
“definitely! i have a few friends in convex~ we’re buddies!” he smiles widely. it’s always fun to talk about his friends, and the friendships he’s made. “sang–– ah, link, haru, micha and i were actually all in a dance crew before we became trainees. it’s crazy right? then i became a trainee, and then link hyung, then micha, then haru… then we all debuted! they’re really close friends of mine! and they’re really talented too! how can i not be a consta when they have so many handsome members right?” he cheekily raises his eyebrows. “ah… but my bias is actually jinwook sunbaenim,” he laughs before he makes a heart with his hands. “jinwook sunbaenim, i love you!”
more comments continue to flow in, and it’s getting a little tough for him to read them one by one. but he notices the interest in his idol friends, and decides to speak about it.
“other idols i’m close to? i’m really close to de:code’s shion and a.c! jihoonie… seonho…” he calls out their name playfully. “i remember crying at jihoon’s graduation because i was sad that he was leaving school! super embarrassing right? but that’s how close we were,” he smiles fondly at the memories, and makes a mental note to check on jihoon. “and i’m really close to seonho too! we have a lot of history together,” he smiles, but ends it at that –– he isn’t going to disclose just how much history they have of course.
“of course i’m close to and*roma! they’re our sister group!” he says with a smile. “darae noona is like my nova mum! she took such great care of me when i first entered nova, i’ll forever be grateful to her!” he beams. “speaking of which, and*roma just had a comeback so be sure to listen to the song lots! i’ve been listening to it nonstop because it’s so good,” he holds up his phone and shows the and*roma album that he’s liked on melon. “and*roma is the best!” at that, he puts a thumbs up.
“if darae is your mum, then is hui your dad?”
haknyeon laughs out loud before he nods his head. “yes! you are one hundred percent correct!” the accuracy in that statement has him giggling a little more. “actually, let me tell you a funny story about hui hyung and i! when i first entered the company, hui hyung was like… a legend! like a legend among legends in the b-boying world! so of course i had to ask him to practice with me and help me train, right?” the comments begin pouring in with yes huidong oppa is a legend! and haknyeon nods. “and once while we were training, he was teaching me how to do this trick. it was really tough, but after trying a few times i got it! i was so happy and excited that i looked up at him and i said thanks dad! i called hui hyung dad!” he’s giggling as he tells the story, his encounter with hyung. he doesn’t think he’s shared this story anywhere else before, but what better time to share it then now during his vlive, right? “that was so embarrassing! and he just looked at me all surprised,” at this, he attempts to imitate huidong’s expression at that time, but he’s still laughing. “hui appa, hui appa,” he adds, smiling as he reads the comments, most of which were full of laughter.
“i actually have a lot of funny anecdotes with all the members! like that one time jungwoo hyung and i got matching couple bracelets but we lost them and had to get new ones! and when i accidentally back hugged ricky hyung when i was still a newer trainee! that was actually quite scary,” he shudders a little, “but we’re closer now of course! and when hosung hyung and i went on an adventure in morocco!” these are fond memories of his, and he almost lets slip a memory he’s shared with hugo, but catches himself before doing so.
he’s careful not to let his expression slip, and quickly he turns back to the comments.
“can you say i love you noona?”
haknyeon reads the comment out loud and looks at the camera. “okay! be sure to record this alright?” he smiles. “noona, i love you!” he says, before he continues. “and for our male fans, hyung, i love you!” lifting both his arms, he makes a heart shape over his head.
“hyung loves you a lot junju”
he giggles at the comment and makes a heart finger. “i love you more hyung!” he says, scrunching his nose in an attempt to cutely show how serious he was at loving.
another comment immediately catches his attention, and at this haknyeon bursts into laughter.
“5 hyunbin sajangnims or a 5 year old hyunbin sajangnim?”
he’s laughing as he reads the comment. usually you’d expect to see this question about the members but seeing one about your ceo is something he honestly didn’t think would happen.
“ah… do i have to answer this? i’d rather not…” he replies. “it’s so funny just thinking about it. imagine me bowing 90 degrees to a five year old and greeting him with hello sajangnim!” he laughs. the image itself is funny to just think about. “for this… pass!”
haknyeon continues to read the comments, unaware of how much he’s been talking –– mostly because he’s having such a great time communicating with the fans.
“put on some filters!”
“filters?” he repeats, fiddling with the screen. “ah… here we are!” he begins to play with a bunch of them, from a cat filter, to one of him in a beret, to a filter of him as a dinosaur.
he opens his mouth wide, like how a dinosaur would and smiles. “this is how much i love you!” he says, and he attempts to open his mouth even wider, only to accidentally choke on his own spit.
there’s a lot more talking during the vlive, most of which is full of haknyeon thanking the fans, and sharing stories that he can remember. like how nervous he was during their debut, and how happy he was when they celebrated his birthday with him. it’s only when a notification saying “your phone is at 20%” pops up, does he gasp a little.
“everyone! i didn’t realize i’ve been on vlive for so long!” he says, blinking at the screen. “i had so much fun talking to you that i didn’t notice how fast time flew by!” he smiles at the screen, glad to have spent his time talking and communicating with the fans. “i wish i could stay and talk for another hour but the phone is running out of battery! and i need to go back and practice,” he pouts a little at this, but he knows that he has to train. “thank you so much for loving per_se! we only made it to this one year milestone because of you guys! please look forward to what else we have in store!” he reaches out for the phone and feels a little sad, honestly, that he has to end this vlive. “bye bye everyone! i love you!” he kisses the screen and the live ends.
Post link
nobody had seen it coming. at least, that’s what he thinks. the announcement had come as a surprise for the team, and he’s sure he’s not the only one broken hearted, he’s sure the members share the same sentiment. they’d all gotten along well, almost like a family, so it hurt to see one of them leave.
he walks into his shared bedroom with hui, soft sigh leaving his lips. they have to move on though it wasn’t exactly easy. usually he’d make his way straight towards his bed, and then bombard hui with random ramblings of the day, or share with him funny things he’d found on the internet regarding them. but this time, he walks towards hui’s bed and sits at the edge of the older boy’s bed.
his towel is wrapped around his neck as he turns to face the leader. “hyung,” he says, “i still can’t quite believe it. it feels emptier without him here,” he bites at his lower lip. but as hard as it is for haknyeon, now having to take on the role of the other rapper, he’s sure it isn’t easy for the leader as well. he reaches out to give hui’s hand a reassuring squeeze. “are you doing alright hyung?” he asks, voice soft and laced with concern.
