Realistic or Modern ~Stryka~

[Mystic Butterfly]

After Kang-Dae finished changing, he looked at himself in the mirror. He brushed his hair a bit. "Looking good!" he said proudly. He picked up his Anpanman doll again and hugged it. "Wish me luck, Anpanman~" he said, setting the doll down and heading out of the room.

Kang-Dae joined the others in the living room, smiling nervously. "Annyeong, everyone. Is the manager here yet?" he asked.

 

[Peculiar3]

Nana
​

Everything was overwhelming the Maknae, but he tried to keep a happy and positive attitude anyway. Sure their manager was coming to inspect them and could throw any of them out at any time, but he'd be fine! Hopefully... The youngest girl's words brightened him up a little, and he gave her a soft and kind smile. "Thank Rae." He shortened her name, hoping she wouldn't mind as his eyes lifted to the newest arrival. Daiki... This guy was scary. Upon his warning to be respectful, Namil nodded along, trying to be a bit of a golden child. But the second replacement was mentioned he froze and looked down. He shuffled to the female Maknae and huddled against her, shoulders bumping as he kept his eyes lowered. This guy had some serious problems. And yet when he saw Jinwoo tease him he tell him to be nice he tilted his head, and blinked in surprise when he held his hand. That.... was one brave man.

Daiki
​

He was somewhat satisfied with how scared everyone looked. If they were scared then there was a better chance of them behaving. Jinwoo of course was going around being an absolute saint to everyone. This was why they were a good pair. It was like the whole good cop bad cop routine. His scary expression melted into a soft smile as his friend took his hand, and he squeezed gently. "Discipline is not a bad thing Woozie. And put that tongue back where it came from or I'll bite it off." He was borderline flirting at this point, but it was a part of his personality. Especially around
his best friend.

Manager Haneul​

He gathered his thing into his briefcase, shutting and locking it then storing it under his desk. The day was draining away quickly, and after he spoke with the new group he would be heading home. He turned off his monitor and laid a few papers in front of his assistant, "Just finish these and you can head home early." He flashed her a gentle smile, clearly in an uncharacteristically good mood. The assistant beamed and nodded quickly, excited to go home to her family early.

He got on the elevator and put his hands in his vest pockets and whistling softly as he watched the floors climb downward. When it opened he stepped out and straightened his tux, then walked towards the correct door. He knocked twice, then opened the door and looked around. It nearly everyone was gathered in the main room, though it seemed one girl was missing. He shut the door behind him, noticing Daiki instantly bow low to him. "Hello Stryka."

 

[Taek-My-Heart]

"I'd like to see you try, Dai." Jinwoo teased back, a happy smile directed to his best friend. It wasn't long after that the door opened to reveal their manager. Jinwoo retracted his fingers from Daiki's hand and bowed respectfully. "Hello sir." Jinwoo said after raising his head. He watched as the man scanned the room, looking at each member. Under such scrutiny, though he had met Manager Haneul before, made Jinwoo shift slightly towards Daiki. He inwardly cursed himself, even if it was just a few centimeters.

 

[Mystic Butterfly]

Kang-Dae saw the manager enter the room and he immediately bowed. "Hello, Manager Haneul." he said, trying to hide any nervousness that showed on him. He took deep breaths and straightened out his outfit. "It is nice to finally meet you."

 

[Christi]

Rain nodded with a small smile, glad to see Nana get a little happier at her compliment. Then Daiki's tough words came and she felt just a little calmed down, or a bit more secure at least, as the boy beside her scooted close to her after said words. She could sense his nervousness too, especially at the fear of being kicked out and replaced, and she couldn't help but take his hand for a brief moment and squeeze it gently, before letting it go. This was a small, brief gesture that her brother had done to her whenever she got nervous or tense, and she found it very helpful. So she hoped it would do the same for the male maknae.

Previously fixed on the ground, Rain's eyes moved up as Jinwoo approached, whispering light-hearted and kind words to cheer them up. And the girl couldn't help but smile small and sweetly as he sent her a wink with a smile of reassurance, to which she returned with an appreciative nod. She did appreciate his kind attempt to calm them down a bit. It was nice. But her eyes quickly moved to the door as it opened, and the manager stepped in, causing her heart to stop, at least it felt like that. She immediately did a rather low bow to Manager Haneul, as if she was meeting him for the first time. "Hello." she said softly and respectfully, after her bow. They had a rather good relationship, though that was as a result of her training period and it mainly meant there were no negative feelings between them and she respected him greatly. But she still got nervous, especially when it came to things like this.

 

[SpotBandit]

Minjun shot Rain a small sheepish smile and a quiet, appreciative "Thank you.". He tucked his hands into his pockets and immediately found himself thinking about how strict the manager would be, what he'd look like and what kind of a person he'd be like. The boy hoped that the manager wasn't some kind of power hungry manager that'd kick someone out of the team without giving it a second thought, because Min already knew that some of his other friends had dealt with people like that. The powerful kinds of people intimidated Minjun a lot, so the boy figured he'd never step out of line- not even once.

The sound of knocking immediately caught Min's attention and his head turned to the door. He noticed the manager Haneul enter the room, and then felt a small panic seize him. He hid it well though, asides from the sudden aversion to speaking. Minjun gave a very small bow to the manager to show his respects to the man, deciding to keep his lips sealed until asked a question directly by manager Haneul.

 

[auburnt]

Rhydian had been anxiously waiting for this; he was finally getting to know what his group would work with. It was the kind of nervous that made him feel like his blood was travelling too fast inside of him, and he could barely bow to their manager without his hands shaking and his heart beating like crazy. The knocks on the door had already left him without knowing what to do at all, he couldn't even see or hear what else was going on around him. He didn't even know what exactly made him this nervous, this totally wasn't normal, but he liked to think he was good at keeping his expression neutral enough that no one would say anything. But his hands were still trembling slightly, and none of his friends from trainee days were there to comfort him, leaving him feeling a weird mix of lonely and self-conscious. He didn't want to go back to his awkward phase, he hated it too much; there was this need to try and act like a responsible adult, but how hard was that? Honestly. Manager Haneul would probably be a constant source of his worries for a while, but maybe that would go away soon. He just needed to take a deep breath and listen.

 

[Peculiar3]

​

His eyes widened when he felt a hand in his, and heat rose to his cheeks instantly as he looked over at Kyung-rae. "Y-you-" He stopped as she immediately let go, giving him a reassuring smile. It had just been a friendly gesture... Nothing more? He let out a small relieved breath and moved closer to her, relaxing somewhat. He almost felt like a big brother to her, even though she was the exact same age. Still, he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her against him, "Nervous?" His blush quickly faded and he tried to get used to being so close to a girl. He wanted to be able to treat them like family, so he decided to start working on it early.

Meanwhile, Daiki straightened his back and smiled happily at his manager. "Sir, I believe this is everyone but one." He instinctively reached over and grabbed Jinwoo's hand, sensing his nerves. He had an overactive protective side when it came to his friends, especially this cutie. The manager looked around and smiled slightly as he took in the sight of his whole group together. "Everyone, if you want to follow me into the meeting room, we can sit and discuss." He held open the door to the dorm, "It's the room right across the hall." He indicated with his hand, and Daiki took the initiative to go first, tugging hi friend along with him gently.

 

[t s u k i]

Katelyn went from somewhat happy to serious. She meant business around the manager, and it showed with how far she bowed and the calmness she projected, "Manager Haneul, its a pleasure to finally meet you, sir. I'm sure we will make you very proud." She spoke as formally as she could. This was the man who would be her boss and would be checking in on this team from time to time, so she had to make sure that he knew she was ready to lead this team to a solid victory.

The raven haired female brushed some hair out of her face and finally showed a kind smile to him, finally leaning back up. "I'm sure you know that I will be leading this team. I will do my best to be a great leader, coworker, and friend to these amazing people. Now, please, come in and make yourself at home like we are in the process of doing."

 

[Peculiar3]

Katelyn went from somewhat happy to serious. She meant business around the manager, and it showed with how far she bowed and the calmness she projected, "Manager Haneul, its a pleasure to finally meet you, sir. I'm sure we will make you very proud." She spoke as formally as she could. This was the man who would be her boss and would be checking in on this team from time to time, so she had to make sure that he knew she was ready to lead this team to a solid victory.

The raven haired female brushed some hair out of her face and finally showed a kind smile to him, finally leaning back up. "I'm sure you know that I will be leading this team. I will do my best to be a great leader, coworker, and friend to these amazing people. Now, please, come in and make yourself at home like we are in the process of doing."

(Our posts slightly clashed lol)

 

[Taek-My-Heart]

Jinwoo was the opposite of a cliche. The outer shell of his body tattooed and making him seem delinquent, however inside he was a softy, kind and reassuring. A small smile presented itself when the rapper felt another hand is his. He looked over to the other, nodding as he was pulled into the conference room. He was all for playing around with Daiki, but this was his future and seeing Manager Haneul there, all he could remember was when the same male told him that his debut would have to wait. Releasing a breath, Jinwoo sat next to Daiki, still holding on to his hand, his fingers drumming across the taller's knuckles. "You said we're missing one?" He asked suddenly remembering the others words.

 

[Peculiar3]

Daiki pulled his slightly shorter friend across the hall and into the small meeting room. There was a long rectangular table, surrounded by chairs, and he instantly sat at the right of the one at the head of the table. He liked to be at the center of things when it came to leading. Jinwoo sat next to them, their hands still clasped tightly where the others couldn't see. The manager followed everyone else in and say at the head of the table, waiting for everyone to get situated before he would begin speaking. Meanwhile, Dai leaned over to Woozie as he had fondly nicknamed him, and looked down at their hands. He used his free hand to play with the other's sleeve as he responded softly, "It's a girl. I don't know who she is but we're supposed to have one more." He glanced around as the other's took their seats. "I guess she's just late."

 

[Christi]

The youngest girl's eyes met Nana's and she noticed the heat rising to his cheeks, which in all honesty caused her heart rate to increase, and she hoped she didn't come across weird or in a way that she didn't intend. But she felt relieved as he moved closer to her and wrapped his arm around her. It kind of shocked her, and she felt her cheeks heat up slightly. You couldn't blame her, though. He was rather attractive after all, so it was only natural to feel a bit shocked or flustered after such a thing. But she offered a small and sweet smile as she returned it by wrapping her arm around him, listening to his question. She nodded briefly, almost timidly, but she did feel less nervous after the comforting gesture from the maknae.

After the manager had been in the room for a short bit when he told them to follow him into the meeting room so they could discuss, which the girl assumed meant discussing their group's concept and all of that. Taking a somewhat deep breath, she gave Nana a look and, waiting for him to go first so she could follow, she made her way out of the dorm and towards the meeting room, her heart basically racing at this point and her eyes either fixated on the ground or that in front of her. And, once they entered the room, she took a seat, obviously choosing a seat next to the youngest male, and her eyes lifted to look at the manager, waiting for him to speak.

 

[Mystic Butterfly]

"Yes, sir!" said Kang-Dae. He straightened his outfit again and followed the others to the meeting room. He took a seat and took another deep breath. He had to relax. He wanted to make a good impression on not just the manager, but everyone else in Stryka.

 

[underoos]

Sanghwa did as the rest of the group did as she bowed and mumbled a greeting, glad to just blend into the background for now. If there was anything that made her nervous, it was sticking out more than she should. Following was definitely more of her style. When they were asked to go into the conference room, she trailed everyone else into the room, taking a seat somewhere in the middle of the table. She crossed her legs and folded her hands atop her legs, waiting for everyone to get settled so they could begin their meeting. Now this she was excited about, to finally know what their group would be like and what kind of concept and image they would be striving to achieve.

 

[Peculiar3]

The manager waited for everyone to be seated, then clasped his hands and leaned forward. "I'll begin by explaining your roles in the group. You can ask any questions you want, and then I'll get into what your concept and sub-units will be. But first, I want to say that I have been planning on creating this group since before I went to college. It's message... Has a deep meaning to me that hits at a personal level. Each of you were chosen as trainees, with the intent of you being placed in this group. Some-" His eyes wandered to Daiki and Jinwoo, "Almost debuted elsewhere. But I held you back with this group in mind. So, you should all feel honored to be here. You have shown incredible skill and character each and every one of you."

He leaned back in his chair, then said quickly. "You all know what your talents are, so I'll only list the most important roles. First of all, as I'm sure you already know, your leader will be Katelyn." He met the girl's gaze, a soft smile on his lips. "She has shown the most potential to lead you all to success, but should she crack under the pression Daiki will be her replacement." The Japanese male sat up straighter at this, clearly eager to snatch the position if he could.

"We will have two visuals. One female, and one male. Our female will be Kyung-rae, and the male will be Minjun." He looked at them each in turn, then listed the other major positions quickly. "Your lead dancer will be Rhydian, lead vocalist will be Sanghwa, and Lead Rapper will be Daiki. Each of these is capable of changing if another member proves they are suited for the job. So work very hard everyone. Are there any questions about roles?"

 

[SpotBandit]

Minjun took a seat as his other team members did, and everyone fell silent so they could hear the manager. Hearing the manager explain that he had this group in his mind for so long made Minjun feel very nervous. His hands clasped together softly in response to the sudden anxiety. Even though the boy was 99.9% sure that he wasn't going to step out of line at all, he now knew that he wasn't going to do that whatsoever. It'd give Minjun a bad title, and it'd also mean that he could be replaced in an instant. The boy hoped the team would turn out the way the manager strived it to.

Hearing that Katelyn would be the leader, Min turned his head to her for a quick glance before refocusing on the manager. Min had personally expected it to be a male, but knowing it was a female was quite the pleasant change of pace.

Hearing his name, the boy felt himself get more attentive to the conversation at hand. Minjun perked a bit upon hearing his role as a visual and gave a small, unnoticeable smile to himself, clearly satisfied with the spot he had landed. The boy kept silent after the manager's question, not having any queries he could think of at the moment.

 

[Christi]

Kyung-rae nodded briefly in return to the manager as he announced what he would be doing and she waited patiently, eager to hear the roles, the concept, and the sub-units. She didn't expect to be given an important role since she knew she was a rapper and figured she was only that, which didn't really bother her. Less stress, she supposed. She nodded along to his words and her brows raised ever so slightly upon hearing Manager Hanuel tell them that it was a group, concept she assumed, that he had been planning on since college, and that the message was very important to him. Well, that didn't stress her out anymore. What if she or another member didn't fit the expectation that he had? But, pushing those thoughts aside, she nodded once more, agreeing with him. After all, no matter how nervous she was about this whole thing, she was incredibly honored, and felt happy at his compliment to them.

Her eyes flickered over to Katelyn as the other girl's name was called. As the girl had told them herself, she was the leader. And Rain wasn't that surprised. She did seem to have natural leader-like qualities, after all, from what she had seen. But she then looked over at Daiki next, hearing he would be the replacement for Katelyn if she failed. Daiki did also seem to have a leading spirit, even if his (his style, that is) was almost completely different from Katelyn. In her opinion, Rae liked Katelyn's style of leading better, but that was because of her personal preference. Daiki just seemed to lead more harsh and tough, not that that was bad. It just made her worry and stress out a bit.

Listening along, the young girl's eyes and head shot up at the mention of her name, her mouth gaping slightly, eyes widening slightly, and brows raising. She was the female visual? That was a little hard to believe, but she couldn't help but smile a bit hearing it. It was hard to believe since she thought she was rather basic looking, but a good thing nonetheless. She was a rapper, visual, and maknae. She shook her head, in reply to his question about questions, feeling proud and content with her roles in the group.

 

[Taek-My-Heart]

Jinwoo nodded along with Daiki at the mention of their last member being late. Well, late was an understatement as they were all seated in a room with the manager, ready to begin their discussion, yet the other girl was nowhere. The tattoo male shrugged it off, his eyes training on Manager Haneul as he clasped his hand together. Shortly after, he began explaining their roles in the group. A little bummed that he wasn't the lead rapper, Jinwoo nodded along sullenly. Though, at the mention that roles could change, he perked his head towards the manager and then to the male still holding his hand under the table. As much as he loved Daiki, Jinwoo was destined to be a lead rapper. A little competition would be good for him, and he knew the taller was always up for a fight. However, if he was being honest with himself, as long as he was able to write and compose, maybe have their group sing his songs, Jinwoo would be happy.

The tattooed male shook his head at the mention of any questions about roles. He's try his hardest to beat Daiki as far as rap skills, but they had always been rather evenly matched. Then again, Jinwoo never focused solely on rapping. He was a great rapper, but he also loved dancing and composing. His jack-of-all-trades lifestyle took away from time just to rap. Jinwoo liked being busy and doing everything that he did, kept him busy. But for someone who wasn't spreading themselves out, they had more time to focus on one field. Either way, he was excited to debut.

 

[auburnt]

Rhydian struggled not to fidget too much so he didn't seem too anxious or nervous, but he was. Literally anyone who took a look at him would see how stiff he was as their manager explained that they were all selected with a message in mind, that their concept would be something deep and elaborate. It sounded interesting, of course it did, but he was just so nervous... He could barely hear any sounds that weren't Manager Haneul-sshi's voice, and he was about to announce their roles and positions as members of Stryka - and that was a problem, because he always thought that he worked hard to prove that he was a skilled dancer, he believed he had some kind of talent, but during trainee days there were a lot of people who were good as well. He didn't know about his members, who knew what he was gonna be?

And then the world seemed to stop as their managers told them Rhydian was, indeed, their lead dancer. He visibly sighed in relief, and he wanted to say so many things, thank their manager a thousand times, maybe cry a little, but maybe he would just go out and buy himself some tea. There would be a lot of texting later that day, he had to share this with someone. This was literally what he wanted, he was ready to show everyone that he deserved it.

 

[Peculiar3]

Nana felt his heart thundering in his ears, hearing how easily he and the others could be replaced in this group. He moved closer to the other Maknae, their shoulders brushing and bringing him a small bit of comfort at least. He swallowed and remained silent the whole time, having no questions at all. He hadn't expected to have any important roles considering he was the youngest, but he felt happy for Kyung-rae after hearing she was a visual! She was very cutesy, so it wasn't too big of a surprise.

Daiki meanwhile, had heard this all before. He had known of Haneul's plans for Stryka for a few years now considering how close he was to the manager. He knew every word was truth. They would be replaced if they could not live up to his incredible expectations. A terrifying thought, but one they all would have to accept. Only hard work would deliver them to debut day. He pulled Jinwoo's hand into his lap when it came to roles, knowing his friend would be ambitious in his goals. When he heard his name instead he closed his eyes, battling the feeling of satisfaction down. He would not give up his position easily, but he did feel guilty knowing how hard the other male worked. If Daiki could steal the leader spot then he would speak to the manager about allowing Jinwoo to be a lead rapper. Otherwise his friend would have to beat him fair and square. For now however, he just stroked the back of Woozie's hand, tracing little shapes as he absently listened.

When no one asked any questions, Haneul straightened up and continued. "Stryka will be divided into two different Sub-units. One will have a darker concept and the other will be- fresh. Cute and- upbeat. I want to give you all as much freedom as possible, so I will allow you to choose your own name for these units and I will okay them. In the first group, the members will be Katelyn, Rhydian, Kyung-rae, Jinwoo, and Daiki. The second will be Namil, Sanghwa, Minjun, and Lauren." Daiki's head tilted at this. He had a cousin named lauren but... it was probably just a coincidence. "After this meeting I encourage you all to get into your groups and discuss ideas for names." He then smiled, and leaned forward. "For Stryka, our concept will be revolutionary." He let a small tense silence build, then said proudly, "Pride for the LGBT community. We will bring the idea of loving everyone no matter what."

 

[SpotBandit]

Minjun continued to listen to the manager attentively, his hands still clasped together softly, his subconscious finding comfort in the boy twiddling his two thumbs together. When Manager Haneul mentioned a sub-unit in the team, this caught Min off guard. He'd never really heard of a sub-division of a group, he'd thought that they'd be on the same boat together without much difference. Of course, Min never minded difference, he was just taken of guard.

Min felt like smiling when he heard that he'd been included in the cute division on the group. Min could've never been able to be darker than cutesy and upbeat, because whenever Min would try to act tougher than he was, he'd completely overdo the role and seem much too gruff than a normal human being. It'd be best to stay himself rather than act as a person he wouldn't be.

Though, the next thing that Min heard sent a shock through him. He paused to himself for a while, his back straightening, his eyes widening a slight bit and his face seeming idle. He felt as if his jaw would hit the floor, but it didn't dare move- it'd make him seem unprofessional.
Asides from that, Min couldn't believe it. A K-pop group that represents and shows pride for the LGBT community? That was unheard of. And Min, not quite being straight, was overjoyed to hear he would be involved in a group like this.

Min remained calm on the outside, but felt himself going into a literal meltdown inside. He was ecstatic.

 

[auburnt]

Even with their manager's very clear explanation about their different sub-units, which had pretty much completely opposite concepts, Rhydian didn't know what to feel. Would they perform as a full group as well? What criteria had they used to decide who was a member of what sub-unit? He almost raised a hand to politely ask those questions that were threatening to burst into his brain and melt it, but, yet again, manager Haneul was full of surprises. A group that would speak of Pride? That sounded so, so freaking incredible from one standpoint - even if Korea was an enitrely different situation, Rhydian was an out and proud gay man, and he felt loved and represented by his company. But, on another hand... How would the public react to it? It's not like Koreans hated anyone that wasn't straight, younger generations might even accept it perfectly, it just wasn't something that people spoke of. It was like it didn't exist. That could put their group members in danger somehow.

"Excuse me, manager-nim", Rhydian finally said after raising a shy, awkward hand, almost wincing. He was kind of mad at himself for breaking the silence, but he hadn't told any of his trainee friends that he was gay and was a little afraid that someone might have been finding this out about him without him knowing. He had to ask for permission first, of course, "I'd like to ask a question, if that's possible. Were we all specifically selected for the group and the sub-units?"

 

[Peculiar3]

The manager raised his eyebrow as one of the older members raised his hand and asked a question. He smiled, hoping to calm them slightly for now. "You were all chosen for this group. The majority of you because of your sexual orientation." He folded his arms and continued, "We have studied you to determine this, even if you haven't all admitted. For instance, Daiki and Jinwoo are holding hands under the table. Namil kissed one of his fellow trainees when he was fourteen. There are cameras everywhere here, it isn't hard to decipher your true orientations. Though not all of you are thought to fit this concept perfectly in that- area. When it comes to sub-units, your sound and appearance were taken into consideration to split up the groups. Does that answer your question?"

 

[auburnt]

It did, Rhydian thought, but that did not mean it was helpful. He still felt a little unsure of what to think about people observing him and his colleagues all this time, because while the things he pointed out were pretty obvious, he didn't think anyone would have thought that their sexualities would be such an important factor. Maybe he still had a few more questions that needed answering, but he would be happy with just one. "It does, manager-nim, thank you", he answered with a polite bow from where he sat. He knew he might get in trouble for this, but he also felt like he had the right to know what he was getting himself into. No one warned him about people staring at him all day, after all.

"I have one more, if I may. Did the company come up with the concept after getting to know of our orientations, or was this the big plan all along?"