and of course he was a little nervous about having to showcase two skills instead of one. it was just the rapping he had to worry about he would no doubt be feeling a lot calmer about the whole situation. but really the excitement was overwhelming the nerves. this could really be it. after a small one minute performance he could really be offered a contract and start on the long road towards debut. and maybe it was foolish to already be thinking so far ahead of himself, but the teenager really couldn’t help it very much. he’d been working for years already just to get this chance, and now it was right there in front of him. all it took was one solid performance to prove that he could do it. and he was nothing but confident that he could pull this off. 

from the beginning he thought it might be an amusing idea to try and combine his skills on a skateboard into things. but after thinking about it for a little longer he realized that was an incredibly dumb idea and it was probably better if he didn’t do something like that. he wanted to try and take this seriously. it was his dream and his future on the line and he didn’t want to go and mess it up because he had had decided to not take it 100% seriously. that’s when he started to looking towards rapping and both dancing. while dancing was not something he was completely confident in, he had dabbled about enough with it to feel as though he could copy a choreography with a little bit of practice. 

actually finding a song he was comfortable with took more time than he was expecting. it was hard to find a song that had enough rapping for him to showcase while also having a good dance routine to it as well. june could easily imagine that vocalists had a lot easier time with this, but he wasn’t about to give up. while it took a little time scouring the internet and scrolling through his spotify playlists for inspiration he eventually came across something which would be interesting to do. while the just under a minute clip he had managed to secure had a little bit of vocal parts as well, junhyuk wasn’t planning on singing those bits. 

then start the practice, starting with learning the rap, just constantly rapping the words over and over again in his bedroom mirror, watching his reflection, trying to get the right facial expressions. then it was the dance, watching the mirrored choreography video over and over again, learning step by step, dancing in time with the video until he was sure the whole one minute dance was drilled right into his head. finally it was a mixture of both the rapping and the dancing. admittedly, it was a little harder than he thought it was going to be trying to put the two of them together, but after a couple of hours of endless practice he was actually managing it. and it wasn’t very long at all until he was feeling confident in himself, ready to go and put on a really great performance that he could be proud of. 

the day of the callback the nerves were starting to come back. the slightly twitching fingers, unable to sit still as he rode the bus to the company. and the whole time he had his headphones plugged into his ears, softly rapping the song under his breath, unable to stop himself from moving slightly to the choreography as well. and sure, he was getting some pretty strange looks from the people around him, but junhyuk didn’t care. this was his last chance to get in even a little bit of practice so he was hardly going to let it pass. 

just standing there staring up at royal entertainment, junhyuk the butterflies in his stomach, even if he was trying to just swallow them down. he almost couldn’t imagine himself coming here every day and to be able to call himself a trainee. but the teenager knew that he wanted it, he was desperate for it. and that surely had to count for something? he was sure they would be able to see how hungry he was and how willing to do anything he was just to get his chance to even train. he was still young, junhyuk knew that, so there was loads of time to achieve his dream. but starting as young as possible was not going to hurt anybody. 

he recognized one of the other royal callbacks as the girl he had met during the speakup event, but the boy he didn’t. though junhyuk was trying not to think about them as he stood there waiting for his turn. getting distracted was not a good idea and he didn’t want to start worrying about how good these other people might be. this was all about him, it was his moment and he just had to keep himself completely focused on the task ahead and pull through in one piece. 

when he finally heard his name his heart did a small leap in his chest. this was finally it. so junhyuk found himself standing up just a little bit taller, trying to seem as confident in himself and possible as he held his head up and walked into the room, smiling as he stood in front of the small panel of people and the camera pointed right at him. don’t panic, he knew he could do this, he was talented and he was just about to prove it. don’t think about the fact he was performing in front of the ceo or he was being filmed. this was all just in a days work. it was fine. 

“hello,” he greeted politely, smiling as he bowed just under ninety degrees before straightening up again, the smile still on his face, “my name is bang junhyuk and thank you very much for this opportunity.” and he couldn’t mean those words any more, he was thankful he was even getting the smallest of chances to show his stuff. he could have very well never have gotten a callback in the first place. and even if today didn’t work out for him, he still wanted to leave feeling happy that he had put in his best effort and couldn’t have done anything different. 

but now there was no more talking, nothing else he could say. all he could do was do his short performance and hope that it at least impressed someone and showed he had some potential to be great one day. 

as soon as the music started he was in character, expression changing to something far more charismatic like a switch had just been flipped in his head. all the nerves just gone as he went right into the first rap like he had practised over and over again. 

i see u eyeing on me 원한다면 come get a taste 신호를 보내 눈빛에 써있네 you thirsty all thirsty for this

너의 움직임에 더 홀려가게 she whine it drippin like faucet 적셔가 열정의 땀에 이 곡이 마쳐도 no pares y dame woah

the choreography was sharp but junhyuk was trying to show a charismatic and powerful rapper side to him as well. he wanted to act as though he had been doing this for years, that rapping and dancing just came naturally to him. he was extra careful not to put a foot wrong, keeping the timing in the back of his mind as he moved and flowed with the beat of the song. and next came a short vocal bit, but he didn’t actually sing along, not really willing to prove how little singing ability he had. instead, he had just left the female vocals out of it. but even so he still found himself mouthing them a little under his breath, almost as if he was keeping himself in time as he moved towards the next part of the song. 

you make me 맨정신 못 차리게 어지러워 어질러 내 맘을 왜

more vocals for a second, to june allowed himself to focus on his dancing, keeping it sharp and powerful, just like the original. this was a strong song, upbeat and something you wanted to get up and jump around to. and he did have to hope he was successfully managing to show that and the panel of judges weren’t just sitting there getting bored of watching him already. but if they weren’t impressed yet, he was sure now the chorus was coming up they might change their mind. it was almost impossible not to at least bop your head in time with the music. 

at least, it was for him. 

나와 함께 새하얗게   Make it burn make it burn 매일 밤밤 

then came the strong beat of the chorus and junhyuk didn’t hesitate to go right into the strong dancing. and just the sound of his feet hitting the floor as he moved was quite satisfying to hear, unable to keep the grin off his face as he performed. this really was what he loved doing, being able to stand there and entertain and inspire other people. june simply couldn’t imagine what his life would be like without music, without the capability to rap and to dance and really do what he loved. no doubt that would be a sad and lonely life indeed and not one he wanted to live. which was why he was so desperate to do well in this, if only to prove that he could stand up to people much older than him and prove that age wasn’t everything. 

오늘 밤 내일 밤 매일 밤밤

wildin’ all day wildin’ all night wildin’ all day 난 매일 밤밤 wildin’ all day wildin’ all night wildin’ all day 난 매일 밤밤

as he got through the last little bit of the lyrics and the chorus finally came to a close, junhyuk tried to finish as powerfully as possible. his foot hit the floor on the last beat and he straightened up, holding his hands in front of him as he held the last position for a moment, sweat starting to shine on his brow and chest heaving with the amount of energy he had just wasted in the fifty-five seconds he had been performing. and he felt the burn from his limbs, but the boy was still smiling all the day. he was proud of himself and what he had just done, proud that he had gotten through it solidly and was pretty sure he didn’t put a foot wrong the whole time. 

eventually he did relax as he stood there, taking just a short moment to get his breathing under control so he could comfortably speak again before bowing forward. “thank you so much again for this opportunity, i loved it! i hope you enjoyed watching as well,” he grinned right at the camera after he was done speaking, almost having forgotten that it was sat there recording him the whole time. but he didn't mind having that performance in an archive somewhere for years to come. he was proud of it and what he had just accomplished. 

while he wasn’t usually nervous about performing, he couldn’t help but feel the anxious tingling in his fingers, the shivers running down his neck. he hadn’t even given much time to prepare, only a couple of days to get everything in order and decide on a song and what he wanted to do. hohyeon had known from the beginning he wanted to showcase both his rapping and dancing, despite being told that he only needed to arrive and show one skill. that just wasn’t him, he was a rapper and a dancer, not just one or the other and he was going to show it. and he would only have ninety seconds to show it. 

while this might not be his ideal company, he was not going to turn down any opportunity. he needed to be a trainee, needed to eventually debut so he could support his mother and pull her out of the awful place they called home. he was willing to take any offer he was given, really, so the fact one of the big five companies was even remotely interested in him was a pretty big confidence boost. now all he needed to do was put on a good show and prove that their interest wasn’t unwarranted. that one day, he could be a big star and all he needed was the opportunity and proper training to get there. 

he was still smiling, though he didn’t quite know what he was supposed to say now he was standing there. anxiously clearing his throat, his eyes darted from side to side for a moment, trying to push down the nerves as he straightened up a little. this was professional, he couldn’t act like some cocky brat or be rude to these people if he wanted them to turn around and offer him a life changing contract. 

“hello,” that was always a good place to start, smiling as he politely bowed forward, “my name is lee hohyeon and thank you for this opportunity to perform for you today.” he sounded like a completely different person, hyeon was sure he hadn’t ever been this professional about things in his life. and if the person had watched his video would be well aware, he wasn’t usually this polite and he probably would have sworn already if he was just sitting in front of his camera. but he was not and he was trying to keep it clean and give a good impression. 

he smoothed down his shirt a little as he kept talking, “i’m going to be performing a song called zombie high which was originally done by grace.” introducing himself out of the way, introducing the song out of the way as well. and he hadn’t picked the song even thinking about the fact it was a couple of days after halloween. he simply liked it, already knew the words and the amount of dancing he was going to be doing was easy enough to learn in an afternoon. while he would have preferred learning a whole choreography for the duration of the time to prove that he could rap and dance at the same time, he simply didn’t have the time for that so was sticking with something which wasn’t too hard. 

“please listen and watch well,” he finished with another bow and a polite smile before signalling for the music to start. 

hyeon was still at fist as the bells starting to ring out, though he started snapping along in time with the beat, starting to rock his head slightly as he took a couple of steps forward, instantly barrelling into the first verse, easily keeping the flow as he kept his body loose. 

pull it in the trigger pull it in the trigger 빵 너도 한잔 들어 한번에 쭉 마셔 짠 짠 짠 그래 박자 놓쳐도 되 마음대로 해 rule 따윈 없지 dang we ride 

 he bounced slightly on his head, almost using his whole body to rap. it was rather easy to keep the nerves down as he got more into his performance, comfortably rapping the words in time with the music, outlining his own words with hand gestures as he really started to feel himself and what he was doing. this was what was going to get his signed, so he did want to put on his best performance. only doing something half-assed was not how he needed to go about things. and he was sure they would notice if he didn’t put in 100% and really sell them this performance and prove he would be a good asset to their company. 

긴장 풀어도 돼 눈치보지 말고 and just vibe with me 하고 싶었던 것들 조금 더 자유롭게 young wild and free 끝없이 ride with me

this was different than the mgas or anything else he had done, everyone was going to be looking at him, no one distracted by a partner or by their phones. and he was planning on keeping them captivated, engaged with his performance. which also meant that he needed to be careful not to make any stupid mistakes which could cost him. this was going to be fun as it was perfect. he could do this. 

수많은 색들의 외침 너가 상상하는게 정답 이제 걱정말고 덧칠 이건 꿈이 아닌 꿈 너가 항상 하고픈 늘 품고 지냈던 진짜의 너일뿐

high high we don’t need no pills to get high 이미 우린 하늘 위에 떠있지 and we fly 이 비트를 네 귀에다 때려박지 리듬에 취해 we gonna bounce with the devil

as the song built up towards the chorus, hohyeon found himself bouncing with the music even more on the balls of his feet, really keeping himself relaxed and loose as he moved, a confident smirk on his face the whole time. it was rather easy to keep his rap steady and smooth while bouncing and swaying with the performance. 

zombie de zombie de zombie high rule 따윈없지 we gon go insane zombie de zombie de zombie high rule 따윈없지 crazy grazy grace

performing like this was simply what he was born to do and nothing could convince him otherwise. he knew he could never have some boring office job, sitting there at a desk day in and day out. he needed to be out there, performing, bringing delight to people and creating some great music. and have a great time while doing it, getting the audience engaged and really vibing with what he was doing. 

high high we go zombie high high high 한단계 더 올라가 high high we go zombie high 더 높이 다른 세계로 쭉쭉 뻗어봐

he had started to bounce a little more, really feeling the music start to turn up with the beat drop coming up. though he paused for the brief moment the music allowed him, finally giving out an almost cocky smirk as he ruffled up the front of his fringe, speaking the last line before the final drop. 

i’m mother freakin zombie high

when the music finally dropped into the chorus, he completely forgot about rapping, seamlessly switching into powerful dancer mode. he was now one of the backup dancers from the original video, the smirk on his face growing slightly as he moved his body to the music. it was quite clear that he was enjoying himself, trying to pull out every ounce of charisma he had in him, though not trying to do too much. 

each move was powerful, the tip of his tongue starting to poke out a little as he danced, not worrying about easing himself into anything. this was an opportunity that might never come around again and he was simply going to grab it with both hands and never let go. but his whole concentration in that moment was focused on nothing but the performance he was currently trying to sell. he hadn’t even noticed that his tongue was poking between his lips, completely captured by his own body, the movements of his hands in front of his face, sliding his feet back as he kept his limbs loose. 

it really wasn’t a hard choreography and only lasted for a couple of seconds, so he was really trying to sell this as much as he possibly could. he sort of wished he could have been allowed to do the whole song, but he couldn’t. the ninety seconds was all he had and honesty, they were over a lot faster than he was expecting. the final beat of the song echoed around the room as hohyeon finally stopped moving, holding his final position for just a little longer, getting his breathing back under control. there was nothing else he could do, he had given it his all and he was pretty sure he hadn’t made any glaring mistakes. 

finally, he straightened up again, pushing his hair out of his face as he bowed forwards again, “thank you, once again, for the opportunity.” and he really couldn’t say thank you enough, this was his first invite to an audition and, for all he knew, it could very well be his last. but he would rather hope it would be because they wanted to sign him and he didn’t need to audition again. and he was quietly confident, he liked to think he had put in a good showing there and proven himself, but he wasn’t letting any of that show in his face. 

ever since his untimely elimination from the mgas, hohyeon had been itching to get up on a stage again and perform.  just uploading things onto youtube wasn’t good enough for him, he wanted to stand on a stage in front of people and show that he was talented and deserved to achieve his dreams. so, when the green ribbon event had shown up, hyeon hadn’t really wasted any time in putting his name forward and filling out the correct form. while he didn’t really look forward to having to run for charity, he was going to do it simply so he could get his slot on that stage and strut his stuff for a little awhile. 

he had been pretty torn picking between rapping or dancing, or whether he was going to do both just to pove the ceo’s comments from the mgas really were unwarranted. he was not ‘showing too much’ by trying to do both, he was more than capable and was as confident a dancer as he was a rapper. in the end, however, he had simply decided to settle with rapping, finding a song he had become rather attached to and already knew all the lyrics to. since he had dropped he had been planning to cover it for youtube anyway, so now was the perfect time to test it out. 

before he had climbed up on the stage, he had ended up thrusting his camera into the hands of someone in the front row, simply asking them to record his performance. mostly so he could watch it back, but also because if it were good enough he might just settle for uploading that to youtube instead of filming a more professional cover at a later date. 

as soon as the music started and the microphone was comfortable in his hand, hohyeon was already relaxing on that stage. he almost used a hand as if he were conducting the music at the beginning, and while he wouldn’t really call it dancing, he found his limbs moving all the same. he started popping in time to the music, a comfortable smile in his face. this was his stage for the next two minutes and he was going to make sure he was the best performance of this whole thing. 

비와이 가라사대

he would have bothered to change the lyrics to remove bewhy’s name, but it just didn’t work as well. didn’t sound as good and as it was mentioned quite a lot, in the end, he simply decided not to bother and had kept it in. and he supposed it didn’t really matter, while it didn’t make it as personal, it was still going to be a good performance, so he didn’t really care. 

깝치지 말지어다 넌 나를 위로 볼 지어다 역사로 살 지어다 증인의 삶이 될 지어다 여기를 밝힐 지어다 여길 다 삼킬 지어다 구와 신의 기준이 나일 지어다 그게 나일 지어다

it was an intense rap, leaving him very little time to breath in-between all the rapping, but he had practised this. hours and hours had been spent making sure he knew when to take a breath, so he was pretty comfortable with the speed and the intensity of it. besides, compared to what was coming up later, this was pretty tame. as he rapped he even found himself unable to stop moving, jerking somewhat with the music, though not enough that he was having to think too much about it or pull his mouth away from the microphone. 

비와이 가라사대 리더는 날 따를 지어다 난 선구자일 지어다 돈은 날 찾을 지어다 내 이름의 시대를 만들 지어다 한글은 팔릴 지어다 잔들을 따를 지어다 나는 되고 싶은 내가 될 지어다 내가 될 지어다

the second part of the first verse was more of the same, easy enough to rap along with as he simply kept up the energy. and he was making sure to make the most of the stage, moving from side to side to try and keep everyone who happened to be watching engaged with his performance. because the last thing he wanted was for someone to think he was being boring. though he couldn’t think for a moment why anyone would think that, this was quite a hype song and it was about to get even better as he moved towards the chorus. 

비와이 가라사대 보기나 해 bish 가라사대 모든 것 위 가라사대 여호와 밑 가라사대 이게 내 위치 가라사대 내 어젠 이제 가라사대 전설이 돼 가라사대 열매를 맺어 가라사대 비와이 가라사대

now the chorus was over with, he was heading towards the hardest part of the song. anyone who had never heard this song before were going to surprised when the speed suddenly picked up. and after it they would be hard pressed to say that hohyeon couldn’t rap fast. stuff he had done before was tame compared tot his and it had taken a lot of time to get the rhythm right and not stumble over his words. but rapping was just finding the right rhythm, once you got that and didn’t think too much over what you were saying, he might even say that it came easy. 

but, for the moment, there was a break and he went to his small scale dancing, easily popping and locking his arms in some interesting movements while he had nothing else to be doing. and it was the perfect song for it as well with the almost jerky music and the sudden high notes like you might find in a horror movie the perfect cue to twitch his head almost as if he were possessed. 

그게 나일 지어다 삶으로 나를 뱉어대 역사들은 새겨 댈걸 짭들은 베껴 대 진짜들은 말했어 내 건 최고 최초 내 날들은 매일매일 또 매번 배꼽 잡어 배고파도 내걸 만들어 새 걸 창조 계속하고 패권 잡어 배부른 날로 랩으로 바꿔 래퍼는 닥쳐 현재의 고난도 애써 참을 어제로 남아 여태껏 하던 대로

he was almost completely still for that part, only tapping his foot to keep the rhythm as he tried to conserved his energy. the last thing he wanted was to run out of breath in the middle of the verse. and by the time he got to the end of it, needing to take a deep breath. but at least he had made it through the speed rapping in one piece, and he was sure that he would have impressed at least one person in this audience. if no one was impressed after that, then he would be rather disappointed. but he simply had no time to think about it, barely getting enough time to catch his breath again as he went straight into the next part of the song. 

중심은 나일 지어다 신의 형상일 지어다 세상은 내 손 안일 지어다 영광의 면류관이 날 가질 지어다 기준을 제시할 지어다 미래를 계시할 지어다 가짜는 후회에 살 지어다 나는 그 위에 살 지어다

it was easy to get back into the flow of things again, the amount of work and practice he had put into this song showing as he felt as though he rather seamlessly made it through back to the chorus again. and now it was almost over and he was slightly disappointed that a song as good as this was so short. but he supposed it was a pretty hard song to cover and the original sounded incredibly good, enough that he it on repeat the first day it dropped, that he couldn’t be too upset about it. he knew he was never going to be as good as the original anyway, though he just hoped he was doing this song justice. 

비와이 가라사대 보기나 해 bish 가라사대 모든 것 위 가라사대 여호와 밑 가라사대 이게 내 위치 가라사대 내 어젠 이제 가라사대 전설이 돼 가라사대 열매를 맺어 가라사대 비와이 가라사대

he was simply back to his low energy dancing again, just letting the music flow through him as he aimlessly moved across the stage. it was not like he had any choreography planned, this was all just off the top of his head. the sort of thing he would do out of boredom or to try and impress someone if they were easily impressed by this sort of dancing. 

그게 나일 지어다 비와이 가라사대

the music ended about the same time he spoke the last word and hohyeon was smiling - always a good sign that he thought he had done well. and he did think that, he hadn’t made any glaring mistakes and had simply gone out there and proven his worth as a rapper while having fun at the same time as well. what more could he really ask from that? nothing, really. so, he simply soaked up the applause for a moment longer before politely bowing and moving off the stage to hand his microphone back. 

he had made it through yet another elimination. of course he had, hohyeon didn’t have much of a doubt he was going to make it through. and while he had been slightly pressed by the idea that they didn’t think he was one of the best rappers, it was a darn sight better than being one of the worst. but now he had made it through it came the new challenge and with it a vocalist he was going to have to put up with for a whole week. 

easier said than done when he hardly... liked vocalists very much. the whole time he always thought they stole all the spotlight away from rappers. everyone seemed to think they were more impressive and that simply annoyed him. and now he was expected to pair up and work with one. he knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and he had been right about that. 

hohyeon would have much preferred to be paired up with a dancer, or even another rapper, but no, they had paired him up with a vocalist. it had been pretty hard going at first, the problem of coming up with a song the both of them actually liked and wanted to perform together. hohyeon had eventually mentioned pop/stars mostly because it was what he had been listening to on repeat for awhile. it was quite a surprise that yuri actually took to the idea after listening to the song herself. so, now there they were after a week of some arguments, some tears and a lot of sweat and hard work ready to put this all together in front of the ceos and the remaining contestants. 

it was ever so slightly nerve wracking to know that it wasn’t going to be all down to him this week. if yuri didn’t perform well enough, then the both of them could end up being sent home. they needed to put on a good performance, get the crowd involved and impress everyone. not that hohyeon was worrying very much about him managing to do that, but he couldn’t help but side eye yuri as they found their seats and sat down next to each other. 

‘rocky’ was downplaying how the week had currently gone for the two of them. first it was the song choice, then it was the fact hyeon had somehow gotten her to agree to dancing with the chorus. and that had taken a lot of effort on his part. the girl was not a dancer. sure, she could get the basics steps and it wasn’t like she had two left feet or anything like that, but she was not on the same level as him and it was clear. luckily, the choreography was pretty simple, nothing too pressing and it had only taken him about an hour to get it down. the rest of his time was trying to get it in yuri’s head as well. 

well, he had done his best, there was not much else he could do about it now. either they were going to sink or swim in this performance. all the sixteen year old could really hope was that they had both put in enough work to actually pull this off. 

already he was slouching in his seat somewhat, one arm hooked over the back of his chair as he watched the stage. it was a slightly different setup to last week. not that he really thought it made much of a difference, so long as everyone could see them perform and no one ended up falling off the stage or tripping on air, then it would be fine. why should he be worried about a change of scenery, anyway? 

only when it was their turn to be called up to the stage did the boy straighten up in his chair. this was their moment and he couldn’t put this performance off any more. it was time to see if they actually could work together and make it through this in one piece and not have a falling out on stage. now that would be one of the worst things to happen and up there with forgetting his lines or forgetting a step. and there was no chance he was letting himself mess up and be sent home, not after making it this far in the competition. 

not that the third episode was all that far, really. but hey, it was better than being eliminated before even making it past the audition stage. 

“let’s do this,” he muttered under his breath, sending a small nod towards yuri as he stood himself up from his seat and made his way towards the stage. as per usual, all the eyes on him was hardly bothered him in the slightest, easily switching over to his ‘nice boy’ persona with a bright smile. it was something he had gotten rather good at over the course of this competition, the ceos and audience would hardly like him half as much if he was more like the ‘real’ him. that him was rude and brash and a little bit of an asshole. no, it was probably better if he died all that down and acted nicer and friendlier to everyone. lay off the snappy comments and judgemental looks. 

once he was sanding in the middle of the stage, the confidence came back to him, easily relaxing his shoulders as he grinned at the judges. that stage was where he belong and this performance was simply going to blow everyone away. it was a popular song, a proper headbanger and he would be surprised if everyone could just sit still and listen to it. especially with what he was planning on telling everyone. 

“hello, we are riot!” he spoke in unison with the girl beside him, the smile on his face the whole time as he cleared his throat again, “i’m riot’s cool rapper, lee hohyeon.” 

but now they had got the intro over and done with, the time to start was now. this was going to be fun, he could already tell, the tingle in his fingers before he started to perform, the confident look in his eye as he looked over towards his partner. yeah, they were going to do this and become instant fan favourites. this was going to be the performance of the whole episode. 

as soon as the music started he was moving, bringing the mic close to his lips, “i want to see you all moving in those seats.” he stared at the ceos for just a moment before turning towards the other contestants, a slight smirk on his face as he looked at them. they better get into this, it was going to be even more fun if everyone had a good time and actually got into the performance instead of just sitting there and being boring about it. 

you know who it is coming ’round again you want a dose of this right now it’s riot uh!

he hadn’t even really started rapping yet and he was already getting into the performance, feeling every note as he held the mic close to his mouth. but not close enough that they could hear him breathing, obviously.

i’m a goddess with a blade 소리쳐봐 내 이름 잊지 못하게 loud loud loud loud i could take it to the top 절대 멈추지 못해 내가 끝내주는 bad gal gal gal

he didn’t bother changing the lyrics so that they were male gender, he didn’t see the point in it. instead he rapped with confidence, a flame burning in his heart and determination in his eyes. they were going to own the stage and proved they deserved to go further in this competition. hohyeon would like to think they were talented enough to go all the way to the finals and walk away with a contract. that was the dream and what he was aiming for. 

though he wasn’t a fan of vocalists, he did have to admit that yuri was clearly talented. as she started singing after his short verse he had a smile on his face. trying to hype her up and keep the crowd hyped up as well. this room was their own personal concert and he was going to make sure that everyone was watching and everyone was paying attention to them. when yuri sang the words to keep their eyes on her, hohyeon raised two fingers, pointed them towards the crowd before pointing them back to himself. eyes on them, not on the person sitting next to them or even the ceo’s. 

they had decided to cut the song, removing the first chorus. so it cut straight to his next rap part, by hohyeon was prepared for this. he should be after knowing the song off by heart after listening to it so much before this competition even started. and then the week of going over and over and over just to make sure they were completely prepared to put on the best performance they possibly could when the time came for that. 

hey! you ready for this? lessgo! see 언제든지 내 모습 magic 단 한 번에 내가 잡어 절대 기죽지 않지 uh! pow pow 네가 뭘 알아 견딜 수 없어, 원해도 원하는 게 얼굴에 보여 i’m trouble and you’re wanting it i’m so cold when i move that way you gonna be so blown I’m the realest in the game uh!

he was rapping at the other contestants, voice almost a challenge if they listened to the lyrics, feet moving him about the stage like he owned it. he even managing to send a grin over towards his partner as he kept up the flow and the rhythm of the verse. this was a duo performance, after all and he didn’t want to try and outshine his partner. they were in this together, and while he still might not be the biggest fan of that, it was better they work together than against each other. while this was still a competition, for this round they were on the same team and they were both going to make it through. as a team. 

the grin on on his face the whole time, really taking the time to appreciate the vocals of his partner. he did have to admit that this was a good song choice, better than some simple duet they could have gone with instead. he was quite sure no one would have expected this sort of performance, but hyeon did love surprising people. and he was sure this was going to be memorable to everyone watching. and if it did end up that they ended up being sent home at the end of this well... at least they went out on a high. 

but it was getting towards the chorus again and hyeon was already moving into position besides the older and shorter girl. just before it really went into the chorus he did send her a small wink of encouragement. they had practised this and he was confident that she was going to completely nail this choreography. they were k/da incarnate, they were going to own this stage and show everyone right here and right now that they could dance as well as put on a good performance. 

right on cue his body started moving to the music, only using one arm to do the choreo as the other kept the microphone steady in front of his mouth so he could say the words at the same time. considerate the whole time of yuri, trying to stay in key with her and not trying to overpower her own voice. this chorus was mostly a joint performance. they were a team and they were going to finish as a team. 

down down down down down down they could try but we’re gonna wear the crown

his hands made a crown on his head, the grin still on his head as he let yuri shine again for a single line before they were back singing together. keeping up the movement at the same time. hohyeon wasn’t bothered about the girl messing up, he was confident that she wasn’t going to do that. not after how much he had helped her out. 

round round round round round round wish you luck but you’re not bringing us down

the lyrics were incredibly empowering. this was them challenging the rest of the room. give your best, but you can’t compete and bring them down. and good luck to anyone who tried to outshine them. this stage was theirs and they were not going to be giving it up without a fight. 

but the song was coming to an end now and he only had one more line to worry about, focusing on just his body for a moment as he danced as yuri brought them towards the finale. only a couple more dance steps left, moving light on his feet right next to the older girl as they both spoke out the last line of the song. 

down down down down

and that was that. hohyeon held the ending pose, standing right next to yuri, a large grin on his face and chest heaving slightly from the effort. but the teenager didn’t even feel tired, no, he was still hyped up after that performance. they had really gone out there and done that and he did have to say he was proud, of the both of them. from the less than friendly and rocky start at the beginning to cleanly pulling off that performance. and he liked to think they were not the only ones who had some fun. he could just hope that the ceo’s saw their talent and really hoped that the other contestants had enjoyed it as well and really did consider them as strong competition. they were not two people you could just walk over and get away with it. 

“thank you,” he breathed out as he faced the ceo’s at the front completely, bowing to them, the grin never leaving his face as he leaned over to nudge the girl standing next to him slightly. he was still smiling the whole time as they left the stage and headed back towards their seats and sat once again. 

hohyeon looked over towards the other girl sitting next to them. they really had come a long way from the beginning of last week, and he didn’t see her as an enemy anymore. no, they were more than that. that performance and pulled them together, and quite surprisingly, he was actually happy about that. so he smiled simply  at her before leaning over and offering out a single hand, “friends?” 

she could take the offer or she could turn him down, but either way, hohyeon didn’t really mind. she had helped him see that not all vocalists were bad and they could share a stage with a rapper and actually work together. it had just been childish of him before to think that they couldn’t. and it was not a mistake he was going to make in the future if they ended up making it further in this competition. 

over a month of planning and practices and hard work and finally they were ready to record this cover. if the mgas hadn’t come about, this would have been posted over a month ago and hohyeon would have moved onto some other venture. but maybe the extra time was a good thing, gave them all more time to prepare and practice for longer than he usually would and that might hopefully mean the quality was better. because mark his words, he was not going to upload anything until it was perfect - if only because he wanted to prove those dumb ceos wrong with what they said about him. 

doing a vocal and a dance cover was not a new thing for him, having done one before, but doing it with a group was actually a new thing. and he wanted it to be perfect, so he had gone and bothered some of the theatre kids for some of the microphones they use during their performances. and while they were a little hesitant to lend them to him, eventually they had agreed so long as one of them could keep an eye on everything to make sure they didn’t get broken. 

which was why there was now a bored looking kid sitting in the corner of the room on his phone. hohyeon was just going to pay him no mind, instead turning his attention to the four others gathered in the room. 

haruto he had approached first, and honestly it had been a little hard to get the kid to agree, but he was thankful he finally had. mark was a familiar face and had featured in one of his videos before, so it wasn’t hard to get him to agree to do another. he had then asked lily after a debate with himself whether he really wanted her or not, and then lily had brought along siyeon. and that was how they were all standing there now ready to do this after all the hard work they had put into everything. 

the camera was set up in the usual position at the front of the room, hyeon just fiddling with it one last time before he nodded to the rest of the group, fixing the microphone taped to the side of the face just to check that everything was in order. “right, let’s get this bread then,” he grinned as he spoke the english words, moving towards the middle of the room and quickly turning around from the camera to take up his starting position in the middle of the group as the others moved around him. and only once everything was in order did he signal to the helpful theatre kid (who was actually called hanbyul, but theatre kid sounded better) to press play on the music. 

the choreo started with some sharp movements in time with the music, hohyeon tilting his head a little to the side before rolling it, looping his arms through haruto and siyeon’s arms. he has to basically rely on them not to drop him as he leaned back on them, though there was extra support from the other two has he finally tipped backwards. but he didn’t end up falling, which he was supposed was a good thing as they stood up again and hohyeon finally spun around to face the camera as he barrel straight into his first part. 

ay girl i see you on the low low ay so hot she banging like a bongo let it go, got me strung like santana

mark was next to follow up with his own strong vocals, hohyeon having to smile just a little as he danced. it was no wonder the boy was a trainee, though it still made hyeon incredibly jealous just to think of that. but he supposed mark was talented and deserved the position, and all he could really do was hope that one day he would get his own chance to join a company and be a trainee. he needed it to happen one of these days. 

it really was a high energy choreography with some very strong lyrics as they all participated in the chorus of the song, vocals blending in nicely with each other. as soon as the mv had dropped he had wanted to do a cover of the song, and now it was actually happening. and the boy was determined to do it all sorts of justice. he was used to rapping with a mic now after his short stint on the mgas, so it wasn’t as hard as he thought to keep his rap steady and powerful enough to be heard as he body moved in well practised and strong motions. and he trusted the others were doing the same, after the weeks of work they had put in he would hate to have to do this too many times because someone kept messing up.

step back, she toxic cock back and pop it 총에 맞은 가슴 쾅 뛰네 brat tat tat can't stop it 말 없이 다가가 널 멍하니 쳐다 봐 바보처럼, 버버버벅 니 앞에만 서면, dumb

mark followed him up again as hohyeon bent over, the choreo allowing the other rapper to control him and the others with his hand movements, standing him back up and turning him almost like a robot. but then he was bent over again, this time siyeon coming in with her own vocals as she leaned on him with an elbow. and he was pleased that the girl had eventually joined in with this project, he had been a little uncertain at first having never met the girl before, but she was clearly talented. and now he had absolutely no worries about the girl and her skill. 

finally it was haruto’s turn and hohyeon just smiled softly at the boy as he sung his couple of lines. it was quite clear from the beginning that he didn’t really like performing in front of a camera, or in public at all, really. so he was rather thankful that the boy had agreed to this, and hadn’t backed out even after hohyeon had dragged him on the mgas with him. the japanese boy had talent and hyeon just wanted the world to see that and maybe, one of these days, haruto would realise it as well and stop being so nervous about everything. performing and singing on a stage was a good thing, not something to be frightened of. 

the pace of the song and choreography was still slow as the moved towards the chorus, lily finally getting her own chance to shine. it was true that the two of them weren’t really friends at first, but now, the other girl had sort of grown on him over the time they knew each other. and while he still wouldn’t go as far as saying they were good friends, he could at least stand the girl a little better and didn’t incredibly mind hanging out with her. 

things suddenly picked up again as they jumped into the chorus, the five of them mixing their vocals for the first three lines, hohyeon staying as strong as possible with his movements as he basically bounced around the place. and then it was dropping onto his knees, one arm over his face as they body rolled as lily sung her line. then haruto was the only one standing as he sung, hohyeon dropping to the floor, managing to stand up again without using his hands. it was a move he had practised a lot and used a lot when he was breakdancing, so it wasn’t much of a bother for him to get it. though he could see how others could struggle with it, but they had practised this, so it shouldn’t be a problem. 

but after both mark and siyeon had a couple more lines to get through, hohyeon was in the middle of the group, bouncing on his feet as he started to rap his next part. 

okay, tension 높아 뜨겁게 타올라 느낌 so high 불꽃같이 pop pop pop pop

and, once again, he was quickly followed up by mark as they were the only two standing. this was their centre stage moment, and honestly, the bit he had been worrying about the most. there had been more than one mistake in the practice room when going through this bit, including accidentally kissing each other when their heads turned a little too close to each other. hohyeon was just praying that it wouldn’t happen this time as well as he stood a distance from the other boy, only their wrists touching as they both straightened out their arms. 

거부해야 해 지금 네 status 정신 차려야 해 기횐 단 한 번

he was close to mark now, standing just behind him, head almost resting on his shoulder as the other boy followed up with his own lyrics. and their heads were rolling towards each other, hohyeon’s hand almost brushing the boys cheek. thankfully there were no incidents this time, both of them stopping before they managed to make any lip contact. and there was no stupid laughing or pushing each other away this time, either. they actually managed to get through that but in one piece and hohyeon couldn’t be more thankful about it. 

as siyeon started singing again it was a bit of downtime in the choreography, just a moment for them to catch their breath as siyeon moved through them, parting them like the red sea. and hohyeon was taking as much time as possible, keeping his breathing under control. they were more than half way through this song now, only the last bits to go and that was the end of his solo singing. all he had to worry about now was the rest of the choreography and keeping in tune with the others for the longer bits to come. 

after lily’s lines they were back to the high energy chorus, the familiar and well practised choreography running in his head as his limbs moved in time with the music. he really did love dancing and really did love this song, it was a lot of fun to perform and he would do it again given the chance. maybe he would have to think a little more about doing more covers in groups instead of just focusing on himself. working with others, it wasn’t actually as bad as he thought it was going to be. no, it was fun, a bit of hard work, sure, but it was fun to be a team and actually produce something together. all the hard work paid off in the end. 

moving into one straight line one behind the other, hohyeon waited for siyeon to finish her line before they all jumped out at different angles, crouched on the floor before slowly moving up, taking a step back to be close again. he popped his chest a couple of times with the music, moving to roll over the back of siyeon before dropping to his knees, pounding at the floor before standing again. now came the fun part, the part which made you feel completely worn out with no energy left. but this was the sort of dancing he loved, he could never do really slow and methodical dances, not for very long, anyway. 

jumping forward again they were all dancing in a line, voices harmonizing together as they powered through the rest of the choreography. and he was sure this was going to look really cool when it came out on the video, the five of them dancing and working together to produce a great cover. it was the chance for people to realise that he did have talent, that he deserved to make it to the finals and get a contract just as much as everyone else did. they eliminated him too soon. and he was never going to stop believing that, not for as long as he lived. being a trainee was his only chance of making it out of the slum, for making a better life for him and his mother and he was not about to let that opportunity slip. 

and when they all made a circle in the middle, hands in the centre, one on top of the other as they raised their arms together, hohyeon could do nothing but smile at them. he was thankful for each and every one of them because without them this cover would have never really made it off the ground. 

there was only the last chorus left now and hohyeon was dancing just as strongly as he had in the beginning. though he was tired, chest heaving from the effort and sweat dripping from the brow, he felt satisfied, confident that he hadn’t put a foot wrong or said something incorrectly. this was probably going to be one of the best covers he had ever uploaded and he didn’t really know how he was supposed to surpass this next month. he would probably come up with something, he did have his eye on per_se and would quite like to cover their debut song simply because it was so good. but maybe he would think of something else. 

siyeon was the one who closed them out with her vocals, a last couple of moves, a kick forward before hohyeon was throwing his head back to the ceiling as the music finally died down. only then did he slowly lower his head back to the front, raising his arms as if he were holding a huge weapon. and that’s the position they held for just a moment longer. 

but that was the end of that, there was no more singing and no more dancing. it was over and he was sure they had all put in maximum effort. even theatre kid hanbyul had looked away from his phone and was now just sitting there and clapping at them. hohyeon just grinned. performing was everything to him and each time he did a cover it only solidified that dream in his head. one of these days he would get to stand on a stage and debut and let the whole world know his name. 

once again, hohyeon was feeling pretty damn confident after his performance, quite certain that he had shown his stuff. while he didn’t want to get too confident about how he had done, he was quietly sure that he wasn’t going to end up getting eliminated. he had performed too well to be eliminated, right? well, the sixteen year old liked to think so. and he only had to compete against the other rappers and was sure he had at least held his own against them and proved he was just as good, if not better, than them. just because he was sixteen didn’t mean he couldn’t rap like an adult if he wanted to. 

even once he had sat back down again he was already preparing for the interview, almost convinced that this was going to go the exact same as last time. they would finish all the performances and then they would all be pulled to the side and interviewed. and it seemed as though he wasn’t wrong with that assumption, the corners of his mouth curving upwards slightly as, as he expected, people were started to be called aside once the ceo’s had gone to deliberate. 

hohyeon wasn’t worried about what other people might say about him, instead, he had an easy grin on his features as he lazily wandered over once he was called aside himself, taking a seat in front of the camera. this was just him in his element, no time to think about what he had already performed or what other people might have said about him. hopefully nothing bad, he knew he had done well and anyone who said he was weak or his performance was bad were clearly just jealous of him. 

“so hohyeon-ssi, we have to ask, why did you decided to salute when you introduced yourself?” 

out of all the question he might have been expecting, he didn’t really think that was one of them. but he didn’t seem phased by the question, just grinning as he shrugged his shoulders almost lazily. “i don’t know, it was just a bit of fun, really,” he hadn’t put much thought into his actions, “just sort of happened spontaneously.” and it made him different from everyone else, having a bit of fun on stage instead of being so polite and formal about things. nothing could ever go wrong with a bit of fun. 

“okay. so, what did you think about the results last week?”

last week almost felt so far away hohyeon could barely even remember it. time had just flown by since then and now, most of it spent with practising and trying to prepare himself for the stage he had just performed. he didn’t really have the time to sit there and actually think about what he felt when it came to the results. 

“of course i’m really happy i made it through!” but that was almost a given, he didn’t really think anyone would have been upset to make it through. “but the ceo’s clearly know best so i trust that they put the best people through. i’m not incredibly invested in any of the other contestants, or even any of the ones who were eliminated. of course, i am sad my friend didn’t make it as well, but i don’t even think he minds. in fact, after the show, he was quite happy that he had been eliminated,” hyeon laughed a little with a shake of his head. yes, haruto was a funny one and was clearly quite relived he wouldn’t have to perform again. this kind of thing really was not for the young japanese boy. 

“and how do you think you did this week?” 

an expected question which could be met with an expected answer, “i did well. i am very happy with how i performed today.” there was really nothing he could complain about. “i have been practising hard all week and i am sure that i put on my best performance and proved that rapping is my strongest skill. and that i deserve to be on that stage and deserve to go through. just because i’m still a kid doesn’t mean that i can’t rap!” 

he had actually worked it out and he was the youngest rapper to make it this far. thankfully not the youngest in the whole show, there were two younger than him, but he was the youngest rapper and was determined to prove he had the same skill as those older than him. age didn’t matter, it was all down to personal skill and he was quite confident that he had a lot of that to show. 

“who do you think are the best under each skill?”

oh lord, he hadn’t really expected that question. 

hohyeon blinked, thinking about it for just a moment and trying to remember the performances of those who weren’t rappers. admittedly, he had been paying on a little attention and didn’t really have any valid opinions on the matter. but he was going to answer the question all the same, starting off with what he had actually been paying attention to. “would you all hate me if i thought i was the best rapper?” he said it with an almost sheepish smile, but quickly held up both his hands and shook his head, “i’m kidding! i have to mention changbin, i knew he was a good rapper before this whole competition. i wouldn’t have asked him to do a collab for my youtube channel if i didn’t think he was a good rapper. and he clearly showed he was skillful today as well.”

“as for the dancers.. i think taeyong is clearly talented. he had some nice original choreography,” and it couldn’t really be denied that he was a good dancer, “and that youngjae kid. very... creative.” certainly not what hohyeon had been expecting for a performance, but he had to say that it worked in the kid’s favour.”

next came the hard part - the vocalists. “now, before i say anything, i have to admit that i don’t know much about singing. i don’t even like singing myself and have absolutely no experience in the matter. but as for some performances that caught my attention at least, there was yuzu, who i think had a nice voice. and also i quite liked yuri’s performance.”

“thank you. and what about the opposite, who do you think are the weakest? or those who’s performances you didn’t like?” 

hohyeon sighed, wringing his hands in his lap for a moment. last time he had been asked this he refused to answer it and he was tempted to go with that same strategy again. but instantly one performance had popped into his head. “kyungsoo,” he spoke slowly, “i don’t think he’s a weak vocalist! in fact, i was complimenting him just last week. it’s just... that song. seriously? i think it was a bit... much.” he didn’t want to make enemies in this show, it was easier without them, but he really had to comment on that really strange song choice. “i mean, it was an interesting take but still. i suppose it’s going to be something which will be stuck in people’s minds for awhile, which could end up working for him.” 

“alright, thank you hohyeon-ssi.”