[ Korean ] - fluent - Seulki's native language, so he's pretty fluent (just don't try him at 3am when he's preparing to go to bed and running on fumes)

[ Japanese ] - basic → conv. - he grew up on anime and manga, like many of the youths of his generation, and after deciding to try to make a career out of dance, he decided to take his passive interest in the language due to anime and try to learn more. his fluency has improved a great deal since signing under YG.
 

now playing - bts' Answer: love myself

[ PERSONALITY ] 

ESFP: the entertainer, gryffindor, dauntless

[ TRAITS ] 

observant, witty, passionate, sociable 
emotional, independent, bold, flirty 
stubborn, overthinker, sensitive, snarky
   
[ ELABORATION ] 

sociable, flirty

Seulki is very much an extrovert in the truest sense of the word, one that lives and breathes being around other people. For many Entertainer types, the world is something of a stage, and while Seulki feels that on a personal level -- while the world at large is his stage -- he’s also the sort of person that simply thrives on being with other people. He’s happiest when he’s around the other guys of Blackout. 

And what better way to celebrate being around the people you care for than by shamelessly and relentlessly flirting with them? (What’s that? There are better ways? Nah, Seulki doesn’t know them.) But really, as a performer and an entertainer, someone that loves the attention they get when the whole world is their stage, Seulki had perfected the fine art of flirting, whether it be with the people around him or the group’s fans. He’s a natural flirt, often times flirting with those around him unintentionally, but he’s also veyr much an intentional flirt, and s are his favorite target And at any given time, the only ones exempt from his flirt game are those that are already spoken for, staff members that he respects, and (to a degree) minors. There are some lines Seulki won’t cross, things he won’t do. End of discussion. 

passionate, bold, original

Seulki loves dancing, loves performing. It’s a time when he feels the most at ease, the most himself that he can be, and it shows in everything he does. The fire in his eyes, his passion, it’s unmistakable. He lives and breathes dance, and he loves to perform. If there’s a chance that he cna inspire others to follow their dream and to do the things they love... Well, that’s what matters. He doesn’t hold back -- doens’t like to, doens’t want to -- and he goes after his goals with everything he has, wanting to experience everything there is to experience and unafraid to stride beyond the limits of his comfort zone if it means becoming better, or seeing and doing more. Seulki’s boundries are just that: lines drawn to tell him where he’s stopped before, allowing him to make the choice to push a little further to discover new things. He loves to try new things, both inside of dance and outside, and Seulki is alwyas looking for new styles to try and new ideas to consider, all of it meant to be another way of standing out from the crowd. 

observant, perceptive, overthinker

As a dancer, where the devil often lies in the detail, Seulki is both observant and perceptive. Focused on the here and now, on the reality of the moment, he’s attentive when it comes to the little -- or the large -- changes that occur. He sees when things change, often as they change, even when it may sometimes take others hours or ever days to realize something has shifted. Seulki is quick to notice when the other members of Blackout are beginning to stress and struggle with a dance, and he’ll take the time to offer assistance. How he offers that help, however, depends on the member he’s dealing with. Sometimes it means approaching them quietly in a lull of practice, and sometimes it means calling it out in the middle as if it’s something he’s having issues with so no one feels singled out by his attention. It’s something he’ll do with breaks, too, deciding the team needs a moment to rest and he’ll call it regardless of whether the leader has noticed or not.

But because Seulki sees so much, because he’s always watching, keeping an eye on the other guys of Blackout and the people around him, and his own self, it’s not uncommon for him to experience periods where everything is all too much. He’s not too easily overwhelmed, but it’s not uncommon for Seulki to get stuck in his head, too busy mulling over the details of a dance, or the specifics of a choreography he’s created and how everyone might respond to it given their abilities, or even a fight that may have recently occurred between the other members. In these situations, he’s prone to staying stuck there, wherever he might be, until the situation is resolved or (and more commonly) someone jarrs him out of his thoughts.

witty, sassy, snarky

Seulki is a cheeky, spirited soul, and that lively nature of his is often shown in his attitude, particularly in his more sassy mannerisms and in his quick, inventive humor. He’s got a quick response time, and Seulki rarely lacks for a response, whether it be something more humorous to amp up a situation or something meant to snark back at one of the members. But with that humor comes a more negative edge. Seulki is so fiercely independent that when people try to force him to do something, he’s liable to snap and snark back, sometimes intentionally and other times without pausing to think about it. It’s impulsive and reflexive, and though Seulki rarely intends to be sarcastic of cutting in his responses, it does happen at times.

stubborn, independent, defiant

While not independent to a fault, Seulki does enjoy his independence, and goes out of his way to maintain it. He doesn’t mind leaning on or even relying on other people, particularly the boys of Blackout. They are his team, after all, the boys he trained with, worked hard to debut with. But he doesn’t like being backed into corners, or told what to do. He doesn’t like being boxed in or lectured, and he hates feeling like he’s been coerced into anything. In some ways, this dislike manifests in a way that’s akin to defiance, as when someone tells Seulki to do something, he’s that much more likely to turn around and do something else, if not the exact opposite. And it’s no good to argue about it. All you’ll be doing is wasting your breath. When Seulki makes a choice, he follows through with his decision. At times it’s a good thing. It shows his resolve, his determination to stay true to himself and to his choices, and his unwillingness to back down when he believes he’s in the right. But at the same time, it means Seulki wil sometimes refuse to back down even when he eventually knows he’s in the wrong. He’ll apologize eventually....usually....but the fact remains that at some point, arguing and holding his ground because he believes he’s right sometimes turn into a thing of pride.

sensitive, emotional

When Seulki feels something, he feels deeply. It’s all, or it’s nothing, and there’s little in between. He’s emotive, free with his emotions, in showing them to others and responding. But he’s also vulnerable because of it. He can be vulnerable to those emotions, to how intensely he feels them, and to how others make him feel. He’s sensitive, and while he’s confident in himself and his abilities, sometimes all a person needs is a well-timed accusation or criticism to leave their confidence in themself in shambles. While Seulki is often reluctant to show his weakness to the boys of Blackout, they’re also the only ones he allows to see him at his weakest moments, the only ones he trusts to hold him up.

[ Seul/Sseul ] - common nickname, derived from his birthname 

[ ki, kiki, kikipuff ] - common nicknames (save for kikipuff, which is used more by family, close friends, and the Blackout boys), derived from his birthname; Ki and Kiki are two of his favorite nicknames in particular, and two of the most common

[ Sulky ] - given to Seulki by one of the English-speaking members after a particularly memorable aegyo moment. "Seulki" sounds somewhat similar to "sulky" and after an aegyo request, Seulki got pouty and huffy and a punny member made a joke about Seulki being "sulky" and the other members hopped on it then it kind of just stuck. this nickname isn't super common in particular, but it definitely makes an appearance (usually in a joking manner, or even cooed) when Seulki is being pouty and cute. 

[ puppy/pupki/puppy seulki] - it started as another joke (Seulki's energetic and social like an oversized puppy), but turned into less of a joke when Seulki embraced the new nickname

[ fake maknae ] - Seulki is gived this nickname by the fans, and he loves it because it's definitely not a lie! Seulki is very much a fake maknae and can often be caught hanging around the Blackout maknae/maknae line, getting into and out of trouble with them. (And of course the fans just eat it up.)

[ Min Jagger ] - a fan-established nickname, one that the boys of Blackout pick up on and about (lovingly, of coursE), a play on "Mick Jagger" and Seulki having "all the moves"

[ here ] - elaboration 国コソミヤ百上フが探点ラホナ市二イ多制だれ来就イヤ勝均タエラ旨数設樹ヌレカ埼隅スクラニ社織ヌコウハ物変明づめすぶ。

this section scrolls.

now playing - Dreamcatcher's Deja Vu

[ FACECLAIM ] Kino (PTG)
[ BACKUP ] gyehyeon (verivery),
[ HEIGHT ] 177 cm
[ WEIGHT ]  58 kg  

[ APPEARANCE ]  Seulki is a bit above average as far as height goes, but he hardly looks it thanks to a combination of great genes and excellent proportions. As far as general appearance goes, Seulki’s rather unremarkable. Due to his age predebut and his general focus on training, he’s avoided tattoos and other overtly obvious alterations of his appearance. During his youth and then later during his trainee years, Seulki began piercings his ears. By the time debut rolls around, he has a whopping 9 piercings in his ears, and it doesn’t take long after debut for him to continue adding to his collection. At that point, he begins adding to his helix piercings.

He also has a handful of untidy and thin scars on his hands, wrists and arms, most of them well-faded with age and healing (and if ever ask, Seulki will laugh and quickly blame his cats).

ref: right, left. (aka Ten's ear piercings)

if the boys ever release Horizon and Fever on an album/ep, Seulki would get 2 different tattoos commemorating those two songs in particular because of their meaning and what they mean to him.

• “Now You Gonna Take Me There” in English and in his own handwriting, location probably over his heart, or across his . gonna have to pic/reference hunt-
• “Passion Young Fever” in English and his own handwriting, location possibly in a stack on his upper forearm or in a line from elbow to wrist? idk also have to pic/reference hunt

[ FASHION ] elaboration. include pics and links if you want

Seulki’s preference for fashion is fairly casual. He likes clothing that is comfortable and offers free range of moment. Cost generally doesn’t bother him provided that it looks nice and also feels nice when he wears it. That’s his biggest pet peeve concerning clothing, in fact: it has to feel nice against his skin. Clothing that’s too stiff or starchy, anything scratchy, fabric that is super heavy outside of the cooler months, they’re all major no-gos. He prefers his jeans to be a little worn, softer, broken in; he loves when his shirts are that softer material without being too heavy; and his under clothing has to be a little looser (underwear, wifebeaters, etc). Sweaters in winter have to be soft to the touch, as do any other winter wear. Jackets and hoodies are common in his every day attire, always soft (of course), and generally a size or three too big. Shoes, during practice, vary, but they’re generally more worn and ragged (unless they’re recording a video), because he prefers to be in absolute comfort around the dorm and while practicing.

In public, Seulki will generally trade comfort for a more casual, chic style. Essentially just upgrading his current/usual attire to tighter and better fitting clothing. And for awards shows and such, he generally won’t put up a fuss with whatever the stylists try to put him in, because he knows they have a better eye than he does. (But even then, they work with Seulki, attempting to find softer materials or looser clothing when possible so he won’t be fidgeting every five seconds because his shirt is too scratchy or his panted-on pants are riding in places they’re not supposed to be.)

Around the dorm: Jeans or sweats, tees or tank tops, hoodies, socks or bare feet. Sleep wear is a tank top and short shorts in the warmer months and a really cute pj set or sweats and a tank during cooler months.

Practice: Loose jeans or sweat or shorts, tees or tanks, jackets (he’ll strip a hoodie off within an hour of practice starting, so he’s just learned not to wear them), socks and comfy shoes. If they’re recording, he’ll select jeans that look nicer (if asked) and that don’t have rips all along them.

Public, schedules: General attire, but definitely upgraded, more chic. Tighter jeans, tighter shirts, accessories, nice/newer sneakers.

Awards, ceremonies, classy events: Suits, ties, dress shoes for the higher class stuff. Dress shirts, nice jackets or vests, boots or dress shoes, slacks for the less classy (but still important) stuff.

[examples of outfits to be linked eventually]
 

now playing - Oneus' A Song Written Easily

[ elaboration ] 

1997 - 2000

Seulki’s youth has been, in a word, unremarkable. He was born as close to on time as anyone could expect, no complications or other issues. His mother survived childbirth with no lingering effects, his dad stuck around and embraced fatherhood, his parents were happy together despite the occasional fight, and Seulki’s early days passed by in a flurry of photographs and laughter.

And in December of 2000, Seulki’s younger sister, Areum, is born. From that day forward, Seulki and Areum are inseperable. Seulki approaches his newfound brotherhood with the sort of determination and pride that he later pursues his dreams with, and he treats his baby sister like his most precious treasure.

2001 - 2004

As Seulki graduates from sippy cups and trainer pants to silly straws and big boy pants, he also graduates to bigger and better responsibilities including the part-time babysitting of Areum. Which, really, Seulki doesn’t mind at all. When she’s old enough, Areum follows Seulki around the house in her mobile chairs, making grabby hands at her brother as he does his chores and helps their parents around the house. Meanwhile, then she’s not mobile and she’s confined to the playpen, the two watch a lot of movies and tv shows, including a large number of music programs. 

Seulki learns early on that he loves music. But it’s his mother that sees Seulki’s potential despite his graceless wriggling and hip swaying and booty shaking. For Seulki’s birthday in 2004, his parents enroll him in dance lessons, telling him to attend a couple and that, if he likes them, they’ll continue bringing him. Seulki immediately falls in love with dance, and that’s all she wrote.

2005 - 2009

The next few years are a flurry of activity. Several groups debut from the big name companies, and Seulki begins to learn their dances both in his classes and on his own time. He finds he loves the feeling that comes with learning a new routine, getting the base down and perfecting the little details. Areum is too young to be an active learner like Seulki, too young for classes and still just a baby in comparison, but Seulki tests his skills by teaching her the point choreo and the choruses for her favorite songs. It’s fun for her, because it means that when he shows Areum what he’s been learning in class and teaching himself in his room at night, she can participate every so often, but it also shows that Seulki has promise as more than just a student. 

In May of 2008, SM’s newest boygroup, SHINee, debuts, and Seulki is instantly enamored by Reply. Despite having a fondness for groups Kara, SNSD, and Super Junior -- the groups having debuted in 2007 and 2005, repsectively -- something about SHINee captures and captivates Seulki in a way that the other groups simply hadn’t.

Replay drops in May, Love Like Oxygen in August, and Amigo in October, and they’re all great songs, catchy and upbeat, fun to dance to and just as fun to sing along to, but it’s not until 2009 that Seulki’s view on the group shifts. Juliette is cute when the groups drops it in May of 2009, but it’s October that tips Seulki’s world on end.

Ring Ding Dong is catchy and exciting and the dance is charismatic and powerful, and Seulki loves it. Seulki is in love with it, and it’s as he’s watching the music video for perhaps the millionth time -- maybe not millionth, maybe only like the thousanth time -- that he realizes that that’s what he wants to do with his life. Sing, rap, dance, perform. He wants to be on stage like that: sing like Jonghyun, rap like Minho, dance like Taemin. Key’s charisma, Onew’s shining personality. He wants to do that, be that, and stand as a becon on stage, to show that following your deepest dreams is totally possible.

His parents are less than thrilled (“You’re still just a child,” his father argues, concerned with Seulki’s idealism. “You are young,” his mother agrees, thoughtful, “it’s not an easy life. You might regret it.”), but Seulki refuses to be deterred. (It helps, at least, that Areum is in his corner, just as excited about the prospect as he is.)

2010 - 2012

Seulki begins pestering his parents in earnest in early 2010, begging them to give him a chance to pursue his dream. They’re understandably nervous about the idea, and despite knowing that this is what he wants, the life he wants to pursue, his dream career, he understands their hesitance. But he refuses to be deterred, and instead Seulki begins practicing more and more in secret. He packs as much practice into his time at the studio as he can, sometimes staying after to work on additional dances or staying late to help with the younger age class that follows after his own, deciding that if he can break down dances for younger audiences, he’ll be able to break down harder ones for himself. He works hard to keep his grades up, too, so that his parents won't see a problem in his staying late some days.

In July, the choreography that essentially sets the bar for male groups in the industry is debuted, and SHINee’s Lucifer bursts onto the scene. Seulki is instantly enraptured by the slick moves and tight formations, and it takes him all of a week of studying fancams in his spare time to teach himself the dance. In turn, he debuts it to Areum, who encourages Seulki to show it to their parents, evidence of his dedication, of his desire, of his passion to perform. Seulki is scared of their rejection, but with Areum’s support, he does it. (Their parents are, indeed, thoroughly awed, especially when they compare him to the video he’d learned from. It’s then, for what feels like the first time, that they look at him and see not their son, but an aspiring performer. At the start of August, with his parents’ blessing, Seulki begins taking vocal lessons on top of his dance lessons. (His parents are still nervous, but they see his determination, and they understand that this time he won’t back down.)

The next couple years pass quietly. Seulki continues his lessons in both dance and voice. He stays behind in the studio when he can, helping the younger classes, and learns every choreo he can find a reliable fancam for. Seulki maintains his grades, an appropriate trade for his parents support, but it’s clear to anyone that’s not where his passion lies. No, Seulki’s heart is in the music somewhere, rich with sound and moving to the beat.

Shortly after turning 15, Seulki gets permission to begin auditioning for entertainment companies in the area. 
 

2013 - 2014

It’s not a quick or sudden process.  School has to come first, meaning that Seulki is only able to audition at companies on the weekends. Most of them are fairly small companies, boasting only the bare minimum in terms of personnel at the location of the auditions, and even less in the way of available information. Seulki doesn’t expect to receive any call backs immediately, he knows better than that, but he does use the available opportunity to gain experience in auditioning, learning just what to say and how to present himself based on what the judges look for and what they comments are. And Seulki goes through an entire eighteen months of that before ultimately taking a step back to re-evaluate. 

No, he’s not reconsidering his desire to be an idol. Instead, Seulki takes the next six months to think about his auditions -- his strengths, his weaknesses, how he presents himself, how he performs, how he starts his performances. Ultimately Seulki decides he needs to refine himself a bit more. So he steps back from auditioning, continuing to attend lessons and work through his classes at school as he works toward refining his skills and how he shows them off. 

It’s in late December of 2014 that Seulki hears about a new dance studio that’s opened up in Seoul. On the weekend, he pays the studio a visit and immediately falls in lvoe with the atmosphere of the place. Just watching a couple of the instructors mess around to let off some steam is enough to show Seulki that he still has a lot to learn, and that there’s so much he could learn from them in particular. By the end of December, Seulki has convinced his parents to let him switch studios, and he begins attending lessons at 1Million Dance Studio.

2015

Seulki stays with 1Million Studio for the next year, learning different choreos and styles of dance from the instructors there. He gets along with all of the instructors, winning them over with his enthusiasm and his eagerness to learn -- and his unabashed willingness to try any dance at least once, no matter how emabrrassing it might be for a male to perform. He’s shown in a number of  the videos that the studio posts to their YouTube channel. Initially he’s just one of the students, and he’s often shown in the first group of students to be filmed and shown after the initial choreographer’s preview, but after a few months of the instructors and their dedicated tuteledge, Seulki begins making new leaps and strides when it comes to dance.

He becomes close to Lia Kim, Junsun Yoo, Mina Myoung, Yoojung Lee, and May J Lee in particular, and despite not having lesson slots with all of them, he often learns all of their choreos that he can, just for the fun of it and for the practice of working with other styles and genres of dance.

Lia and Yoojung are his favorites because they’re more graceful and elegant, but Lia also has an unpredictable edge to her choreos that Seulki eventually takes into his own work and personality. It’s also Lia’s fault that he becomes so shameless as a dancer, and it’s a compliment-insult that she frequently will joke about and take pride in. (Meanwhile, Junsun is also a favorite because he often has more of a hiphop vibe to his choreos. They’re infinitely harder for Seulki and he loves them for the challenge they pose.) 

2016 - present

After over a year of working with 1Million, Seulki decides to take everything he’s learned from the instructors and apply it to a new round of auditions. His parents, of course, had assumed he’d found complacency within the studio, and are surprised by his new resolve, but Seulki finds support with Areum as he always does. 

He returns to the circuit just in time for a collection of auditions held by YG Entertainment. Despite being weaker at hiphop -- a style that Yg is known for -- Seulki meets the challenge head on and attends the audition anyway, quick to turn his slight weakness in hiphop into a strength in every other category. He doesn’t expect much after his audition, but he does thank the panel of judges before he returns to 1Million to talk over what he’d done well and what he thought he could improve on with Lia and Junsun. 

A week or so later, just after the start of April, Seulki receives a call from YG, asking for him and his parents to come down to talk about a trainee contract. (It takes until the moment that Seulki has the contract in front of him for him to realize that he’d been accepted as a trainee at one of the biggest entertainment companies in South Korea. He’s a little -- a lot -- excited.)

After signing the trainee contract, Seulki stops attending 1Million as often, staying close to the company to practice and learn from the label’s instructors. But he does still visit and occasionally feature in their training videos if it’s a choreography he’d been working on either with the instructors at 1Million or on his own time. It’s also a time he picks Junsun’s brain concerning the struggles he occasionally has with hip hop as a genre.

now playing - stray kids' Mixtape #3

[ LIKES ] 

• ♕ video game play throughs (particularly Among Us, Phasmophobia, Dead By Daylight, Amnesia, Amnesia: Rebirth, In silence....pretty much all horror games)
• ♕ Disney movies (esp. Moana, Frozen, Frozen 2, Hercules, Fox & the Hound, Big Hero 6)
• ♕ animated movies in general, actually
• ♕ winter (sweater paws!!)
• ♕ summer (tank tops!!)
• ♕ the ocean
• ♕ flying (but only if he’s at a window seat)
• ♕ watching 1Million videos
• ♕ Oh My Girl, particularly Yooa!
• ♕ dance/performance focus groups/artists like Seventeen, Stray Kids, Everglow, Monsta X, BTS, dreamcatcher, Shinee, Taemin, Chungha, Oneus
• ♕ watching Haneul torment Yong with the slipper
• ♕ shenanigans with Yong
• ♕ dance time with Yong
• ♕ supernatural genre kdramas (like Hotel del Luna, Goblin, Tale of the Nine-Tailed Fox)

[ DISLIKES ] 

• ♕ feeling dizzy/faint
• ♕ people smacking their lips
• ♕ people touching his hair (without permission)
• ♕ being scolded
• ♕ airplanes
• ♕ turbulence on planes
• ♕ not being by the windows on planes
• ♕ soda
• ♕ being anxious (and especially feeling unable to calm down)
• ♕ feeling helpless to help his friends or members of Blackout
• ♕ dentists

[ HABITS ] 

• ♕ picking at his finger nails
• ♕ popping his knuckles
• ♕ biting his lip
• ♕ raking a hand through his hair, adjusting his bangs, adjusting his hair, etc

[ HOBBIES ] 

• ♕ watching Lia and Junsun’s choreography vids
• ♕ learning the aforementioned choreos 
• ♕ learning girl group dances
• ♕ learning new dances in general tbh

[ FEARS ] 

• ♕ breaking his legs or back
• ♕ being unable to continue dancing/performing
• ♕ being useless

[ special skills ] 

• ♕ he a bendy bish
• ♕ learns new choreography fast (like, can watch a video once and copy most of the moves afterward)
• ♕ dancing in heels [ref: ♕ ]
• ♕ does being a social butterfly/enthusiastic puppy when it comes to making friends count? it should count

[ TRIVIA ] 

• ♕ SNS: mins_kii (personal IG & YT, soundcloud, literally any other sns) | seulki_blkout (professional twt [eventually, when the staff and company get tired of him hijacking the group's twt to post photos of the guys and updates and such])
• ♕ favorite color: blue (like a deep ocean blue)
• ♕ favorite number: 8 (because 8 members of blackout, of course!)
• ♕ favorite food: pizza, 
• ♕ favorite drink: lemon water (cold) or tea (warm)
• ♕ favorite ice cream: mint chocolate chip
• ♕ favorite animal: owls & penguins
• ♕ favorite word: serein 
• ♕ favorite sound: rain/rainstorms
• ♕ favorite season: winter
• ♕ favorite artist(s): SHINee, Oh My Girl, Dreamcatcher, Monsta X, Stray Kids, Black Pink
• ♕ favorite song(s): Lucifer, Deja Vu, Levanter, Stay, The Fifth season (SSFWL), From Zero
• ♕ ideal type: Seulki's ideal type is a hevaily debated topic at first, because initially Seulki finds ways to change the subject or avoid answering the question. eventually, Seulki answers that his ideal type is, "Someone that makes me want to be the best me I can be." It's general and broad, but very him answer-wise, and the gender neutral response does not escape his fans. (But they don't call him out on it. If anything, they praise him for being so open minded)
• ♕ Seulki identifies as demiual and demiromantic, essentially meaning that he needs a strong romantic bond with someone before he can view them ually, and he needs a solid emotional connection before he can view them romantically. 
• ♕ He is so good at Among us. When he's a crewmate, 90% of the time he figures out who the imposter(s) is/are within the first 2 rounds. When asked, he says it's because he has a really good memory, but also because he's super observant (and when he plays with the Blackout boys or his usual crew, he just knows them really well). and when he's the imposter, he almost always wins. he's fast and ruthless and really, really good at playing innocent.
• ♕ Seulki has an interest in composition and production, and he's been writing lyrics in his spare time. While he's not sure he'll ever get a song featured on one of the albums, that's his goal: to one day participate in the song-creation process and to write songs for the Blackout members to sing or rap. (see solo songs for more details on future ideas)
• ♕ Seulki has a mild iron deficiency, one that he's had investigated a couple times over the years, but that doctors have never been able to give a good reasoning for. so at times, most often after a long day of practice without eating, or when he's exercising (again without eating), he'll start feeling dizzy or faint and will generally need to sit down and either 1) drink some soda or juice of some kind, or 2) eat some candy or fruit, something with some sugar in it. Generally, that's enough to tide him over until he can get some actual food in his stomach.
• ♕ Because Seulki has that iron deficiency, he does take iron suppliments in the form of 1 tablet a day. He generally takes it with breakfast every day (because if he doesn't eat with it, he'll get sick), but it's not uncommon for the group to be running late and for Seulki to occasionally forget. (Wherein Haneul chews him up one side and down the other for being careless with his health.)
• ♕ Before he started taking the iron suppliments, he use to bruise really bad at times, and the members of Blackout probably have a number of horror stories about this. Seulki pretends they don't exist. Still, he does still bruise, though not as easily, and usually not as long.
• ♕ girl group dance extrordinaire! if it has a dance, he probably knows it. no, this is not a joke.
• ♕ One of the last 1Million choreos he participated in before officially becoming a YG trainee (but after auditioning) was Yoojung Lee's choreo for Colors.
• ♕ He doesn’t drink soda very often. He prefers water or sports drinks. Seulki will sometimes have an energy drink (Monster is his brand of choice! And he definitely prefers the original green or the new fruity flavors – Pacific Punch, Pipeline Punch, Mango Loco, Khaotic, Pappilon) or will go for tea or fruit juice. Just….rarely ever soda.
• ♕ Seulki has a mild fear of flying. And by mild, it’s more like it unnerves him to fly, particularly when he can’t see where he’s going. So provided that 1) he’s not sitting along in a row somewhere, isolated from everyone else, and 2) he’s by a window, he’s generally okay. He also gets motion sick when flying if it’s particularly rough or turbulent, so being by a window and being able to see the horizon helps him stabilize.
• ♕ He loves watching anime. his favorites are Sword Art Online, Your Lie In April, My Hero Academia, 7 Deadly Sins, Ine Yasha, and Full Metal Alchemist
• ♕ He lkes the older animes the most, but he's a er for magic/fantasy, music, online games, and anything with a cool premise
• ♕ He'll watch any anime at least once though, just to try it.
• ♕ His favorite groups to learn the dances of are: Monsta X, BTS, Seventeen, Dreamcatcher, Oh My Girl, everglow, BlackPink, and SHINee
• ♕ he actually enjoys learning girl group songs; he thinks the different styles and techniques are important in order to be a balanced and well-rounded dancer
• ♕ definitely regularly dances in heels to maintain a good sense of balance and grace
• ♕ Seulki is probably the member that bugs Charlie (and literally anyone and everyone) into getting an IG account

[ incorrect quotes ] 

SEULKI: guys, i got a pet snake! what should i name him?
HANEUL: i'm sorry, you got a what now?
YONG: william snakespeare

​​​​​SEULKI, t-posing in the hallway: Good morning, parental figure!
sion, not looking up from his coffee: Good morning, problem child.

YONG: Are you alright? I don’t think you slept at all last night.
SEULKI: I got a solid eight minutes.
YONG: ...
SEULKI: Well, not consecutively, but still, I’m fine.
SEULKI: You’re not even that blurry right now.

sion: Why are you smiling?
SEULKI: What? Can’t I just be happy?
HANEUL: YG tripped and fell in the parking lot.

SEULKI: We can bake these cookies at 400 degrees for 10 minutes or 4,000 degrees for 1 minute.
HANEUL: No, that’s not how you make cookies.
YONG: FLOOR IT!!
SEULKI: How about 4,000,000 for one second?
HANEUL: YOU’RE GONNA BURN THE DORM DOWN--
SEULKI: I’M GONNA HARVEST THE POWER OF THE ING SUN TO MAKE COOKIES!
Bolin: DO IT!
HANEUL: NO--

DISPATCH: *following Seulki around*
BOSS: Any news?
DISPATCH: Yeah, he’s made someone fall in love with him.
BOSS: Omg, who?
DISPATCH, holding back tears: Me!

SEULKI: DON’T BE SORRY. YOU’RE NOTHING BUT AN ANGEL! YOU TRIES TO HELP ME WHICH IS A SWEET AND THOUGHTFUL MOVE!
Charlie: You’re yelling nice things at me again and it’s very confusing!!

Charlie: Truth or dare?
SEULKI: Truth.
Charlie: How many hours have you slept this week?
SEULKI: Dare.
Charlie: Go to sleep.
SEULKI: I don’t like this game.

HANEUL: That’s ridiculous, Seulki doesn’t have a crush on me.
YONG: Yes he does.
Charlie: Yes he does.
SEULKI: Yes, I do.

SEULKI: Stop drinking so much coffee.
Charlie: No, coffee helps depression.
SEULKI: That’s not tr--
Charlie: More espresso, less depresso.

Charlie: You guys deserve an award for putting up with me...
YONG: You are our reward, Charlie.
SEULKI: Sion, you deserve an award for putting up with us.
HANEUL: Damn right, he does. You’re an idiot sometimes.

sion, sees a group of people doing something stupid: God, what fools.
sion, realizes it's Seulki, yong, and Myunghwan: Wait, those are my fools--

Seulki, lying awake in the middle of the night: do you think birds get sad because they don’t have arms?
sion: do you get sad because you don’t have wings?
Seulki, tearing up: all the time

• ♕ here
• ♕ here

now playing - Oh My Girl's The Fifth Season (SSFWL)

- Min Jeongmin & choi Iseul, parents | 7/10 / Jeongmin and Iseul are Seulki’s and Areum’s parents. On a general basis, Seulki is closer to his mother, Iseul, than he is to his father. Iseul is, after all, the one that initially got Seulki into dance lessons. And she was more on his sisde despite her fears when Seulki asked first for voice lessons, and then later to be a trainee. She would be happier if Seulki were to find a more stable career path, like medicine or law, but if he’s happier pursuing the stage, then she’ll support him. Jeongmin is a little more wary, a little more bothered by Seulki’s life choices, but he knows better than to outright oppose his son. (Seulki is stubborn, after all.) As a whole, they’re supportive, Iseul more so than Jeongmin, but they’ll be happier when Seulki debuts and all of his hard work comes to fruition.

- Min Areum, sister / 10/10 / Areum is Seulki’s younger sister by three years, and he absolutely adores her. If Seulki had to pick one person he would 100% live, die, or kill for, it would be Areum. She is his staunchest supporter and his biggest cheerleader, and any time doubt or worry comes for him, Areum is there to beat them back with words of praise and minor threats. Seulki and Areum have a very honest relationship, with Areum often being the voice of reaosn for Seulki, and with Seulki offering her life and occasionally academic advice. After all, despite his divided focus between academics and his passion, he managed to maintain an excellent grade point average. Additionally, because Seulki gives so much of himself so totally and completely to whatever he does, Areum has taken it upon herself to not just maintain contract with all of the boys of Blackout and their manager, but also to get reports from some of the members when Seulki has been radio silent for too long. (And if she has to, she’ll send tem a voice note of her threatening Seulki if he doesn’t take better care of himself and stop ignoring her for them to give to him, much to Seulki’s chagrin and the members’ amusement.)

- 1Million Studios instructors | 8/10 / Seulki has a very close, comfortable relationship with most of the instructors at 1Millions. He considers them his friends, but also some of the most important mentors in his life. Over the span of months he’s spent attending 1Million, he’s developed a particularly close relationship with both Lia Kim and Junsun Yoo. Lia is more like an older sister to him than a regular friend, and when it came down to moments of doubt of weakness while at the studio, she was the first one he considered going to. Now that he’s debuted, it’s harder to stay in touch, but they message each other when they can. Things with Junsun are similarly sibling-like, as Junsun definitely treats Seulki like a younger brother, going so far as to label him as such in his phone (much to Junsun’s actual sister – Yooa’s – chagrin). Junsun is the one Seulki talks to most often about “dude things,” as he so eloquently puts it. If he can’t go to one of his own members or he needs an outside perspective, it’s Junsun he trusts. Despite being an idol, Seulki still hits up the studio whenever possible, assisting with or even joining in on lessons for short periods (much to the students’ general delight). (YG isn’t necessarily thrilled about it, but they’ve accepted that Seulki is still practicing, and he’s acting as a walking advertisement, so…as long as he’s not doing anything stupid or ruining his image, then why not let it happen?)

- Blackout, groupmates | 8/10 / Blackout, as a whole, are Seulki’s closest and best friends. They support him whole heartedly (even when they’re being little s) and he, in return, does everything he can to support them, too. He’s not the group’s leader, but he does go out of his way to try to help keep the more chaotic members out of trouble. He also spends more time than the company’s dance instructor or choreographer with the boys (both in general and when it comes to running through the routines and practices), so he knows all their little quirks and tells, and it’s not uncommon for Seulki to stay late and work one-on-one with them. He knows when to push them harder and when to relax and drag them back with him at the end of the day. Blackout means the world to him, and that’s that.

Haneul / 8/10 Haneul is a strange subject for Seulki, not so much because it's a bad subject, but more because Seulki's feelings were muddled for a long time before he finally figured things out for himself. Within the paramaters of Blackout, as groupmates, Seulki cares fiercely for Haneul. Haneul is kind of like a mom figure to him, and someone Seulki looks up to as a vocalist because Haneul is so, so good, and he has such a powerful, captivating voice, and Seulki could listen to him for hours if Haneul let him. (He could just listen to Haneul talk, if Haneul would let him.) But outside of Blackout... Off stage, away from the stage lights, away from anyone that might judge them, Haneul is...special to Seulki, and it's a little overwhelming later when Seulki realizes that for himself. [see love interest section for more details]

Yong / 9/10 / Yong and Seulki are like two peas in a pod. They're frequently together both on and off stage, constantly getting into and out of trouble together. As two of Blackout's main dancers, the duo are frequently together, working on choreographies for the group and perfecting current choreographies and learning the dances for other gorups they like to listen to. Yong is also one of the people that Seulki allows himself to be truly open and honest with, particularly when it comes to his fears. Yong is also the one member that will always comes to Seulki's aid whenever planes are involved, going so far as to switch seats just to be beside Seulki on flights if he's not by a window, and helping him to navigate airports post-flights when there's been turbulence and window-related anxiety attacks.

bolin / 7/10 / Bolin is Also very parental, but in a way that makes Bolin feel more like an older brother to Seulki than another dad figure. It's nice, of course, because As the oldest child in his family, Seulki doesn't have any older siblings to look up to or lean on, and even though he's neither the oldest nor youngest in Blackout, it's still a novel feeling to have someone responsible that he can turn to and lean on when things get rough and he needs a little help getting on. But Bolin isn't just an older sibling figure, he's also just as much part of the shenanigan line as Yong and Seulki are. Bolin is a flirt, which means he's great fun to be around on stage, but he's also got a competitive edge to him that helps to push Seulki to bigger and better heights. His more dirty-minded nature nad jealous edge does put them at odds sometimes, but whenever Bolin is becoming a bit too much, Seulki will seek out Yong and Haneul for attention and comfort.

Sion / 8/10 / A long-time trainee and producer under YG Ent, Sion is a bit of a legend by the time Seulki signs as a trainee, as as such, Seulki’s a bit nervous when it comes to having anything to do with the elder trainee. It’s not so much that he’s intimidating (although he kind of is, Sion is a legend!) but more that...well, no. That’s it. He’s intimidating. Seulki is intimidated. ...for all of like...a few weeks. And then Sion has a rough day and messes up during a lesson, and Seulki isn’t quite awake or thinking properly when he steps up to offer advice on how to get the move more easily. (It’s hard to be intimidated when you’ve already stuck your foot in your mouth.) After that and the ensuing positive response, Seulki goes out of his way to approach Sion more, always taking care to not be too clingy or annoying, but still ridiculously curious about Sion’s time as a trainee and his producing. As they become closer, Seulki loses most of the nerve he’d had around the elder trainee, coming to even see him as something like an older brother. It’s them debuting in Blackout together, being forced into constant close proximity, that pushed Seulki over the edge from viewing Sion as a big brother to more like a parental figure. (Though it’s important to note that while the other members refer to Sion as a grandpa, Seulki only ever does it on the very rare occasion, much like in how he’ll rarely call Haneul “mom”, because he holds a very deep respect for Sion.) When it comes to producing, it takes a while for Seulki to warm up to the idea of showing Sion anything, largely because Sion is Known and Important in the industry as a producer, composer, and lyricist, and because Seulki is 1) afraid of disappointing him, and 2) just terribly shy concerning his own individual indeavors. Before he becomes more secure with himself and his talents, when he’s stuck on a song, he’ll often pose questions to Sion as hypotheticals to get advice. Additionally, after Haneul (or Yong, as the case may sometimes be), Sion is usually the second person Seulki will show his progress to, and usually only after he’s got all the lyrics and at least a basic melody or sound down.

Myunghwan / ?/10 / tba!!

Charlie / 7/10 / Charlie is... Well, it’s funny, because when Seulki first met Charlie, he was a bit intimidated. Charlie was cool and chic and quiet and collected, and Seulki has always been something of a walking, talking, noisy disaster. So Charlie kind of scared him, because how does someone simply be so soft and quiet and withdrawn? Privately, Seulki always felt (aside from intimidated) that Charlie held himself like he was afraid to breathe, afraid to take up space and be in the way, and for someone like Seulki who exists to be visible, it’s simply mind-boggling. So the first thing Seulki aimed to do was get Charlie used to his presence. That is to say, unlike Seulki’s usual methods of leaping in and seeing if he can swim or not, taking it slow and trying his best to avoid overwhelming the quieter trainee. It was easier said that done. Charlie didn’t make himself eays to get to, but Seulki took the time to approach him (but never corner him), be there in his presence, and turn on the charm while being on his best behavior. It meant a lot of carefully timed compliments (compliments Charlie never wanted to accept, but that Seulki refused to back down on), eager encouragement, and a lot of tiptoing and careful obersations. It didn’t take long for Seulki to see that Charlie suffered from critical insecurity, and his aim as a trainee was to build him up, to comment on all the things he was doing well, and help with the things Charlie struggled with. With Blackout’s debut, Seulki is thrilled to find Charlie in the lineup, and he resolves to work hard to keep bringing Charlie up. At times, it means pouring into Charlie all the positivity and good things that he needs and deserves to hear. And other times it means staying extra late in the studio, working with Charlie on his footwork or tricky moves, or lurking in the hall outside of a practice room with bottles of water or a to-go cup of hot tea and protein bars and a timer counting down to the time he’s promised to coax Charlie into coming home. It’s a work in progress, of course. And while Seulki isn’t as close to Charlie as Yong seems to be, Seulki also won’t hesitate to square up if he finds anyone badmouthing Charlie for any reason. 

more?

- Blackpink, labelmates | 8/10 / Blackpink is Blackout’s sister group, and while Seulki hasn’t gotten to interact with them much due to YG’s determination to keep the girls as far from the male trainees and idols within the company as physically possible (and he’s done a pretty good job, Seulki will admit), Seulki had a deeply-rooted respect for all four of the members. Lisa is an incredible dancer and is widely considered /the/ standard to live up to as a dancer. Rose is both an amazing dancer and an excellent vocalist, and her upbeat and outgoing personality is something that Seulki fiercely admires about her. Jennie is a little intimidating on stage, but her dedication and her passion also leave Seulki with nothing but admiration. And Jisoo is someoen Seulki admires because she has to work so hard to stand out among the other three, and despite sometimes being labelled as a space filler and a pretty face, she works hard to keep up vocally and dance-wise as well as proving she has talent to share in other fields.

- winner & iKon, labelmates | 4/10 / Winner and iKon debuted in the years before Seulki joined YG Entertainment, but Seulki was around to witness much of their fame and scandals in the years that followed. Still, Seulki wasn’t particularly close to them or to any fo the members in particular as much as he was more like a witness of the things that happened. He was there when Taehyun left in November of 2016, backed into a corner by the company, and he was there to witness how the other boys of Winner struggled with the initial loss, and then with bouncing back. Seulki was also there, preparing for his debut with Blackout, when BI withdrew from iKon in June 2019. (To this day, Seulki still thinks Blackout’s debut in August was partially a means for YG to recover from the BI scandal with iKon, as well as the Burning Sun Scandal and everything that came with it.) Regardless, despite not being as closxe to the group -- despite thinking Bobby and BI were both a little haughty and presumptuous and needed knocked down a peg or three, and that their treatment of their younger members was uncouth, he was still sad to see the scandal hit the group so hard.

- staff members / On a general basis, Seulki is very polite and respectful with the members of the staff that are allocated to Blackout’s team, from the highest on the heirarchy all the way down to those that they only see for performances and mv shoots. Seulki knows their success is due to them as well as to Blackout themselves, and he wants them to always know he appreciates all the hard work they put into things. 

Jaehwa & Sunhi / 9/10 / Jaehwa and Sunhi are like two big siblings to Seulki. Sunhi is definitely cool, reliable, big sister material, and Jaehwa is more like a naggy, sassy mom-ish big brother. Between the two of them, Seulki always feels well cared for and protected. They care about the group, even when YG doesn’t seem to give a , and Seulki knows the two managers will always back Blackout’s backs no matter what.

Kyubong / 8/10 / As a dance-focused individual, Seulki gets along exceptionally well with Kyubong in particular, and out of all the trainers that Blackout spend their lessons with, Kyubong is probably Seulki’s favorite. He’s loud and can be seen as something of a stoic hard-, but Seulki likes his passion and fire, and he’s been known to seek out Kyubong to just destress and dance with on more than a few occasions.

narae & changmin / 6/10 / Between Narae and Changmin, Seulki is more comfortable with....neither, really. Narae is passionate, which Seulki loves and appreciates, but she’s also kind of terrifying. Meanwhile Changmin has his lazy and laid back moments, leaving Seulki floundering sometimes for direction during practices. Changmin, however, doe shave the added bonus of being a composer, and is someone that Seulki can bounce hypothetical questions off of while composing without Changmin being too nosy or invasive. After initial previews to Haneul, Changmin is generally the next person to see whatever song Seulki is working on.

Youngsoo / 7/10 Seulki doesn’t spend too much time with Youngsoo during lessons. He’s not a rap focused individual, though eh has picked up a few things here and there. Though, because of his general affable, approachable nature, Seulki’s more willing to go to him with questions when it comes to the production of the songs he’s working on. Youngsoo has a way of explaining things in a way that makes sense, but he also has a habit of talking and getting on excited tangents, which makes for very interesting lessons in production (not that Seulki minds at all).

Haru / 8/10 Well-versed in Haneul’s straightforward nature, Haru doesn’t bother Seulki much at all with her comments. In fact, Seulki finds her refreshing, and is often completely at ease with the stylist because Seulki knows he can be himself nad speak freely and she won’t be upset with him for speaking his mind when it comes to their wardrobe and styles. (Additionally, he likes to thinks she appreciates his honesty and tries to avoid being too annoying about things that bother him.)

Hyunjung / 6/10 Hyunjung is a little bit terrifying, with her ice cold stares and her intimidating silences, but it only took a few stilted conversations for Seulki to realize that her silence comes more from a dedication to her work and an overall introversion. As a result, he always tries to be polite to her, but will also almost always attempt to strike up a conversation while she’s working on his makeup, usually asking about the pallette she’s using and her choices in colors. It’s not because he wants to be annoying, but because he wants to learn from her, and her dedication and passion for her work is always rather inspiring to him.

 now playing - Everglow's La Di da

[ PLOTLINE + BACKUP ] Lakuda [bu: Qara, Noir]

[ POSITION ] main dancer, lead vocalist, rapper, choreographer (eventually producer, lyricist)

[ STAGENAME ] Seulki

[ PERSONA ] the (quirky) dance machine (additionally fans call him the fake makae, but it's not official) ; While Seulki doesn't mind being labeled as the dance machine of Blackout (he did, after all he did train for literal ages and work with 1Million Studios for a while before debut), he does has an issue with being called "quirky". He doesn't think there's anything wrong with being quirky and having traits and such that make you unique or stand out, but it's more than he dislikes anyone (read as: fans in particular) feeling cornered by such a label if they happen to associate with or feel strongly about him. But Seulki can't exactly fight the company when they chose his persona, so he tries to make the best of it by reminding fans that there's nothing wrong with being yourself. (If he had his way, though, he'd almost rather just be the Dance Machine, or ace or something.

[ TALENT TWINS ] 

• ♕ dance :: Ten (NCT) ♕ ♕ ♕
• ♕ vocal :: Jun (ACE) ♕
• ♕ rap :: Seoho (Oneus) ♕
• ♕ flexibility :: ten (nct) ♕

  now playing - Monsta X's From Zero

[ PREDEBUT EXPERIENCES ] ...     

• How Long ; Seulki releases this sometime predebut on the YG channel, revealing himself as one of the YG dungeon trainees. it's mysteriously labeled as "SK how long [choreography]", leading some fans to speculate that YG is trying to keep the trainee's idendity fairly quiet. other fans comment on how familiar Seulki looks, some even questioning if he's been featured in music videos or somewhere else pre-debut. (those eagle-eyed fans are eventually rewarded, finding him in some YG ent mvs, but also in a handful of 1Million dance practices.)
• Seulki participated in a number of choreos with 1Million Studios pre-debut: Colors, Keeping Your Head Up & ver 2, more tba!

[ TRAINEE YEARS ]  yG Ent, April 2016 - August 2019/present

[ TRAINEE LIFE ] Seulki’s trainee life is actually harder than it probably should be. As an exceptionally sociable young man, Seulki gets along great with literally everyone. He’s a people person. But trainee life isn’t meant to be a social event. It’s cut throat and ruthless and to an extent it turns trainees against each other for their own gain, particularly in the bigger companies where it’s all about standing out in their chosen field. So then even if you don’t make a group lineup, you still have a shot as a soloist or even in some kind of project unit. But that’s not Seulki. Even from the beginning, he knew he’d never make it long term as a soloist. He’d love the time alone on stage, but not all the time. He likes people, like being around other people, and can’t fathom being left to his own devices all the time. 

So a long of Seulki’s trainee years was a strange balance of socializing and getting to know the trainees he was allowed to know -- Yong, Bolin, and Haneul among them -- and working hard to continue to distinguish himself as the best dancer in YG’s arsenal. The constant socializing and befriending of his fellows paints one target on Seulki’s back, prompting some bitter trainees to call him a up. But his passion and determination to stand at the top of the dog pile of dance trainees paints a much larger, harsher target, too. And when even YG makes a comment about Seulki’s dance prowess.... The other dance trainees don’t bully him per se, but a number of them aren’t thrilled and they don’t hesitate to make it known.

is 2017 is a hard period for Seulki because of issues some of his friends are going through. Yooa, Junsun’s sister and his dance friend, loses a member of her group to a hiatus for health reasons, but it doesn’t take long for Yooa to confide in Seulki that she doesn’t expect the member to return. Still, Seulki offers consolation where he can, and he keeps an eye on the other girls when he can’t. (And later, when he sees familiar warnings from Yong, Seulki knows to pay closer attention than before. When Blackout debuts, he finds he cna accept a hiatus, but losing any one of the other boys feels like losing a piece of hismelf. Blackout isn’t Blackout if someone is missing.)

in late November 2017, YG allows some of the trainees to participate in a mission called JYP vs YG, which was a competition for a predebut group from JYP. Seulki was not one of the trainees involved, but he did go otut of his way to approach those who were to ask what they thought of the experience (and, later, he did watch the episode when it aired).

The months that follow are better. Seulki keeps his head down, working hard to improve his vocal skills and even get the basics of rap down so that when the time comes, he’s viewed as a well-rounded artists and worth the risk of debut. He maintain his friendships with the boys he has, but doesn’t approach the newer trainees as much any more, finding his energy is better spent on his current friendships and training. He’s not harassed as often for being a “ up” -- those trainees have either left the company or Seulki’s won them over. And still he works hard, determined to prove he deserves the chance to debut.


[ FUTURE EXPERIENCES ] Participation on the dance show Hit The Stage, King of Masked singer maybe?

[ SCANDALS ] ...

• ♕ Blackout's Seulki faints during performance! [true] :: In the middle of promotions a year or so? after debut, where Blackout's kind of established themselves as a threat on your life and in the industry, and just in general are accepted as the sort of group to look out for, their popularity is rising, schedules are hectic, etc... Seulki forgets to take his iron suppliments. For a few days in a row. On a normal day, not a huge deal, but in the middle or toward the end of a long stretch of promotions and running on little sleep and after having forgotten to eat pretty much all day, with pretty much all the odds stacked against him...Seulki passes out on stage during/toward the end of a performance (or as the group is leaving the stage post-performance, following a performance where he's clearly off and lagging behind and everyone knows something is wrong and all the boys are kind of checking on him). Predictably, the group kind of panics, and fans and staff definitely panic, and Seulki gets helped off stage. He's checked out on site, potentially goes to the doctor (and if he does, he's absolutley miserable the entire time) and is pronounced okay. but the members jump his case about taking better acre of himself and pretty much watch him take his iron suppliments for the next few weeks as well as making sure he eats breakfast or something because "Seul, we love you, but you don't you dare scare us like that again." [ref. ♕ ♕]
• ♕ 1-2 more tba! [true/false] :: description

[ CONCEPTS/SPECIALTIES ] Anything requiring confidence and swagger, like rap, hip hop, etc) or that's dance-heavy. Darker, more mature  or intense themes in general (they're his favorite, but that doesn't mean he won't enjoy lighter-hearted stuff).

[ FUTURE SOLOS & UNITS ] ...

solo ideas: (please note that I'm not saying give him all these; they're more like the genres he'd be interested in doing and suggestions in those genres! the ones I really like for him are marked with *)

• ♕ *Dream in a Dream, *New Heroes, *Drip Drop, *Sayonara Hitori : These songs are obviously more dance focused and heavy, and they're not really promoted on music shows so much as they are special singles (especially non-Korean releases). Seulki would fight hard for these in particular because he knows that in a group like Blackout, a group b with talent, and in a company like YG,  known for their rappers and their stage presence and their general swagger, he needs a little something to stand out. These songs in particular, usually dropped around group/fan anniversaries or his birthday, do just that, allowing him to showcase his dance prowess.
• ♕ *Angel, Moondance, *Punishment, *Red Moon, Breath : These songs are also fairly dance heavy, but feature more vocals and are more...sensual in genre and in nature. That's a good word for it. They're sensual, and Seulki uses them to showcase his dance ability as well as his ability to perform. After all, it's hard to sing and dance at the same time and still sound good, so he's obviously had to work hard to find a careful balance between the two that still meets his expectations for himself. Like the more dance-heavy songs, these songs generally drop around events of some kind, like anniversaries. Unlike his dance songs, however, Seulki will sometimes do a special stage or two.
• ♕ *Gravity, Love, 360, suffering For Love, *A Song For You (ft. Myunghwan?) *boy with a star : While Seulki is a dancer, there are times when he focuses more on the vocal aspect of his music, and these songs are those that fit that category. They often have both MVs and a live performance stage or two, but rather than focusing on more intense and dance-heavy choreography, he aims for a more emotional, vocally hard-hitting performance. These osngs are harder for him in that manner, but also freeing, and it’s not uncommon for him to his up Blackout’s vocal line members for tips. Hana, in particular, is once of his favorites to harass for tips and feedback.
• ♕ *euphoria, Headache, Wing, *oh, *Nostalgia (ft Myunghwan?)  : These songs are a genre of their own in a way, because aside from a careful and strange balance of vocal and dance, an equal performance aspect, there's generally more of a playful tone to the songs. They're a reminder of Seulki's age, his sociable and energetic personality, and his playful demeanor. They're also a welcome break from the more intense and often darker themes found in Blackout's title tracks and b-sides; when possible, Seulki tries to schedules these releases during the warmer months.
• ♕ *Memories, Noid, *Accident, *jealous, We Belong, : These songs are, in a way, some of Seulki's favorites. More often than not, they're solo releases on Blackout albums, lost among the crowd of the other songs, but his favorite nonetheless because instead of focusing on dance or trying to balance vocal and dance work, Seulki can focus on singing and showing off his range and the depth of his voice and technique. 
• ♕ *Again (ft. Rose), *Drive (ft. Hana & ??), *Fireworks (ft. jennie), *Heaven (ft. Rose) : These songs hold a special place in Seulki's heart and are particularly special to the male. 90% of the time They're released as digital singles -- few mvs, no live performances, etc -- and eventually get lyric videos posted to the Blackout YT account, tagged under his name and the featured artist's name. Sometimes Seulki will sing, but most of the time, these songs are more to showcase Seulki's budding production/composition/lyric writing talents, and to essentially feature some lovely vocalist or member of Blackout. [note: feel free to use any Eden's "Starburst" series for this if you like the songs!!]

unit/duo ideas: Baby Don't Stop (w/ dance/rap member), Wow [x] (w/ Yong & member), Gravity (w/ Myunghwan? and Charlie)

other...things uwu: Taki Taki (his take one the choreo the dance line previously covered), Lovely (w/ Yong), Coco Chanel (ft Yong & Lisa or Rose), Humble |

I had no idea where to put this? so here! Seulki tries his hand at composing and lyric writing in general (probably during Yong's decline into sad, Yong's absence, and then during the time he's getting his feelings for Haneul in order, as like a coping mechanism. edit: tbh he'd be using producing and lyric writing as a coping mechanism a lot I feel? not just for Haneul and Yong stuff but in general.); they're a far cry from Blackout's usual stuff, but they'd be good for summery or spring-y b-sides, also absolute yes if he works on any of these with Sion and/or Myunghwan!: Twilight, Promise, Fever, Horizon, Wave, Aurora, Sunrise

• Icarus - I ACTUALLY HAD A REALLY GOOD IDEA!!! Icarus is the first song Seulki writes/produces/composes; Seulki starts work on the lyrics in the first comeback era as a means of coping with his fears and emotions when Yong's weight issues really start taking the light, but he finishes and submits it during their second comeback (after his fainting scandal, after Yong takes his hiatus, prob. after Seulki realizes he may or may not have some unusual feelings for Haneul), and it's released on the 4th comeback EP/album when Yong is back from hiatus (and maybe it's Yong and Seulki or another member performing it!); Fans immediately assume it's alluding to Yong, that Yong wrote it, so they're surprised to see Seulki's name under all the credits. (they then assume, and correctly assume, it's alluding to Yong and his struggles. ...not that Seulki ever admits to it.) ;; maybe a duet between Yong and Seulki? or Yong/Bolin? orrr maybe Haneul and Yong? Yong deserves to be part though!!
• Underwater - hello coping mechanism during Seulki's Terrible No good Very Bad Love Story Angst Fest >3 seulki writes Underwater as a means of coping with his emotions after realizing he's got it bad for Haneul. It's eventually included on an album, either during a time when another member is absent from promotions (injury, mental health, whatever), or it's released a comeback or two after Seulki and Haneul get together and Seulki offers to sit it out? or someone is on hiatus for whatever reason! (or you can mess with line distribution, whatever works!)
• Toward Tomorrow - Seulki works on this song during his "Feelings Exist omg" spell, another means of coping with having the goo goo eyes for Haneul, and is also the song he reveals...at the end, yeah. This one is also eventually released on an album, a duet between maybe Haneul and the lead? rapper? or Haneul and Seulki cause got that okay rap skill yo
• Home - can also definitely see Seulki producing a song like this after he gets his emotions straight and confesses, more experimental and something he messes with, and something that kind of embodies that turning point where Haneul reciprocates and things are okay again. tbh he'd definitely want Haneul to sing it a vocalist and rapper for this one. I haven't collabed with any rap apps ajdgkfafkja I'm sorryyyyy OKAY BUT mYUNGHWAN AND sEULKI PROMOTING THIS??
• Euphoria - Euphoria is the second part of Seulki's confession to Haneul, and he takes that serious, putting his all into it. it ends up being released eventually as a solo song on an ep/album

now playing - Black Pink's Stay

[ love interest NAME & group ] Moon Haneul (Blackout)
 
[ BACKUP ] matchmake!  
[ NICKNAMES ] ...  

♕ Hana : Everyone uses Hana, yes, because hana is Haneul's stagename, but it's one of Seulki's favorite nicknames anyway just because it fits Haneul so well.

♕ Hannie : another common nickname, but Seulki likes to use it when he's feeling cute, flirting, or trying to get his way (or, alternatively, he's trying to get Haneul to side with him against the other members for whatever reason)

♕ my sun, moon, and stars/my heaven/my universe/my everything : it started as a joke, like a really, really bad (but hilarious!) joke, referencing Haneul's last name ("Moon"? and haneul means "heaven"? get it?) and Seulki's notorious flirt game, and then somewhere along the line.... somewhere, somehow, what starts as a joke and a game is somehow suddenly very much not a joke any longer

♕ Vocal King : sure, everyone calls Haneul the princess/queen, and Seulki is no exception, but he also likes to remind Haneul that no matter what he's still a guy, and that there's more to him than being dramatic and a diva. he's got the stage presence of a regent, he holds himself like a king, and his voice when he sings commands your attention and respect. so....king. The vocal king.

♕ Present Mic : another joke, and one that only the anime nerds will get; PResent Mic is a loud, dramatic, somewhat diva-ish character in My Hero Academia, and Haneul is loud, drmaatic, diva-ish.... Look, Seulki thought he was being particularly funny, and he's not giving this nickname up ever 

♕ mom : More or less another joke, but one that only makes an appearance when Haneul is nagging SEulki, and Seulki knows he deserves it and he's just "yeah, okay mom" because he's secretly touched that Haneul cares enough to nag, but he also wants Haneul to drop it (so he does whatever Haneul's nagging him to do, because sometimes obedience is easier than being a stubborn ) [this often occurs in tandem with Seulki's irons defficiency issue. see trivia for details!]

♕ Hanbit/hanabit : taken from haneul/hana and bit (meaning light/glow, because Haneul lights up the stage when he performs and seulki is punny), this is another of those nicknames that starts as a joke, one bit ol' flirt game, and then....isn't, and Seulki doesn't know when they crossed that line, but suddenly he can't use the nickname without flushing and okay, maybe he has a minor problem. (later, after Seulki squares up and admits he's got it bad and he's in deep, this nickname makes a comeback because Haneul's lighting up the stage AND seulki's life and he's just as cheesy as he is punny)

[ PERSONALITY ] 

Haneul is, admittedly, not perfect. He’s nowhere near perfect, in fact. He’s got an attitude about him more often than not, and he behaves like an entitled, bratty princess. (A diva, the members of Blackout will correct without missing a beat. Haneul is a diva.) He’s gets airs about himself where he’s dramatic and fussy and overly critical of those around him, holding them to a standard that they can’t reach at times because sometimes that standard is himself, and it’s hard to measure up when you’re convinced you’re the best. He can be mean, too, with a blunt honestly that is cruel at times because of how straightforward it is. In the idol world, there’s often no time to beat around the bush; time is money, time that could be better spent practicing and preparing for the next comeback or performance. 
and coming from a company like YG -- a company known for their rappers and sometimes dancers, but not so much their vocalists, you can’t blame Haneul for wanting to spend his time doing what matters.

But underneath that temperamental exterior, Haneul is a good guy. He’s fiercely passionate and determined, and while he can be critical, he’s holding himself to the same standards he holds everyone else to. He works just as hard as he wants the rest of the team to work, and he’ll put in just as much blood, sweat, and tears into things as he expects from any other person. And if you do what you’re supposed to -- if you put in the same hard work and effort, if you really love what you do and you’re not afraid to show it -- you earn his respect, his loyalty, and the effort will be worth it. Haneul doesn’t necessarily enjoy being called the mom of the group, but it’s hard to ignore his more mothering tendencies, including the nagging, and the over-protectiveness, and the overall responsibility that weighs him down. He takes care of the group in his own way, and not a single member of Blackout will dare refute it. 

In short, Haneul isn’t perfect, no matter how hard he tries to be -- and oh, he does try hard. But he doesn’t have to be. He’s enough as he is, perfectly imperfect, human, and Seulki would never dare ask for more.

[ LOVE STORY ] 

pt. 1 : predebut; setting sail | toward tomorrow & tomorrow today

The first time Seulki meets Haneul, they are trainees.

To be fair, everyone Seulki meets are trainees. Male trainees, usually, but trainees nonetheless. The debuted groups like Winner and iKon, or those of higher status like Lee Hi and Akmu, they have more important things to do than mingle with the commoners. He’d been on decent terms with most of the female trainees at some time or another, when their paths had been allowed to cross (an infrequent but still occasional occurance), but by this point, most of those that aren’t in the lineup to debut in the new girl group had left the company. Miyeon, Hanna, Jinny. He wonders how they’re doing now, hopes they’re well.

Those that had stayed, those that were in the soon-to-debut group -- Rose, Jennie, Lisa, Jisoo -- he sees them on occasion, too. But not as often as he would like. YG has issues with the different gendered trainees crossing paths; can’t let the riffraff wander freely and mingle with his princesses, after all.

More often than not, Seulki secludes himself in the training rooms, working hard to better his skills and establish himself as a force to reckon with, if not an absolute threat. He’s not got as much going for him as some of the other trainees. Sure, he’s an amazing dancer, but his rap and swag leave a lot to be desired, and he’s also got a cuter face and demeanor than even the female trainees. And really, that’s just not fair. No one takes him seriously!

With no one to take him seriously, however, it means Seulki doesn’t have to take himself seriously, either, right? At least....not all of the time. Right? Right.

Wrong.

“What the .”

Seulki stumbles to a stop. The music pulsing from the speakers continues on without him as Seulki finds his balance -- no easy feat -- and rights himself, peering back toward the door of the practice room. Just inside the doorway, looking more than a little bemused, stands a familiar face.

Moon Haneul, Seulki thinks is his name. Seulki has seen him around before, here and there, usually in voice lessons -- where Haneul could often be found leading the pack of trainees -- and sometimes in dance classes. In either class, Seulki is at least partially in his element. But here.... Well, he’s still in his element. 

“Are you wearing heels?”

Seulki blinks slowly, then smiles. “Yeah. One of the staff let me borrow a pair to practice in. If I can dance in these, I can dance in anything.”

“...I see.”

“It’s also really good for balance and posture, and-- and grace?”

“......uh huh.”

Haneul sounds suspicious, but there’s a slight pull to his lips, one that Seulki responds to with a smile of his own. “I’m Seulki. Min Seulki”

“Moon Haneul. You’re strange.”

Seulki grins wider. “I know.”

“You know my name or you know you’re weird.”

“Either. Both.” Seulki tilts his head, inclines it toward the system across the room. “Will you restart the song? It’s on repeat, but I mean, I could still use the practice for the first verse.”

“You’re so strange.” But Haneul closes the door completely behind himself before stepping across the room to fiddle with Seulki’s phone where it’s hooked up to the stereo system. 

Grinning, Seulki moves back into the starting position. Haneul does him one better, and rather than starting over at the beginning, he fast forwards through the song until it’s just before the end. Then, to Seulki’s incredulous stare, he leans back and slides down the wall into a more comfortable sitting position.

“You staying?”

“You mind?”

“....no,” Seulki says after a moment, his surprise bleeding back into delight. “No, you can stay. I don’t mind.”

Haneul does stay. Haneul stays through that song and the next, and the ones that follow. When Seulki’s legs finally give way, sending him tumbling to the studio floor, Haneul kills the music, brings him his worn sneakers, and proceeds to tell Seulki he’s an idiot in the very same breath as he compliments Seulki’s dedication to his art.

Seulki takes it with a smile, bright and beaming.

The next day, their paths cross again, this time in a vocal lesson. Rather than grouping up with Yong, as he most often does, Seulki steals a spot next to Haneul, more than ready to glean some of the tricks of his trade.

(Haneul doesn’t pretend to know why Seulki is so eager, but he can’t deny that the dancer’s excitement isn’t contagious.)

pt. 2 : debut, the calm before the storm | icarus & Unfamiliar

Debut takes everyone by surprise. Well, no, not everyone. Most of the trainees that made up Blackout had known it was coming for weeks before the announcement was made. Most of the trainees had also known they would make it into the group before being pulled aside; their lessons had doubled, their instructors becoming increasingly critical of their performances, their seniors even stopping by to offer feedback.

Still, walking into their new dorm with seven other guys -- with Haneul, Yong, Bolin, and all the others -- it’s like a dream come true.

The first few weeks pass in a fog of dance practices, lessons on top of lessons, and even more practices. The boys settle into a routine of practice makes perfection and learn to run on caffiene and little sleep. Seulki practically lives in the studio for those first few weeks, determined to prove he deserves to debut just as much as the others. It takes Yong and Haneul coming back for him at night to drag the exhausted human from the practice room, legs rubbery beneath his weight and entire body aching. 

But it isn’t until that first night they’re all on stage together, breaths ragged, chests heaving, and stars in their eyes, that it becomes real to them. They’ve done it. They, Blackout, have debuted. It’s exhausting, and yet the first few performances fly by in a way that is almost surreal. They work hard and deliver their very best on stage, proving that YG is still a company within the industry to hold in high regards.

During this time Seulki doesn’t spend a lot of time with Haneul. Not one-on-one, at least. As a dancer, Seulki spends more time with Yong and other dance line members, working on choregraphy for their next comeback, and for their b-sides and other special stages they might have to offer. They see each other during dance practice, with Seulki often leading the pack and bouncing between the vocalists to correct the smaller mistakes, but it’s not quite the same as it was pre-debut. They have responsibilities now, and despite their cohesive mixing as a group, they each have their areas where they focus and shine brighter than the others.

Still, one of Seulki’s favorite things is to return to the dorm with the others, to settle down with a plate of food and listen to Yong and Bolin flirt with danger, to see the others argue over memes and movies, to hear Haneul laugh because Blackout is nothing but hilarity and chaos in human form. If he let himself, he could get used to that.

(He does not get used to that, but that's okay.)

Their debut era comes and goes, and their first comeback arrives. Everything is moving too fast, and yet not fast enough. It’s a rough era for Seulki simply because he spends so much time with Yong, and Yong is getting so much hate, weighed down by scrutiny over his weight, and Seulki can’t help but think about Yooa and her group. She’d lost a groupmate to a battle of weights in 2017, and it had been rough on all of them at the time. The thought of Yong suffering like that makes Seulki uneasy in a way that Blackout’s leader and resident mom both pick up on.

Seulki won’t speak to the leader. But Haneul... Haneul’s never been anything but honest with him, if not blunt. Haneul can be trusted with this secret, with the weight on his shoulders and the weight Seulki thinks he sees on Yong’s.

“Something’s not right.”

“I know.”

“I don’t... I don’t like it. I’m-- I’m afraid, Hana. I’m scared.”

“....yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean.”

Seulki has a reason to be afraid. He has a right to be afraid. He doesn’t go on social media as much as he wants to, but he’d have to be blind or oblivious to miss the hashtags that some of the so-called “fans” trend on some platforms, and he’d have to be ignorant to miss the top searches on others. Seulki starts spending more and more time with Yong, partially to police the younger male and his eating habits (because Seulki sees the nights at dinner when Yong eats a bite of food and pushes the rest of his meal around until it’s safe to excuse himself), and partially because Seulki has the sinking feeling that if he looks away....something will happen. 

But when he’s not with Yong, when Yong is safe with the leader, or Bolin, or anyone else that Seulki thinks can be trusted, Seulki is with Haneul, taking comfort in the comfort of his protective presence. Seulki doesn’t even have to speak. Haneul doesn’t need him to. The silence isn’t uncomfortable as they both work and find peace together.

It’s during this time that Seulki starts working on Icarus. 

In the van on the ride to and from the practice room, the company building, and music shows; in the waiting room at music shows, before and after his hair and makeup have been done; before bed; any time that inspiration hits him. If he has an idea for the lyrics, for the melody, for the vibe of the song, he scribbles it into his notebook. that notebook becomes his most prized possession.

And for a while, Haneul is the only one privvy to the secrets inside.

“Hanbit.”

“Mm?”

“Can you-- ...would you--”

“Can I?”

“Will you...read over this? These lyrics? And...tell me what you think?”

“Lyrics?”

“...yeah. Could you just-- just read them and tell me--”

“...of course, yeah, just--”

Haneul takes Seulki’s notebook with a certain amount of care that isn’t lost on the dancer, and then he stares at the page for long enough that Seulki is sure that he’s read everything at least half a dozen times. Finally, he taps the page, thoughtful.

“‘Every time I get scared, for the people who believe in me, I will prove it. Every time I wanna close my eyes, I’ll picture me standing at the finish line.’ Something you want to tell me, Kiki?”

“How does it sound?”

“Like an anthem. Is it for Yong?”

“It-- it’s for anyone. Everyone. Anyone that needs to hear this message.”

“It’s for Yong, isn’t it?”

“...don’t tell him. It’s not ready yet.” A beat, then, “Do you think he’ll like it?”

“I think he’ll love it.”

Later, after Haneul has returned Seulki’s notebook and Seulki’s returned to scribbling and scratching out lyrics as the words come and go, Haneul asks, as if he holds no doubt that their company will approve the song, “What are you going to call it?”

“Icarus.” Seulki doesn’t hesitate, just looks up at Haneul from where he’s sprawled across the floor, foot kicking idly at the air.

“After the guy that flew too close to the sun? That’s morbid.”

“Icarus wanted to escape imprisonment. He did fly too close to the sun, but he also could have flown too low, too close to the ocean. But for a while, he was free. There’s a lesson in his failure, a lesson to find...balance. In yourself and your wants and desires. Be free and dream, fly. But don’t get ahead of yourself; don’t let your dreams take over reality, and don’t let reality drain your hopes and dreams from you.”

“Wow, Kiki, that’s deep.”

“I can be deep sometimes. I have my moments.”

During their second comeback, things get worse. Yong loses weight, loses confidence, begins losing his mind, and between seeing all of that and the general overwhelming nature of their schedules and simply being an idol in a group on the rise from one of The Big 3, Seulki slips up when it comes to taking his iron suppliments. All it takes is a couple days -- poor sleep, improper meals, no suppliments, running on fumes and sheer willpower and determination -- for Seulki to slip. And when he slips, he falls. Hard.

It happens during a performance, he notices things are off. He fishbowls every now and again, vision rounding out, hearing fading with it. Seulki ignores it mostly, relying on muscle memory to get through the performance aspect, and on his knowledge of where he is in the choreography to know where they are in the song -- and, therefore, whether he has to sing or not. His earpiece doesn’t help much. He can’t hear anyway. It comes and goes though, and by midway through, things are okay again. ...until they’re not. 

His vision goes again after that, comets streaking across the stage. He’s too warm all at once, sweating under the stage lights, and he feels....dizzy, like he can’t breathe, like there’s someone sitting on his chest. He stumbles once, and then again, staggers, and hauls himself upright through sheer refusal to collapse on stage. He won’t be that person, he won’t. Seulki refuses.

His legs nearly buckle toward the end, choreography almost too much for him. But again, the muscle memory saves him. He doesn’t see the way those around him watch him, their own formation and moves losing their crispness because they can see something’s wrong. Even if they can’t draw attention to it -- they’re performing, after all, and unless something happens, they won’t dare give up the illusion of perfection while on stage -- they can still see.

Seulki doesn’t see the way Haneul watches him when the camera isn’t on them, doesn’t see the way Haneul hesitates because it means steping away to follow the next formation.

Seulki doesn’t see much of anything at all until the end of the song. Tunnel vision will do that to you. And even then, one minute he’s standing with the group, bowing, and turning to exit stage left, and the next he’s staring up at a ring of worried and horrified faces, ears ringing and body aching. 

Haneul is the first face he recognizes, the name rising from the haze of confusion that blankets his thoughts like a fog, just as he knows it’s Haneul’s hand clutching his own, small, but soft, warm.

(He doesn’t really believe it when, later, after being released from his checkup at the hospital, Yong tells him that Haneul had nearly panicked. Haneul, panic? No way. But Yong is adamant, and he’s never lied to Seulki. But....even then, panic? 

It doesn’t occur to him that Haneul’s voice is the last one he’d heard before he collapsed, reaching for him even as his knees buckled, sending him to the ground just before they reach the cover of backstage. It doesn’t occur to him at all that no one else says his name quite like Haneul does. What he thinks he hears in the fever dream of a dead faint can’t be trusted, and he knows that. He knows it. He does.)

The rest of the promotion period comes and goes with less fanfare. Seulki is constantly under watch. It’s usually Haneul watching him with his eagle eyes, but Yong takes his share, too. With Yong, at least it gives Seulki an excuse to keep an eye on him, even if it means going easier on himself when dancing so that Yong has to go easier as well. But when it’s just Haneul and himself, Seulki finds it easier to relax. 
Promotions for their second comeback end, and preparation for their next comeback begins, the cycle starting anew all over again.

When Yong collapses during practice, Seulki is the first to demand he rest and get the help he deserves in order to be happy and secure with himself again. It’s a decision he doesn’t regret even once. But he does miss Yong when the rest of Blackout take to the stage to perform their next comeback, missing one and feeling the absence like a physical wound.

With Yong gone, Seulki clings to Haneul more. On variety shows, in interviews, in any situation where they’re not in some sort of active formation for any reason, Seulki sticks by Haneul’s side. When the boys point it out, Seulki can only smile and shrug. He doesn’t have a good reason, really, other than the fact that he trusts Haneul, and he knows that Haneul trusts him, too. He’s not the best variety show partner, but he’s not the worst. He’s generally good with questions and answers, and games, and making the hosts laugh. And Haneul lets him hold his hand and doesn’t get upset, doesn’t even balk when Seulki cracks jokes, and sometimes stares at him a little too long when Haneul says something nice and it’s unexpected, or when he flirts back because Yong is gone and that means Haneul is Seulki’s new and favorite victim, and--

Oh.

Oh.

Oh, .

pt. 3 : a tempest at sea, slipping under | Home & boy with a star

Realizing he has a crush on Haneul is both underwhelming and overwhelming all at once. 

On one hand, there are no lights, fanfare, or sirens, no fireworks or special effects. Time doesn’t drop into slow mo and crawl along every time they lock eyes or brush hands. There’s no zap of electricity when they touch, and there’s no kdrama-esque theme music whenever....well, anything happens, really. The soundtrack of their lives remains firmly, and disappointingly, the same. 

On the other hand, however, once Seulki realizes he’s got a little something for Haneul, there’s no way for him to un-realize it. It’s been seen and acknowledged, and there’s no way for him to stuff that cat back into the box now that it’s finally loose and capable of wreaking havoc.

And oh, the havoc it wreaks.

Dance practice is about as good as it gets. Seulki can focus because he has to, because he’s a main dancer and chorepgrapher for a reason, and his focus has to go into teaching their choreography, perfecting it, and drawing out the same little irritating details from everyone else. (He declines to acknowledge that he’s entirely too aware of the weight of his hands on Haneul’s hips, or shoulders, or whatever body part he’s touching as he gently maneuvers Haneul into the proper move and walks him through it step-by-step.) And vocal lessons are a special sort of hell, because Haneul is a main vocalist for a reason, and Seulki would be more than happy to lean back and listen to Haneul all day if the younger male would only let him.

The dorm, once his escape, becomes a prison. Haneul is there, and there’s only so much space within the walls before everything is suddenly too much, because no matter where he goes or what he does, Seulki is intimately aware of where Haneul is at all times, can hear Haneul humming from two rooms away, working on a project in his room or some meal in the kitchen. And Seulki can’t unhear it, much less ignore it. 

The studio becomes his refuge. ...but only until Yong works up the nerve to corner him and ask what’s going on. Not that Seulki knows what to say or even how to say it.
How does one tell their groupmate that they’ve got the most ridiculous crush on a third member of their group? And that they’re not sure when or how it happened, much less how to deal with it?

(Seulki lies about it. For the first time in a very long time, Seulki lies about it. His feelings, his emotions, his crush. He lies. Yong knows he lies, Yong probably rats his dumb out the first chance he gets because Seulki is being flighty and evasive.)

But the leader doesn’t corner him to talk; the company doesn’t summon him to talk, either. Maybe Seulki is safe. Maybe this time, he’s okay.

And maybe Seulki is simply an idiot.
 

“Tell me I’m an idiot.”

“You’re an idiot.” 

Haneul doesn’t hesitate, doesn’t even look away from the papers he shuffles through, highlighter tucked behind his ear as his fingers tap over backs of the pages. He’s intent, focused, beautiful like this, and something in Seulki’s stomach rolls over because he should have known better.

How dare he? How dare he allow himself to think like this?

“Tell me again.”

“Again.”

Seulki’s silence is what draws Haneul’s eyes from the papers, and he peers up over the top of them, seeking Seulki out before, after another moment of silence, Haneul frowns.

“What did you do?”

“I’m an idiot. I’m just....an idiot.”

Haneul’s brow furrows, frown deepening, and Seulki’s struck by the inexplicable urge to reach out, to brush the lines from his brow, to tease the corners of his lips back into the reflexive smile he’d seen hours ago when Haneul had caught Yong and Bolin playfully mocking their leader behind his back. Seulki would given nearly anything to see that smile again.

Seulki would also give anything to see that smile directed at him in particular.

“Seul, what happened?”

What happened, not what did you do.

Tears don’t sting at his eyes. They don’t. Seulki is not so weak or simple-minded that such a small, thoughtful comment could break him to easily. 

However, Seulki neglects to consider that such a simple, thoughtful comment from Haneul in particular might do just that.

“I--” Seulki hesitates, falters, focus shifting from Haneul’s face to his papers, to his hands, then back to the papers. It’s easier if he doesn’t have to look at Haneul. But only barely. “I don’t-- I...”

Haneul is quiet for a moment. then he leans forward, meeting Seulki’s eyes. “Are you okay?”

Seulki hesitates. Again. Then shakes his head.

Haneul’s frown deepens. “Are you....hurt?” 
When Seulki shakes his head again, Haneul sets his papers down and steps closer, hand reaching to cup Seulki’s cheek. He examines the dancer carefully, thoughtful in a way that makes Seulki’s stomach lurch, makes him feel like his ribs cage a flock of butterflies. Haneul must not like what he sees, because his hand falls away, coming to rest on Seulki’s shoulder instead. His cheek feels cold, and already he misses the gentle touch.

Seulki doesn’t realize the noise he hears is his own until Haneul’s expression shifts into one of near panic.

“Seulki, what’s going on?”

I love you, Seulki thinks, but doesn’t say. I love you. 

The revelation should scare him, because the last time Seulki did an in-depth heart-to-heart with his feelings, he was still there in that awkward ‘butterflies in his belly, heart in his throat, is this really a crush or could I have possibly eaten something that doesn’t agree with me’ phase somewhere just past infatuation and still shy of denial. 

But instead, all Seulki feels is a sick sort of terror because he knows now, beyond any sort of doubt, that he’s ed up.

Jesus Christ, he’s ed up so bad.

Seulki’s heart lurches, and without warning, he wrenches himself back out of Haneul’s hold. “I’ve gotta go.” There’s wild in his eyes, a tremor in his voice, a fear that Seulki sees reflected in Haneul’s expression, a fear he knows altogether too well. “I’ve gotta go.”

And then he’s gone.

pt. 4 : the eye and eyewall of the storm | underwater & dream in a dream

It’s really hard to avoid someone that you live with, someone you spend approximately ninety percent of your time with on any given day. When you live together, eat together, work together, it should be damn near impossible to avoid someone so completely, and yet Seulki does it. 

He gets up early, grabs a granola bar or something for breakfast, and heads to the practice room. He puts in extra time in the quiet of the studio, and by the time the rest of Blackout trudge into the room the join him, Seulki is damp with sweat and is an entire energy drink and a half into his day. He focuses on their routines, on perfection, on the one thing he can control.

When Blackout record their vocal tracks for the album, Seulki puts his all into everything as he records, then promptly hides behind the safety of his headphones, loud music, and his notebook. He situates himself firmly between Yong and Bolin and tries not to notice when he catches Haneul looking his way. If he doesn’t acknowledge Haneul’s confusion, then perhaps he won’t have to acknowledge his feelings, either.

It’s stupid, but he’s hopeful.

(It’s stupid; he’s losing hope.)

During this time, Seulki finds solace in his his notebook, in the comfort that comes with writing lyrics and working on melodies.

After the success of Icarus on the EP for their fourth comeback, he’s hopeful that YG will let him continue to try his hand at composition and production. Avoiding Haneul simply gives him an excuse to bury himself in his notebook and avoid the other members. It’s not personal if he’s avoiding all of them, after all. Unfortunately, Yong doesn’t seem interested in supporting his theory.

On the mend, confidence on the rise and all too aware of Seulki’s tendency to run from conflict, Yong corners Seulki a few short days before their fifth comeback. 

They’re all tired, drained, too excited and eager for their comeback. At least, that’s what Seulki tells himself when, after a dance practice runs a little later than normal, the other members of Blackout clear out of the practice room in record time, leaving Seulki alone to...do whatever he’s been doing after practice for the last couple weeks. Which is dancing, of course, because Seulki is nothing if not consistsent, and he is consistently working to broaden his repertoire and be an absolute threat on your life.

“Seul.”

Yong’s voice doesn’t carry over the music from the speakers, which isn’t too surprising because after practice is over, Seulki likes his music loud enough to wake the dead. What is surprising, however, is the way Yong marches over, pulls the aux cord from Seulki’s phone, and waits for the other dancer to face him.

And face him, Seulki does, with slumped shoulders and tired eyes. He looks like the weight of the world is upon him, something that Yong knows perhaps a little too well. He’d been a little exasperated before, but he softens now, severe expression easing when faced with a Seulki that’s crumbling under the weight of the unexplainable.

“What happened?”

“What...happened?”

“To you. To you and Haneul.”

“Noth--”

“Don’t say ‘nothing happened,’ Seulki. I have anxiety and I forget things, but I’m not oblivious.” When Seulki remains quiet, Yong barrels on; as Seulki’s closest friend in Blackout, he feels like it’s his duty to get to the bottom of this. “You’re avoiding Haneul. What happened?”

It’s the little things when it comes to Seulki. So self-aware, so careful, so aware that there will always be eyes on him because of their role within the company, Seulki’s expression remains calm. But Yong knows Seulki, knows all his little twitches and tells. The way Seulki’s teeth dig at his lower lip, biting a section that looks to be already bitten raw, a nervous habit betraying his worry and insecurity; the way his fingers grasp at the hem of his shift, bunching and releasing the habit, another nervous habit that manifests when Seulki desperately needs a distraction as he mentally works through a problem. Normally Seulki grabs for someone’s hand, plays with their fingers because Jaehwa finally started breaking Seulki of his habit of picking at his nails and he knows better. When he doesn’t have Yong or Haneul close enough to ease that need, it’s his shirt or jacket hem he fiddles with.

Yong offers Seulki his hand and tries not to feel guilty when Seulki eyes it like a life line. “Sit with me.”

Seulki takes it, allowing Yong to pull him back against one of the mirrors. When they’re comfortable again, seated, leaning against the mirror, Yong’s hand in Seulki’s, Yong tries again: “What happened? Did Haneul....say something to you? I know he can be....blunt. But he means well. He cares about you, Seul.”

Seulki’s expression, previously calm despite his exhaustion, cracks. “He cares about me?” 

His voice cracks with it, and Yong’s heart just about breaks. “Of course he does. How could you ask that?”

“I ed up.” Seulki looks to Yong, eyes wide, terrified. “I ed up so bad, Yong.” 

Yong squeezes Seulki’s hand gently, but Seulki pulls back, palms pressing to his eyes as he collapses over his lap and swears beneath his breath. “I ed up, Yong. I ed everything up, you don’t understand.”

Yong drags his hand up Seulki’s spine, ignoring the minute tremors and rubbing slow circles as he waits for Seulki to complete his thought. It’s a waiting game now, and while Seulki is stubborn, Yong is more than capable of waiting him out. It’s frustrating, but it can be done. He can do it.

“I love Haneul.”

Yong stills, blinking in surprise.

“You....what?”

Seulki pauses, as if to reconsider. Then: “I’m in love with Haneul.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.”

Yong and Seulki sit for a while longer in silence. Eventually, Seulki’s shoulders stop shaking. He sits up, hands resting on his lap and shoulders slumped. Yong moves slowly, waits to see if Seulki will reject him, before he reaches to take one of the elder’s hands. When he squeezes, Seulki squeezes back.

“What are you going to do about it?”

“Aside from panic?” There’s a joke in there somewhere, Yong thinks, a tremulous smile that tries, falters, and fails to live in the words. He nods, and Seulki shrugs. “I’m going to have to tell him eventually. It’s probably killing him to not come at me himself to figure out what’s going on.” 
Yong smiles, making a noise of agreement, and he’s relieved to see Seulki’s lips twitch in return.

There’s another pause, a moment of silence that stretches, then, “I wrote him a song.”

Yong perks, curious. “A song? Like...”

“Like your song. I wrote a song for him.”

“Can I hear it?”

“Not yet. I think.... I think he needs to hear it first.”

“...okay. Soon?”

“.....yeah. Soon.”

Soon isn’t necessarily the truth. 

The comeback is soon, and all of Seulki’s fears and emotions are brushed aside as Blackout takes the stage and continues their quest of domination with their fifth comeback. Seulki puts on a brave face and sticks close to Yong’s side as he had in the comebacks both before and after Yong’s hiatus. It’s familiar and welcome, and Seulki tries to avoid seeing the way Haneul watches him, like he knows, somehow, just what it is Seulki is hiding.

In between promotions -- in the car, before bed, during breaks, any time he’s not otherwise preoccupied -- Seulki busies himself with his notebook. And then, feeling altogether all too soon, their fifth comeback’s promotions come to an end.

And finally -- finally, at long last -- Seulki squares his shoulders, preparing to face the music.

pt. 5 : the mist and rainbow after the storm | euphoria & again

→ are you busy?
→ are you asking me?
→ i always have time for you
→ did you mean to text yong?
→ no
→ haneul, are you busy?
→ what’s up
→ meet me in the studio?
→ we have practice in like 5 hours
→ give me 10 minutes

Seulki is seated in the larger of the chairs in the studio when Haneul arrives, seated in front of the sound board, mixer, and computer like he’s meant to be there. He seems oddly at ease in the setting of the studio, and it’s...strange. Aside from the time Seulki had spent working on Icarus during Yong’s hiatus, Haneul hasn’t seen him in the production studio....ever, really. And yet he looks so comfortable, at home within his skin for the first time since the night that Seulki panicked and ran out on him.

Seulki brightens when he sees Haneul in the doorway, a smile so warm that Haneul feels it like a jacket around his shoulder on a windy day.

He’s missed that smile. 

“C’mere,” Seulki hums, gesturing for Haneul to take the chair next to him. 

It’s closer than Haneul’s been to Seulki in weeks, and it’s a fact that isn’t lost on either of them. And despite Seulki’s previous avoidance, the lengths that he had gone to in order to avoid being anywhere too near to Haneul before, now it’s like he’s taking every opportunity to be close to him.
If Haneul had to wager a guess, he’d almost say that he think it’s like Seulki expect for this moment to just....disappear.

When Haneul has seated, Seulki scoots back a little, just enough to be within reach of the computer, and he turns to bring up a file. From his current distance, Haneul can’t see the name, but he can see the way Seulki messes with the settings, the volume, the balance, before he grabs a pair of headphones, plugs it in, and offers it to Haneul. A matching pair is looped around Seulki’s neck.

Haneul’s shoulders sag a little, somewhere between exhausted and distressed “You dragged me out of the dorm to listen to a song?”

Seulki hums, noncommittal, his previous smile dimming somewhat in response. Haneul feels bad for dimming that smile when he knows just how infrequent Seulki’s happiness has been these last few weeks. He can’t recall the last time he saw Seulki smile, free and unhindered. And yet he’d spoken without thinking. The guilt gnaws at him now, a dog with a bone.

Sighing, Haneul takes the headphones. As he slips them over his ears, Seulki turns to the computer, and Haneul almost misses what he says. Almost.

“Just listen. I’ll explain everything afterward. I promise.”

A promise from Seulki is worth its weight in gold, and Haneul only pauses for a moment before nodding. “Alright. Play your songs, Seul.”

Haneul can see the way Seulki swallows, the tension in his shoulders as he clicks on one of the audio files. And even as the music begins, Haneul watches as Seulki folds his arms and rests his forehead on them, face hidden in the crook of an elbow.

Then silence as Haneul listens and begins to understand.

underwater_demo.mp3
euphoria_demo.mp3

In the silence that follows the two tracks, Haneul finds that he can barely breathe.

At the desk, Seulki sits up, turns, and faces Haneul with a small smile. It’s wry and a little sad, hopeful in a way that tugs at Haneul’s heartstrings, and altogether too knowing.

“I love you,” Seulki confesses to the quiet of the studio, breathing the words between them like a secret he knows Haneul will keep. “I’m in love with you. I’m sorry for making the last few months so hard on you.”
For a long moment, Haneul is silent.

Then he, too, smiles. “You’re an idiot.”

Seulki laughs, soft and sweet. “Yeah. I’m an idiot.”

[ STATUS ] initially groupmates and friends, some drama because dumb boys in love, eventually dating and happy?

[ IDEAL ENDING ] LET THE CHILDREN BE HAPPY, MIMI ;A; ....THIS DOEsn'T SOUND AS LOUD AND INTIMIDATING AS IT SHOULD BECAUSE I HAVE NO CAPS, I JUST SOUND TIRED, BUT I ASSURE YOU MY CAPSLOCK IS ON AND I AM LOUD

[ RELATIONSHIP TRIVIA ] ...

• ♕ Haneul is the only person Seulki has ever allowed to read unfinished/unpolished songs from his notebook
• ♕ Haneul is also generally the first person to hear the demo tracks of whatever song he's working on
• ♕ Haneul is also probably the one person he'll take constructive criticism from because he's more a dancer than a vocalist and Haneul knows what he's talking about....usually
• ♕ it's literally only after a round or two of Haneul's opinion that Seulki will show his songs to the other boys of Blackout. 
• ♕ except for Underwater and Euphoria. he keeps both of those under wraps because reasons 
• ♕ Seulki likes hearing Haneul sing in general, but he has a special spot in his heart for when Haneul is singing something in Italian
• ♕ If Haneul ever sings this, Seulki will probably die (he loves the composer's work and the original piano version of song is a favorite)
• ♕ Seulki's plane buddy may be Yong, but his hotel buddy is almost always Haneul if he can get away with it. Haneul has a habit of singing an dhumming and music in gneral and Seulki is 100% there for it
• ♕ which means that when goes down and Seulki starts avoiding him, literally everyone knows something is wrong because Seulki goes out of his way to avoid rooming with Haneul if they're out and about and sharing rooms, like on tour or filming mvs outside of the local area and such
• ♕ if Seulki can't sit beside Yong in an interview, he'll sit beside Haneul because Haneul won't kill him for being touchy clingy tactile
• ♕ when Seulki ropes Haneul into playing Among Us with him, Seulki's one tell that he's an imposter is that Haneul dies last and only if necessary. he's literally the last to die. unless his imposter cohort gets to Haneul when Seulki is busy lmao. they know better, it's an entire thing.
• ♕ granted he's like that any time he can get Yong to play with him, too, but the others are all fair game.
• ♕ on occasion, Seulki will take Haneul to 1Million studios with him to observe the lessons/whatever dance he's participating in. and if Haneul wants to join, he's always more than welcome. 
• ♕ also, if Haneul ever finds any of the videos Seulki was in predebut, Seulki is more than happy to teach Haneul the dances, both what's in the video showcase that's posted and the additional stuff taught in the lessons. 
• ♕ They watch anime together sometimes, yep.
• ♕ more to be added!

 “When you can’t look on the bright side, I will sit with you in the dark.”
- Min Seulki, probably

CreateTheSound. 8.5/10.
[ ENDING COMMENTS ] I tried to color all links in the app itself with this color or this blue/9daccc so they would be a little easier to pick out while still fitting in with the general color scheme. The solo idea/suggestions are kind of organized by focus (dance vs vocal) and kind of by genre, with little blurbs to the side detailing his thoughts about the genre. If they have a mv or "official video," it's linked. If it doesn't, it's a live performance and/or a lyric video or something, cause some are b-sides. So....the amount of research I ended up putting into Seulki's background is equal parts ridiculous and hilarious, and yet I'm kind of loving this kid all the more for it? But at the same time!! I gathered my information on 1Million studios from a couple different articles online, so some of it might be wrong? and the comment about Lucifer setting the bar was from an article interviewing or written by a few dancers that I found several months ago. OKAY OKAY OKAY SO I went to check Haneul's app to try to match things up but there wasn't anything there for his trainee life or years so I'm kind of running blind on like...the first part or so of their love story jdsakd sorry. uhhh there's a few things here and there that I might go back through and edit later (like additional 1Million videos he's in, style pictures, etc) but for right now I'm so done. this app is sitting at like a solid 19k and I legitimately can't decide whether to laugh or cry because it's the longest thing I've written in like 2 months??
[ SCENE REQUESTS ] ...

• Seulki tries his hand at composing! 
• airplane ride with Seulki clinging onto Yong, because I am here for Seulki losing his cool
• Haneul singing in Italian, or just singing in general, and Seulki being an entire simp uwu
• Seulki plays Among Us one night and Haneul joins in and then everyone dies except Haneul because Seulki can't kill him, he just can't, it doesn't work like that
• ALL THE DANCE COVERS FOR FUN!!!
• lowkey some Bolin/Yong/Seulki/Haneul love square of misery because boys got crushes, but Yong and Seulki are best friends and dumb
• give me antifans being rude to Yong about his weight and Haneul losing his tyvm
• Seulki with his dumb flirty nicknames
• THE BOYS RELEASE FEVER and horizon ON AN ALBUM! and Seulki gets the tattoos and has to hide it from the members as it heals...and JAehwa and Sunhi. Yong and Haneul figure it out first bc smart boys (see appearance for potential idea!)
• I should have better ideas than these...but it's also 3am and i am the tired human so i might come back to this eventually

[ SONG SUGGESTIONS ] ...

• the boys get their cover game on! these would be good for during covid stuff, if you plan to work with it, or for pre-debut stuff to hype the members. Youngblood, empty Space, easier, In My Blood, How You Like That, History, Before You Go (w/ Hana & rap member), Someone You Loved (w/ Hana & vocal member), Love Poem (w/ Hana & vocal member), On & On (special stage around Halloween?)
• the boys also get their dance game on! Zombie (dance line! a Halloween present?), Dance War (w/ Yong, member, & member) Performance 1, Performance 2, Performance 3, Growl,
• the boys participate on Immortal Songs! original performance (+ Halloween special release)
• eventual releases of Daisy, Fever, Inception, Thanxx, promise, Twilight, Horizon, all the good stuff no I'm not pushing the Ateez agenda w-what are you talking about---
• JBJ95 songs for duets between the Blackout boys on various albums to highlight their individual charms and skills (they've got a bunch of good titles and a few good bsides, so could literally pick 4 and duo the Blackout boys up!)
• H&D & JJ Project also fit the above theme!!! I mention a couple songs in the post-debut area in more detail but like!! in general!!!

[ PASSWORD ] I think I initially voted ot8 Miroh. It fits their concept really well and will feed into their concept as BP's brother group on the way to world blackout, but I like Dr. Bebe, too. AND DAISY!!! D-CRUNCH ALSO HAS A COMEBACK WITH ACROSS THE UNIVERSE AND IT WAS REALLY GOOD OMG?? /ENDORSES LOUDLY