when the lights go out
title: when the lights go out
pairing: woohyun-centric with slight woohyun/sunggyu
description: Being on Immortal Song just brings him down even more.
note: I got inspiration after today's episode of Immortal Song where he said he wanted to get first, and you could see how disappointed he was when he didn't. Thus, this came out, lol.
When Woohyun finds out that he’s going to join Immortal Song, he’s not sure what to think. Sunggyu is the better singer, is he not? Yet they chose him, Nam Woohyun, because he’s popular and the show needs publicity.
So he is thrown into a competition with far more experienced artists that he honestly has the tiniest fraction of a chance against, and every time anyone on the staff for the show looks at him, he can see pity in their eyes.
Woohyun tries, he really does, even though deep down he knows it’s really futile. Even if he can’t win, he can’t let Infinite down; he can’t let himself down. He has too much pride for that.
He practises for hours on end, going nights without sleep. The others go back to the dorm and crash after Sunggyu decides that the rehearsal cannot go on without someone collapsing. Sunggyu always leaves last, a lingering glance piercing him in the mirror. Woohyun only allows himself a few minutes before he trudges out to the studio to fix that one note in his song that he keeps getting wrong.
The first recording comes, and Woohyun feels proud of himself until he hears everyone else. That moment, he realises how foolish and naïve he is.
When Woohyun watched Immortal Song on TV, he would always feel the anxiety as the steps got closer to the contestants, and in the last moment when they were alternating, his heart would be about to explode. He felt like shutting off the lights on the losing side was a bit harsh even though he knew it was for dramatic effect. Then he would wonder how it felt as the lights shut off.
And now he knows the feeling and would not like to feel it constantly; he doesn’t need that disheartenment to bring him down more than he already is. Woohyun is not surprised when the lights go out and the path is red rather than blue. He walks to the middle to congratulate the winner before retreating backstage to talk about how nervous he was and how his heart was pounding, to pretend that he’d actually thought he had a chance. (but inside he hopes that he will have a chance, with time.)
The next week he works harder than before. This time he is dancing with a girl, which is honestly beyond awkward, and he hears Sungyeol’s snickers every time he has to leave to rehearse with her.
His second recording is better than the first, and Woohyun feels relief inside when he nails the falsetto that had left him voiceless for a day the first time.
Yet again, the lights go out.
Sunggyu, Sungyeol, and Hoya come to support him, and this time he feels a bit more pressure because he feels like they’re expecting something of him. Sunggyu whispers a few words of encouragement in Woohyun’s ear before he walks on stage.
This performance is probably one of his least perfect; his long notes are off, and his low notes are unclear (something he knows Sunggyu would not do).
His heart drops a bit even though he expects it when the lights go out for the third time. The feeling gets worse when he sees slight disappointment in Sungyeol and Hoya’s eyes despite their repetition of “It’s fine” and “you’ll do better next time.” Sunggyu does not say anything and simply hugs Woohyun tight, and Woohyun almost wants to cry and tell his best friend how much this hurts.
“I want to get first place,” Woohyun says on the fourth week. He doesn’t know why he said it, but now he can’t take it back.
Woohyun features Dongwoo this week. He watches as Dongwoo steals the stage and overshadows him despite only being there for a few seconds. And he wishes he had the rapper’s charisma and confidence, but then again, Dongwoo is only the feature; no one is expecting something spectacular out of him, no one is looking for a performance worthy of a win.
The booms as the steps on the path come closer and closer have never seemed so loud. Woohyun feels his heart; it is pounding, and his nerves are high.
All he sees is black.
His disappointment is so heavy that he cannot completely hide it during the interview afterwards even though he knows he really should.
His spirit is crashed around him though maybe his outer shell is okay. The staff members give him worried glances, but Woohyun smiles and says he is fine, because he can’t be weak, he can’t cry; not here.
Sunggyu is waiting for him, and Woohyun finally lets go.
pairing: woohyun-centric with slight woohyun/sunggyu
description: Being on Immortal Song just brings him down even more.
note: I got inspiration after today's episode of Immortal Song where he said he wanted to get first, and you could see how disappointed he was when he didn't. Thus, this came out, lol.
When Woohyun finds out that he’s going to join Immortal Song, he’s not sure what to think. Sunggyu is the better singer, is he not? Yet they chose him, Nam Woohyun, because he’s popular and the show needs publicity.
So he is thrown into a competition with far more experienced artists that he honestly has the tiniest fraction of a chance against, and every time anyone on the staff for the show looks at him, he can see pity in their eyes.
Woohyun tries, he really does, even though deep down he knows it’s really futile. Even if he can’t win, he can’t let Infinite down; he can’t let himself down. He has too much pride for that.
He practises for hours on end, going nights without sleep. The others go back to the dorm and crash after Sunggyu decides that the rehearsal cannot go on without someone collapsing. Sunggyu always leaves last, a lingering glance piercing him in the mirror. Woohyun only allows himself a few minutes before he trudges out to the studio to fix that one note in his song that he keeps getting wrong.
The first recording comes, and Woohyun feels proud of himself until he hears everyone else. That moment, he realises how foolish and naïve he is.
When Woohyun watched Immortal Song on TV, he would always feel the anxiety as the steps got closer to the contestants, and in the last moment when they were alternating, his heart would be about to explode. He felt like shutting off the lights on the losing side was a bit harsh even though he knew it was for dramatic effect. Then he would wonder how it felt as the lights shut off.
And now he knows the feeling and would not like to feel it constantly; he doesn’t need that disheartenment to bring him down more than he already is. Woohyun is not surprised when the lights go out and the path is red rather than blue. He walks to the middle to congratulate the winner before retreating backstage to talk about how nervous he was and how his heart was pounding, to pretend that he’d actually thought he had a chance. (but inside he hopes that he will have a chance, with time.)
The next week he works harder than before. This time he is dancing with a girl, which is honestly beyond awkward, and he hears Sungyeol’s snickers every time he has to leave to rehearse with her.
His second recording is better than the first, and Woohyun feels relief inside when he nails the falsetto that had left him voiceless for a day the first time.
Yet again, the lights go out.
Sunggyu, Sungyeol, and Hoya come to support him, and this time he feels a bit more pressure because he feels like they’re expecting something of him. Sunggyu whispers a few words of encouragement in Woohyun’s ear before he walks on stage.
This performance is probably one of his least perfect; his long notes are off, and his low notes are unclear (something he knows Sunggyu would not do).
His heart drops a bit even though he expects it when the lights go out for the third time. The feeling gets worse when he sees slight disappointment in Sungyeol and Hoya’s eyes despite their repetition of “It’s fine” and “you’ll do better next time.” Sunggyu does not say anything and simply hugs Woohyun tight, and Woohyun almost wants to cry and tell his best friend how much this hurts.
“I want to get first place,” Woohyun says on the fourth week. He doesn’t know why he said it, but now he can’t take it back.
Woohyun features Dongwoo this week. He watches as Dongwoo steals the stage and overshadows him despite only being there for a few seconds. And he wishes he had the rapper’s charisma and confidence, but then again, Dongwoo is only the feature; no one is expecting something spectacular out of him, no one is looking for a performance worthy of a win.
The booms as the steps on the path come closer and closer have never seemed so loud. Woohyun feels his heart; it is pounding, and his nerves are high.
All he sees is black.
His disappointment is so heavy that he cannot completely hide it during the interview afterwards even though he knows he really should.
His spirit is crashed around him though maybe his outer shell is okay. The staff members give him worried glances, but Woohyun smiles and says he is fine, because he can’t be weak, he can’t cry; not here.
Sunggyu is waiting for him, and Woohyun finally lets go.