#be:ngs2

CUTE/BRIGHT: OH MY GIRL - NONSTOP

coach: lee seojun and park dohyun

han yuwol

hwang jingren

han jueun

choi hangyeol

hwang yejun

ELEGANT/SEXY: SF9 - PUZZLE

coach: lee nayoung and lee chaerin

asakura touma

kim ara

jang hyunki

ryu siwoo

ito seira

ryeo jihyun

TEEN CRUSH: CRAVITY - ADRENALINE

coach: zhou renyi and yeom sarang

song jaeyoung

ryu inho

song jiayi

stevie park

yamamoto kaito

NOTE: don’t worry too much about line distributions! you’re welcome to establish them with your team independently so long as everyone agrees with them but this is entirely optional. same with dance groups regarding center distributions.

TASK:

this event is for next gen participants and coaches only. part 4 will run until may 3 at 11:59pm. any solos posted after the deadline will not be considered. please send in your submission before this deadline.

please use the hashtag #BE:NGS2P4 for all posts relating to this part of the event.

please write at least one 4-post thread with another participant or coach in your team preparing for the mission. NOTE: this task may be completed multiple times.

please write a 300+ word solo about your muse’s performance in front of the three judges

OPTIONAL: please write a 200+ word solo about your muse reflecting on their preparation and their performance in front of the judges. this should be treated as a verbal interview. what was the greatest challenge during this mission? was there another participant who was especially helpful? do they feel confident in their performance? etc. 

NOTE THAT THE WRITING TASKS FOR THIS EVENT ARE NOT OPTIONAL UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. POINTS WILL BE AWARDED IN THE NEXT UPDATE.

please keep in mind that all threads and solos should be written with the assumption that cameras are on the participants at all times.

when you’ve completed these tasks, please send the following form to our events blog:

SUBMISSION TITLE: MUSE NAME - NEXT GEN S2 EP 4

preparation: link to thread *may be completed multiple times; please include multiple links if so

performance: link to solo 

“i know that you will be judging their stage presence and character, and YUNA will be paying attention to their basic skills, but i’m genuinely looking for someone who can take one of these iconic songs and make us forget about the original,” jihun explains to his fellow judges. “anyone can simply cover any of these. they’re popular, everyone knows how to sing and dance to them. but how can our contestants take this base and make it something completely their own? that’s what i’m looking for.”

the two female judges nod their heads in understanding. “last year’s FROST team showcased something similar,” yuna, the representative of lime entertainment, reminds her fellow judges. a short clip of the performance from last year reminds the viewers in case they hadn’t tuned in before.

“exactly,” jihun explains. “they remixed the song and created a new story with their stage concept. and their performance was impeccable. that’s the sort of performance i’d like to see from all of our teams today. i’m hopeful that they’ll make this a hard decision for us.”

“we’ll see,” yuna smiles tightly, as if unconvinced that they’ll truly be impressed by each and every one of the current contestants.

“it looks like our first group battle is the representatives from your company,” ran nods towards yuna after glancing at her cue cards. 

as if on cue, jian calls their attention from the stage. “our first battle will be between TEAM A and TEAM B for CAKE by PRIZM,” she announces. the two teams file on stage from either side, joining jian as she stands in the center. “do you have anything you’d like to say to your teammates or the competition before we begin?”

she takes a moment to let each team member say a few words, encouraging one another or challenging their rivals, and all of the reactions that entails.

“now, if we’re all ready to begin, let’s see TEAM A’s performance,” she announces, gesturing to her left side and the three contestants lead by LEE SEOJUN.

as the contestants and emcee file off stage, the scene changes to the preparations for this battle. it was a hard week for both teams, it seems, as short cuts of both HWANG YEJUN and KIM ARA on the verge of tears in the practice rooms flit across the screen. just what could have caused the heartbreak and tragedy during practice?

the camera decides to focus on YAMAMOTO KAITO first anyway, showing the young man seeking out his designated coach for help with his vocals.

“i wanted to do my best to not only improve myself, but to also not let my teammates down,” kaito explains to the camera in the interview room. “i know i still need to work harder to get my singing up.”

“make sure to sing from your diaphragm. it helps with controlling your breathing,” seojun explains to the contestant. they practice that for a moment before seojun recommends another technique: “humming and lip buzzing are easy ways to warm up your voice,” he suggests. the pair work through a few exercises for a moment before the scene changes again.

kaito comes across as a very diligent contestant. he and KIM ARA put their heads together as they start discussing the concepts for their performance.

“had a chance to think anything up?” ara asks, “wouldn’t mind brainstorming up concepts with you before we bring it back to our coach and the team.”

“maybe we could put our own little 'twist’ on the concept?” he suggests, “something different than the judges are even used to seeing… how does this look?” kaito stops playing with his phone and shows something on the screen to ara. “we could even throw in some concepts that others usually wouldn’t do? maybe like volleyball players, basketball players?”

the two continue to work together on the concept of their performance, throwing ideas between them. “i know that this is a competition,” kaito’s voice is overlaid on the scene where he’s writing down all of the ideas they’re sharing between them, “but we're still a team and have to rely on each other for what we each lack in.”

it’s ara, seen sitting in the interview room, who reveals the concept they decided on. “we ended up determining that we could do something that really showcases us as a unit, so we ended up as a volleyball team,” she explains, “our outfits were comfortable and cute in the end! and we changed some of our hand movements to match the sports moves.”

it seems that the highlight of this team was seojun’s patience and leadership. during a completely different practice session, it’s YOON EUNWOL who’s calling for aid. "seojun… help," he pleads with his coach. rather than ask for help with his performance, however, it appears that his problem is the sheer amount of food he has balanced in his arms. "i have made a grave error." it’s a bit comedic, to say the least.

however, figuring out how to make the food disappear among the four-person team turns out to be the least of their concerns. 

"i really, really don't want to get yelled at, I haven't been yelled at since bootcamp,” he confesses to seojun. "i can dance a bit? just a bit?" he pinches his fingers together, gesturing how little confidence he has in that particular ability. seojun is quick to reassure him, of course.

“seeing everyone learning what i did before just makes me happy,” seojun’s voice is heard over a clip of him helping eunwol with the choreography. “and i like being able to help do so.”

“when I felt I was behind or messing up I just looked to him and without a mean word he would help,” eunwol’s voice is heard as well, and the scene fades to him sitting in the interview room. “it is nice how someone can give advice without being rude, hmm?”

the last comment is clearly loaded, implying it was meant to be heard by someone else’s ears other than the staff conducting the interviews. as if on cue, the scene shifts back to eunwol’s conversation with seojun. "that judge had the nerve to tell me to go because I am scared to be here…” he complains aloud to his coach.

to remind the audience what eunwol’s talking about, a clip of jihun’s harsh words about eunwol from last episode plays again: “if you don’t want to be here, you’re welcome to leave. there’s thousands of children and young adults around the world who want to be exactly in the spot you’re in right now. if you’re not grateful for this opportunity, you may as well do them a favor and drop out now.”

seojun, to his credit, responds very diplomatically. “sometimes being unique for a challenge is good but some you gotta follow the dance as it is.”

as this portion of the broadcast seems to be wrapping up, eunwol takes over the sceen in the interview room once more. “i do have a question,” he asks the staff. “do the judges get to know us? i never saw the first season… i assumed the judges would interact more with us, and would want to get to know us.”

an awkward pause follows his question, no answer seemingly given at this time.

finally, the scene shifts to reveal just what that scene of ara’s tears had been from the beginning of the episode. she leaves practice abruptly, the redness in her face a clear sign of her frustration. ara doesn’t make it far, certainly not past the watchful eyes of the cameras, when she buries her face in her hands. is she crying?

“hey, you feeling alright?” seojun is the only one to approach her during her emotionally fragile time. “whatever is on your mind, i’m here for you. tell me whatever you need to. i want the best for you and our team.”

ara hardly hesitates to let her fears and frustrations out into the world. maybe seojun is just that good of a comforting presence, or maybe she just really needed to let it out into the world. “the competition is just so fast paced, i’m… i’m trying not to let it get to me but i’m getting so overwhelmed.”

she does her best to hide her face, but the cameras catch a glimpse of tears regardless. “i want us to do well. i just want to do well,” she confesses.“the idea of elimination is also getting me even more anxious.”

“overthinking is too easy in a competition like this. all you can do is the best you can.” seojun tries to comfort her. “just do the best you can and i’d still be proud of you. i believe you got this.”

the scene remains unresolved, the viewer never knowing if ara will truly be alright after all of this or not.

the time for the first CAKE performance draws near and the team of four are seen on stage wearing the simple sporty uniforms that ara had described earlier. after a brief pause to create some tension, the music finally begins and the quartet begin to sing and dance.

“oh?” yuna’s brow furrows in a frown, the scene shifting mid-performance to her reaction. “but they didn’t change anything about the song?”

“they seemed to have gone for a sporty concept,” ran points out. “but isn’t that close to PRIZM’s concept in the first place?”

jihun says nothing, but his expression remains unimpressed.

the song is allowed to continue uninterrupted for the remainder of their performance. they do change up the choreography a bit, as ara had mentioned before, but ultimately the song remains mostly identical to PRIZM’s original performance of the number.

“i did everything i could and i know that rankings can still go up and down. but i did the best i could so i hope it shows.” ara’s voice is heard as the camera focuses on each and every contestant individually at the conclusion of their performance. it even captures eunwol’s wink and salute.

the contestants finally are given permission to relax as the lighting changes and the judges prepare to deliver their critique. 

“we’ll give you your individual critique first, and then our evaluation of the performance as a whole,” jihun explains to the first group up to perform. “i want to start with ARA. why are you holding back? don’t you know that this is a competition?”

the man sighs. “i hope we didn’t damage your confidence with anything we said before. i can tell that you were trying to blend well into your group, but instead you should have just made sure they could all perform on your level. don’t sell yourself short, that’s not how you’ll improve.”

“i agree, i would have liked to see more from you, ara,” ran’s words are much warmer, though she essentially says the same thing as jihun. “you’re a skilled performer. i feel like this choreography could have really shown off your top skills if you allowed it to. i hope to see more confidence from you in future performances.”

“my favorite parts were when you were in the center,” yuna smiles kindly. “i think we could all tell that’s when you let loose and went all-out. it’s smart of you to conserve energy when you’re not the main focus, too. but if you could do that without losing a bit of your spark… wow, you’d be unstoppable.”

“i also want to give props to KAITO,” yuna continues. “you’ve improved a lot in a short time. i think i can speak for all of the judges when i say that we noticed how much your vocals have improved in just a week.” she glances around to ran and jihun, who nod their agreement. “good job.”

jihun picks up his microphone to continue kaito’s critique next. “i would just caution you not to neglect your other skills while you’re trying to improve one,” he warns. “your vocals saw great improvement, but i didn’t notice anything special about your dancing this time. you could have done better.”

“i think you shine very brightly on stage,” ran compliments the contestant with a smile. “you were fun to watch during this performance. were you enjoying it?” she waits for a confirmation before continuing. “that’s what’s important. if you look happy while performing, your audience is going to feel that as well.”

“we weren’t actually planning to say too much about our coaches,” yuna speaks again, gesturing to seojun. “but i did quickly want to point out how great a job SEOJUN did at managing everyone for this performance. you can tell that the team worked well together under his leadership. you’re already much more experienced than the team you’re leading, so we won’t say too much about your performance skills, but kudos for being such a great team leader.” 

when it comes time for EUNWOL’s critique from the judges, jihun’s face goes dark again. “seojun,” he asks the coach instead of addressing the contestant immediately at first, “did you know that eunwol was going to make a cutesy gesture at the end of your performance? or did he decide that on his own once he was actually on stage?”

“you don’t want to be yelled at, but you keep doing things that make me want to scold you,” jihun’s full attention is directed at eunwol now. “do you think you’re better than us? smarter? i don’t think you fully grasp what this relationship is. you can consider next gen to be similar to a job interview. if you make it to the finale and are signed, i, or seo ran, or KWON JAEHYUN will be your boss. we are not here to make friends with you. we are here to push you to see how far your potential goes and if we want to make an investment in you to continue. right now, that investment seems like more trouble than it’s worth to me.”

hardly anyone dares to speak after jihun’s rant, and still so early in the episode. however, none of the judges look particularly happy with eunwol. perhaps sending shade toward one of the ceos was not the best move to make.

“we are getting to know you,” ran tries to explain in a more gentle manner, though even she seems a bit perturbed. “but as jihun said, we are not here to be your friends. we’re learning about you through what you show us on stage, and we’re monitoring your activities in practice. it’s not helpful to you or your growth at this point to sit down and ask your favorite color, let alone all of the other contestants we’re trying to help cultivate on this show. i hope you’re able to keep that in mind as we move forward.”

“i can speak from the perspective as a performer as well as one of the judges,” yuna frowns into her microphone. “you come across as extremely disrespectful, whether you mean to or not. it’s a trait that’s broken countless idols’ reputations with the public. no matter how hurt you are, how upset you may be with someone, it’s our responsibility to smile and say ‘thank you for your concern’ anyway. it doesn’t matter if you can sing or dance if your attitude is poor. and i do think you have the talent, you wouldn’t be here otherwise. i’m just not convinced you have the personality to survive this industry at this point.”

“as for your performance as a team,” jihun takes the lead on the critique again, “it’s unfortunate that you seemed to lack creativity as a whole. the song was identical, the choreography was only very minorly edited, and volleyball isn’t all that far off from PRIZM’s original concept. they’re a group with a rather sporty image, after all. i’m afraid i was a bit disappointed by that aspect of your performance.”

“while that may be true, i think you all worked well as a unit,” ran speaks the positive out into the world, hopefully cheering up the team that’s certainly been through enough scolding already. “you looked like you were enjoying the stage. i’d guess that a few of you are PRIZM fans? right?” she smiles as she waits for someone to admit to it. “well done.”

“you performance skills are certainly improving as well,” yuna adds. “if i didn’t know it myself, i might not have believed that was your first time performing on stage together as a group. as a whole, you complimented each other’s strengths and filled in for your weaknesses very well. it was an engaging performance, if not the most inspired.”

“thank you,” jian takes over, allowing team A a chance to bow and thank the judges before they’re instructed to leave the stage. “after the teamwork powerhouse and mvp captain seojun, how will TEAM B compare?”

the second team in question are seen waiting in the wings briefly before the scene changes to the practice rooms again.

ITO SEIRA is the first focus of the team, the young woman shown in two split screens asking almost the same question of her teammates: to CHAERIN, “think you could help me with the dance?” to YEJUN, she asks “wanna help me with my lines?”

the scene with yejun is the one that the editors decide to focus on first, blowing that section of the screen up until it takes over entirely. “you seem to be good at singing,” she flatters her teammate with a giggle, “and i’m really not.”

“i’ll help how i can,” yejun promises, a kindness about him. and he is a good singer; the scene cuts briefly to his practice sessions for this episode and previous ones, even his audition. he has one of the better voices on the show, with so many dancers present in this season. the editors seem to think it’s a shame that he hasn’t been featured more prominently before. he’s really only number fifteen? the captions question the judgment of the representatives from each company.

“there’s some parts where my voice is supposed to go up a lot, but my voice can’t really do that,” seira explains.

“it could be out of your range,” yejun suggests with a frown, seemingly concerned about the ability of his teammate. “you should be working on your scales, that’s basic for every musician and singer.” is he calling her out or giving genuine advice?

the scene shifts to her request of chaerin. the coach, of course, is happy to oblige. “that’s what i’m here for, right?” she answers seira.

LEE CHAERIN is popular among the contestants who can’t dance, it seems. YUWOL, yejun, and seira all come to her with concerns about looking awkward on stage. she takes her time  with each of them, diagnosing the unique problems in their performance and making gentle suggestions to help them improve. “i did spend the most time working on the choreography and dancing with everybody,” chaerin admits in the interview room. “while they're all talented in their own ways, it was clear that they didn't have too much experience dancing.”

the scene cuts to yejun and HAN YUWOL. while chaerin had just been explaining how talented her team is, even if that talent doesn’t necessarily include dance, yejun seems to be continuously messing up the piece that he and yuwol are practicing together. yuwol, to his credit, doesn’t seem to be getting frustrated even though he’s playing violin flawlessly. yejun, despite how adept he proved to be in his audition, looks like he forgot how to play the guitar overnight.

“sorry,” yejun apologizes, “i’m just… not feeling well, i guess.”

“were your parents supportive of your dreams to be a singer?” a disembodied voice is heard beyond the camera as yejun sits in front of the backdrop of the interview room. yejun smiles in a way that betrays how much that question hurts him.

“they’re not,” he admits. “i’ve wanted this since i was just a kid, though. i never really stopped thinking about that dream.”

yuwol stops their practice. “are you alright?” he asks. “i know you’re skilled with the guitar too. it’s not that you’re fumbling your playing… but something seems to be on your mind.”

“no, you’re right,” yejun sighs, “there is something on my mind. that call i just took? it was my parents. they’re fine, i just…” he trails off, seemingly choked up by his own words. just what had his parents said on the phone? at least the editors decide to respect his privacy that much. 

“there’s a big mental battle,” yejun’s voice is heard over a closeup on his own face, the camera just barely catching the tears that well up on his eyes, even if they never fall.

the scene shifts again, this time to yejun and chaerin as she helps him through his dance practice. “i’ll practice until my feet fall off… or i get it right. whatever comes first,” he promises her. 

“i’ve always loved music,” yejun’s voice is heard over the scene again. “knowing that this performance will be the first eliminations, and that it’s the first time i have a team that’s relying on me to do my best… it’s a lot of pressure, you know? i’m trying to stay focused on the important things and to just give my best performance no matter what.”

the scene shifts to the team on stage. unlike team A’s bright, sporty concept, team B has opted for a grungier look, akin to villains about to rob a bank. their beginning is also entirely different with yuwol holding his violin at the ready with the bow hovering just above the strings, yejun with his guitar, and seira seated behind a piano.

the lights go on and the music starts rather hauntingly, the chorus of cake reimaged as a band concept with chaerin singing the lyrics in a rather stylized way. they only perform like that for the duration of the chorus, however. the team sets down their instruments and steps forward on the stage to sing and dance PRIZM’s song as it was originally imagined, though the background music remains entirely different from the original.

“we added a twist to the song, constructed a scarier flavor for the concept we were going for. leaned into a thrilling story, following a few pop culture media we thought of. i am confident, i know we performed with our best.” yuwol’s voice is heard as the team strikes their final poses, the camera catching a close-up of each contestant as an ending fairy.

a short applause can be heard from the judges as the contestants finally relax, standing at attention for their critique.

“i suppose we should start with our feedback,” jihun announces, glancing at his fellow judges. “let’s start with… han yuwol.”

however, it’s yuna who gives feedback first. “there’s no doubt that you’ve already improved,” she smiles. “it looks like chaerin helped you a lot with your dance, did she?” she waits for confirmation before continuing. “it’s refreshing to see that you take our advice to heart and can actually make changes in your performance rather quickly. it’s an important trait for a trainee or idol to have.”

“whose idea was this concept?” ran asks, curious more than anything. “yuwol, do you have any acting experience? you suit this vibe surprisingly well… i don’t know if we should be concerned or not!” she laughs, joking with the contestants before continuing her review. “it’ll be interesting to see how you handle other concepts moving forward.”

finally, jihun says his piece. “your violin skills added to the unique stylization of this performance,” he seems to approve. “however, i want to caution you against relying on them for the remainder of the competition. it served you well this time, but we’re producing idols, not concert musicians. we’ll be observing your other performance skills more closely from now on.” well, at least it wasn’t a scolding.

“yejun, i’ll say the same word of caution to you with that guitar,” jihun changes his attention to another teammate. “don’t think i haven’t noticed your passion, though. i appreciate anyone who puts their entire life on the line to meet their dreams. there’s a sort of charm to desperation that can’t be taught.” it’s unclear whether jihun is giving a compliment of if he’s just revealing he’s a bit of a sadist.

“your abilities have improved as well,” yuna nods approvingly. “chaerin taught you all well, as expected of a lime entertainment trainee. you’re more stable than you were last time, which is great considering you have one of the better voices in this competition. it’s about time we finally let that show properly. great work.”

finally, ran picks up her microphone. “i just praised yuwol’s acting, but i’m afraid i’ll have to say the opposite of you. you looked a little too focused on singing and dancing that without the costume, i would have never known the story you were telling. i just want you to be a little more aware of your expression for future performances. it’s what makes a good performer truly great.”

“good job, yejun,” yuna cheers him on one last time before turning her attention to the final participant in this group. “ito seira…” she murmurs, “what are we going to do with you?”

“i suppose i should at least praise you for having the sense to seek out more experienced individuals to make up for where you lack,” yuna sighs, “but i really don’t think you need to be praised for that right now. aren’t you worried about holding your team back by asking them to practice twice as hard and teach you everything? collaboration is a good skill, but you need to learn how to improve on your own as well. yejun shouldn’t be teaching you the basics of singing when he needed to work on his performance too.”

“you shine on stage,” ran at least opens with something nicer to say, “it’s clear that you’re a performer. but… how do i say this…”

jihun interrupts with his own commentary: “the circus is also full of performers,” he deadpans, completely hijacking ran’s critique. “i hope you’re taking this seriously and not just goofing off during this opportunity. this is twice now that you’ve fallen during rehearsals after we’ve warned you to take better care of your body, isn’t it? i hope that you keep in mind that we’re looking for singers and dancers and not a court jester doing slapstick comedy.”

ran shoots jihun a sharp glare, her normally kind disposition shattered for a moment as her irritation with the man shows through. she doesn’t, however, correct anything that he says.

“did you re-record the entire track?” jihun asks the team. “who arranged that? considering the time you had to prepare everything, it wasn’t bad.” of course he can’t give an outright compliment, however he’s definitely giving more praise than he had to the other team. “this is the type of performance we were looking for with this mission. it was almost unrecognizable from the original.”

“i want to know more about the story,” ran’s frustration with her fellow ceo melts away quickly in front of the cameras, smiling at the team in front of the judges instead. “i feel like you all were halfway there with it. you could have modified the choreography to better tell the story of a heist, or fighting superheroes, or whatever it was you were doing. it was a bit hard to tell from our point of view.”

“i’ll admit, i forgot about PRIZM for a moment there,” yuna says with a smile. “if you had done something different with the choreography, i might have forgotten them entirely. this is how you take a song and make it your own. you played to your own talents well and made the song have a new meaning by introducing the darker concept. well done.”

instead of team b being dismissed following their performance as team a had been, both teams are called back to the stage as they had been in the very beginning. “i think it’s time to announce the winners of our first battle,” jian announces. “i have the rulings from the judges in my hand here. the winner of cake battle is…”

“TEAM B!”

there’s time for celebration and mourning between the two teams before jihun picks up his microphone once more. this is, after all, his specialty. “ultimately, it came down to who reimagined the song better,” he explains the reasoning. “and team b won by a landslide.”

“unfortunately, that means a member of team a will be sent home today,” jian draws the attention back to the stage. “we’re so sorry to see you go and hope that you continue your idol dreams, even if this was not the right opportunity for you at this time. the contestant eliminated is…”

well, that won’t be revealed until the end of the episode!

the scene changes abruptly to the next song battle, TEAM A and TEAM B for PINK VENOM now standing on either side of jian on stage as she announces that they’ll be participating in the next team battle. “wish your opponents luck,” she tells each team, giving each captain a ‘fighting’ gesture with her fist before team B is dismissed from the stage for the time being.

like the cake teams, it’s immediately apparent that the trainee coach was an important piece of the puzzle for TEAM A. ZHOU RENYI is a familiar face to returning fans from the previous seasons of next gen and it seems that his hardworking attitude has not faded in the slightest since becoming a trainee. he’s seen first helping HAN JUEUN with her vocal parts in the practice room, sitting behind a keyboard and plunking out the notes she’s meant to hit.

“it’s easy to go flat with this song,” he explains to his teammate. “it’s doesn’t really move out of those same three or four notes for the most part. so if you don’t support every single one, they’ll start to muddy together. especially when you start moving around with the dance.”

jueun begins singing along immediately, diligently practicing the notes as renyi had instructed her to. but his critique isn’t over yet; it seems that the studio delta trainees take after their ceo to a certain degree. “watch your english,” he warns, “the pronunciation of ‘this that’ and 'taste that’; they mean different things but right now i can’t hear the difference.”

“this that, taste that,” jueun repeats again, trying to get it right.

“better,” renyi finally relents. 

jueun isn’t the only contestant seeking out the former champion’s help; SONG JIAYI takes a moment during practice to strike up a conversation, asking the tough questions that may very well help her through this competition.

“what was the hardest part about last season?” she asks, was it performing, or something else?”

renyi takes his time, pausing for a gulp of water before he gives her the answers she’s looking for. he glances over, the camera following his eyes as they watch the other pink venom team practicing in the same room. “that guy over there,” he speaks in english at first, nose wrinkling up annoyedly. but he answers more seriously a moment later, back in korean for the viewers at home: “being in the public eye the whole time. my dream was always being a songwriter; i never really saw myself as anyone people would watch, or even want to watch.”

“i think renyi was a good mentor to us,” jiayi tell the cameras in the interview room. “i couldn’t have asked for better!”

“ren is a little intimidating at first because of his actual status,” ASAKURA TOUMA also sings ren’s praises in the same room, albeit without jiayi present. “but it’s clear he wants the best for the team just like anyone else.”

it seems that the chemistry of this team went over well in general; shots of each of the teammates helping each other out flash over the screen one after another. "hey, how do you think this line sounds? you can be completely honest,” jueun asks touma. 

“i suppose… seeing how this song is like, you could be a lot more firm? powerful?” touma suggests.

jueun takes the feedback well, nodding as she replies: “i get what you mean.” 

this team in particular seems to be preparing a lot for their performance. as the days roll by, they’re seen practicing with prop weapons, discussing comic book character makeup, choreographing a new dance break, and arranging the song to their liking. they’re certainly taking the customization of this challenge seriously.

“our concept is cool! we’re doing venom—like, the comic book character. it made sense with the title of the song,” touma explains to the cameras, clearly enthused about the concept. 

“our decision to get rid of the rap verses may have been a little bold since we were switching it up quite a bit,” jueun reveals in a separate shot.

pink venom without quartz’s iconic rap lines? excuse the editors for being a bit dubious, but that certainly is a bold move!

in practice, the team is just as dedicated to coming up with new ideas. "what if we all took turns coming to the center, so everyone their chance to be at the front?" jiayi suggests.

“yes! that’s a good idea, each one of us deserves the center spotlight.” touma approves.

it turns out that jueun herself was the artist behind the makeup on team a’s faces. a short shot of the team backstage shows her applying the venom-inspired face paint. with all of their team chemistry, surely they’ll be able to pull off a good performance, right?

there’s only one way to find out!

a rather eerie vibe overtakes the stage as the decked-out pink venom team waits for the music to begin. and begin it does, the team showing off unique choreography with prop weapons introduced to the song. and they’re right; removing the raps and moving the dance break up to replace them (with entirely new choreography), and adding another chorus where the break used to be certainly adds a new spin to the song. it’s unrecognizable from the original, but is that a good thing?

the camera is sure to capture each member’s ending fairy moment as the song comes to a close. however, that also means that its time for judgment to begin.

“i suppose we should start with touma,” jihun begins, taking the lead on the judges’ reviews again. “i suppose i should just be glad you listened to us to some extent. you worked on your vocal performance, sure, but it seems like it was a bit of an afterthought, wasn’t it?” he gives the young man a look, asking him to be honest with himself. “dance may be more fun, but let’s not neglect the hard work, alright?”

“improvement is improvement,” yuna admits, piggybacking off of what jihun already said. “but if what jihun suspects is true, and singing still took less of a priority for you this round, imagine how quickly you could improve if you made an effort to be as excited about singing as you are about dancing. just to keep in mind.” she smiles.

“enough on that,” ran waves the opinions of the other two off dismissively. “you were clearly passionate about this concept and it makes you a very engaging contestant to watch. i hope you’re able to keep this energy throughout future performances and have fun on every stage, regardless. good job, touma.”

ran turns her attention to jueun next. “ah, jueun… i wanted to root for you so badly after that strong opening line but i’m so sorry to say you didn’t keep that same energy through the whole performance. i feel like i lost you a bit in there, which was a shame. you’re a wonderful performer i want to see more from.”

“we can tell your skills are improving, at least,” yuna jumps in. “but i have to agree with ran… honestly, i think your team did you a bit dirty with this arrangement. they seemed to be playing to their own strengths more than yours. advocate for yourself next time! if they’re going to add a dance break, shouldn’t they have helped you shine by playing up your strengths as well?”

jihun considers his words carefully before he speaks, seemingly undecided on what verdict he wants to give. finally, he picks up his microphone. “i think this boils down to pink venom not being a very good concept on you,” he admits. “as yuna said, we can see you’re improving. this song did not highlight that for you, though. it’s a shame that your teammates didn’t notice that they weren’t doing you any favors. i hope they weren’t counting on your elimination should the other pink venom team perform better.”

he sends a sharp look around at the fellow contestants, perhaps a warning to work on their teamwork.

“renyi, i hope this was an oversight on your part and not an intentional contingency plan for teammates you preferred.” he remarks sharply, scolding the coach from his company more than the contestant who was most affected.

“can i gush over jiayi tough?” ran changes the conversation quickly, moving to the next contestant. “this concept suits you very well. your expressions were good and you looked confident throughout the whole song, which embodies quartz’s energy so well. the girl crush concept is truly meant for you.”

“we can also see your improvement very clearly,” yuna adds, “your vocals are getting better with every performance and it’s good to see you maintain your confidence when our critiques can easily make a contestant overthink and panic. we’re here to point out your flaws so you can improve upon them, and you’ve taken that very well.”

“if i had to describe it,” jihun once again pauses to choose his words carefully before continuing, “it’s like you truly embody the concept of quartz. if we were auditioning for another member, you’d certainly fit the bill. but we’re not.” of course he can’t simply give praise. it’s unclear whether he liked jiayi’s performance or not.

“as for the performance itself…” he sighs, leaning down to rest his head in his hand as he looks over the notes he’s written in front of him. “don’t you think it was a bit too much?”

a pause falls over the room as judges and contestants alike wait for the studio delta ceo to explain his thoughts.

“quartz has a girl crush, feminine power sort of image. i suppose by bringing in super heroes and weapons you wanted to emphasize that, but the arrangement was just… bad. the dance break, supposedly the climax of the song, happened in the first half of the performance and the rest felt like a letdown. taking away the raps may have shown your talents better, but it took away the power of the song. it just felt a bit… underwhelming.” he sighs. “at least you tried.”

“i’ll admit, jihun is the real producer among us,” ran smiles apologetically. “he’ll know the technicalities better than i would. but purely as an audience member, it felt like the intensity was here,” she holds her hand parallel to the table, about nose-hight. “and it stayed there throughout the performance. something that starts here,” she holds her hand lower and as she speaks, moves it upwards, “and then escalates as it goes, maybe dips a bit, but then finishes with a bang!” she raises her hand up above her head, “usually is more captivating.”

“i think you did well to play to your strengths,” yuna at least has compliments for the team, “but i see what jihun and ran are saying. if you’re not good rappers, this was a good time to learn. renyi, you could have stepped up to help too. even if your rapping wasn’t good, it’s not like you’d get kicked out for it like your contestants would. better strategizing and use of your coach might have improved this performance, if you had thought about it.”

“ah, i’m sure you wanted to hear more praise than that for all of your hard work,” jian smiles sympathetically at team a. “don’t worry! we haven’t seen team b yet; you could still win this!” she cheers them on once more before they’re dismissed from the stage for now, replaced by pink venom TEAM B.

perhaps one of the most interesting storylines on this team is that of JANG HYUNKI. after coming into the competition at one of the lowest ranks, he suddenly rose to the top and secured the male center spot after last episode! 

“after seeing my name at the bottom, i didn't dare consider the idea of jumping all the way to first place. i just wanted to show the judges i was much more than i showed in my audition,” he explains in the interview room. “clearly, i did something to please the judges.”

“do you think you can maintain that ranking?” a voice from beyond the camera asks him. 

"i hope so," hyunki laughs while he responds, perhaps giddy at the thought.

“i'm happy we all seem excited for the song," hyunki enthuses to his coach, PARK DOHYUN. 

“i'm a sucker for catchy girl group songs,” dohyun admits, “and i think we can bring the right energy with all the different strengths we have."

it does appear that the team is working well together. it’s hyunki again who approaches MOON JORDAN during a solo practice session, catching him while he’s taking a break. based on the sweat on his face and soaked into his shirt, jordan had only been resting for a very short moment. 

"hey, not looking half bad," hyunki compliments his teammate openly. 

“thank you, thank you. i’m just trying my best especially in moments like this,” jordan responds, immediately stopping his break and putting away his phone. this team is full of hard workers, it would seem. 

the pair begin practice quickly, discussing which parts they need the most work on and which they think they can leave for later.

“i can tell you now, there was definitely not one single bad moment working with the venom flower crew,” jordan tells the cameras in the interview room, absolutely gushing about his teammates. “although it’s different personalities jumbled into one team, we all worked so well together during this process.”

while hyunki and jordan clearly know their way around a practice room, there seems to be a different story from RYU SIWOO. “i’ve never danced or rapped in my life,” siwoo admits to hyunki. how in the world did he make it onto the show with such little experience? did luxury-brand boy buy his way into the spotlight?

despite his glaring inadequacies, siwoo still seems very positive about the whole experience. maybe it’s, again, because the team gets along so well. “i’m sure we’ll do well. from what i gather we have to have good… chemistry? to pull off the rapping. i think we’re already halfway there.”

after the camera flits between a few more miscellaneous practice scenes, it finally comes time for the team’s performance. 

"we wanted to play with the different connotations and ideas surrounding the words 'pink' and 'venom,'" hyunki explains, his voice overlaid as the camera pans across their dimly lit figures waiting for their stage to start. "i thought a lot about how pink brings up thoughts of softness, cuteness, and overall gentle things while venom is, obviously, totally opposite. it was fun to visually play with those ideas through our styling. we all also picked out a flower that is poisonous but still beautiful to wear.” the camera takes the opportunity to zoom in on hyunki’s foxglove charm, so small that it may have been missed if it hadn’t been pointed out.

finally, the music starts. just like with the first cake team, it’s apparent immediately that there’s been almost no alteration done to the arrangement or choreography of the song, simply dressing themselves up in themed costumes and performing the song relying on their own stage presence to make it unique.

the camera pans across the judges’ disgruntled faces yet again.

the only saving grace is the performance itself; the chemistry of the team is certainly there and even siwoo, who self-proclaimed his lack of experience, seems to embody the quartz vibe exceptionally well. 

as the performance comes to a close and the camera focuses on each contestant one by one, a threatening silence seems to brew from one judge in particular.

“i think i’ll start,” ran seems to recognize the storm brewing sooner than yuna, picking up her microphone before jihun can speak. “hyunki, our center,” she smiles, “you do shine on stage these days. i think after a rough start to the competition, you truly came to life and continue to shine. you show your expressions well.”

“agreed,” yuna jumps in, and expands upon the thought. “you’ve definitely become a more balanced performer from when we first saw you. i can’t say for certain that it’s enough to keep first place, but you’re certainly making a good case for it. great job.”

jihun has nothing to say just yet, simply nodding his agreement with the other coaches for now.

ran, feeling more uncomfortable as her fellow ceo continues to brew in his emotions calls on the next contestant. “you’re also showing steady improvement, jordan,” ran compliments him. “i noticed you’re also paying closer attention to your expressions this time. it’s improvement like that that we’re excited to see and makes us want to continue to watch your growth. please keep up the good work.”

“if nothing else, i think pink venom was the perfect song to help this whole team practice their stage presence,” yuna remarks. “it’s not terrible challenging vocally and leaves a lot of room for attitude. you gave us a good performance this time, jordan, and i hope to see this sort of consistency from you moving forward.”

again, jihun remains silent.

“i think siwoo embodied the concept best, though,” yuna continues uncomfortably, “and we can tell that you were working hard for this performance, maybe harder than you’ve worked before?” she suggests, her smile turning a bit coy.

“please don’t take this the wrong way, but you play the ‘rich girl’ character very well,” ran praises the young man herself. “the attitude is perfect for most of quartz’s discography. this was definitely your song.”

the judges look at jihun, almost afraid to comment on the group as a whole until he says something. but it seems that group feedback isn’t coming the same way it had for the other teams. “bring team a back out,” he instructs jian and the staff. “i think everyone needs to hear this.”

as the other team shuffles uncomfortably back on stage, jihun stands up at the desk, fingertips just resting on the tabletop. the slightest tremor in his hands betrays his fury before his lips open.

“renyi, dohyun,” he addresses the coaches, “i understand that your role was limited in this competition and you were at the mercy of the teams we gave you. but i’ve never been more humiliated by a studio delta team in my life.”

the ceo shoots a sharp glare across each and every contestant, making sure everyone knows that no one is spared from his disappointment and fury.

“this challenge was made for us. it was assigned by me. and yet i sit here and listen to both teams do very little to make this song their own. at least team a rearranged it a bit, it was a mess of a performance and showed very little creativity but at least it was different. showing up in different costumes is not a show of creativity. it’s a complete lack of it. i would have thought that the studio delta teams would have blown everyone out of the water, and yet i’m sitting here and a lime entertainment team is the most unique rendition we’ve seen so far. aren’t you a little bit embarrassed?”

he lets his words linger in the air for a moment, the entire studio silent as he breaks protocol and simply decides what happens next on his own. jihun sits back into his seat heavily, still clearly angry as he scribbles something on the paper in front of him. “we don’t need time to discuss this. i’m sure yuna and ran already agree. the winner of this battle is TEAM A, but only because we can’t have two losers. get off the stage. team b, stick around a moment so we can decide which of you we’re sending home.”

the judges enter discussion about who from the losing team should be removed, but again it’s kept hidden until later in the episode. it’s just as well, since even the audience may want to cut away from this tense scene as soon as possible.

the audience doesn’t see the short break that’s taken for jihun to cool down and the rest of the staff and judges to get themselves ready for the final performances. they cut immediately to jian’s smiling face as she’s flanked by DON’T CALL ME TEAM A and TEAM B.

“our final battle of episode three will be giving us their unique spin on a.maze’s don’t call me,” she proclaims, her smile as unshakable as ever. “i’ll admit, i snuck into their stage rehearsals and caught a glimpse of what they have to show. i’m glad these are the final performances, since this is truly the big finale,” she winks at the camera, and then gestures to the two teams around her. “any last words before we begin?”

after the teams great, goad, or congratulate their competition, jian waves team b off of the stage. “as always, we’re starting with TEAM A!” she announces. for a moment, the team is seen taking their places on stage, but the long practice sessions that lead them here always comes first.

"may i ask you a question?" RYU INHO takes a short break with the coach for his group, YEOM SARANG, in the middle of yet another grueling practice session. sarang offers a warm smile and inho takes that as a sign to ask away. "do you feel like you have to think a lot about your image and how you present yourself to others? or do you think it comes natural?"

sarang is quiet for a moment, thinking before he responds. "as performers, we're shapeshifters,” he begins to explain, “we have to be able to pull off so many different concepts, we have to embody various outfits and styles... we have to show the best sides of ourselves all of the time, and i do think that takes effort and mindfulness." the young man shrugs, perhaps dismissive, perhaps unsure of his own response. “it's a balancing act, really.”

"the judges mentioned to keep my image in mind and be careful of how i act,” inho admits, clearly taking their feedback to heart.

"we all want to present ourselves in the best light possible,” sarang continues to explain, perhaps shedding some light on what the judges truly meant. “and we don't want to let those who adore us down either. so long as your intentions are good, no one can really fault you."

"we all got along extremely well and had good chemistry from the start,” inho explains to the cameras in the interview room, “it allowed for us to come up with some cool concepts for the performance, and help each other be the best we could be."

the same room is suddenly occupied by HWANG JINGREN, also gushing about his camaraderie with his fellow teammates. “everyone in the team was so helpful,” he explains. “jaeyoung was particularly good with keeping a smile on my face, even after hours of practice.”

“you again! my lucky day,” jingren exclaims, poking SONG JAEYOUNG in the arm with his ecstatic greeting.

“your lucky day? you better share that luck of yours then. god knows we need it,” jaeyoung jokes back immediately, initiating more contact by linking their arms together. 

“need it? we can do this without luck,” jingren insists. the chemistry within the group clearly is strong right off the bat as the pair settles down to start brainstorming ideas for their rendition of don’t call me. 

“after doing our line distributions, i wanted to honor the parts i was given,” jingren appears in the interview room again after a moment. “i did not want to drag my group down in any way. my biggest challenge was keeping my voice steady during the parts with heavy dance…”

“hey!” sarang’s voice cuts the scene again, he and jingren in a practice room together. “you look like you’re thinking a little too hard about something. i can tell you already that, if you’re having any doubts about the performance or your vocals, there’s no point. you’re, like, so talented.”

“o-oh, now you’re giving me too much credit,” jingren tries to dismiss the compliment, “you’re really good at performing. i think there’s a lot that you could help me with.”

sarang, ever the hype man, doesn’t take the dismissal easily. “i mean it when i say that you’re incredible. i realize you’re maybe trying to be modest, and i love that about you, but sometimes, it’s okay to feel good about your skills, too; to celebrate them, in a way.” he hypes up his teammate, helping him build the confidence he needs to stand on stage.

the two continue to practice, but there are other members in the team who have yet to be seen. namely, PARK AHYOUNG. she finally makes an appearance with ryu inho, the two practicing the choreography together.

“yeah i’m not much of a dancer…but my little sister might bully me if i mess this up so that isn’t an option,” inho jokes, but is he really joking? 

“yeah, i don’t have any professional dance training at all,” ahyoung sympathizes with her teammate. but that’s not going to stop her. “so, i was looking up exercises to help increase stamina and jumping jacks are supposed to be good. i’m really good at jumping jacks. wanna see if you can do more jumping jacks than me?”

ahyoung insists on going first, a sped-up version of her jumping jack set played on screen. “okay, that was 50,” she says as the fast-forward replay comes to an end, suspiciously short. “i’m just kidding, it was 17,” she admits, out of breath after only a few short minutes of exercising.

this team acts more like a family than a group of strangers, apparently bonding with each other incredibly quickly.

“they’re all creative people, we mesh well. thank god,” jaeyoung tells the cameras again how wonderful this team has been together, “it’d be hard to be in a team with people you just don’t… click with, you know? but we did.”

“and we came up with an ambitious concept for our performance.”

“can you explain your concept?” a voice from behind the camera asks him.

“retro vibes, think saloons but also cyberpunk. like mad max, if you know the movie,” jaeyoung tries to explain. “i think our storyline is sick too, honestly. a bittersweet fight, just like the song almost.”

the scene fades into the group standing on stage, ready to begin their performance. the music begins, unfamiliar to those who have heart a.maze’s original rendition of the song. the remix that team a is using is harsher, grungier, and with the combination of their stage outfits the mad max vibes come across clearly.

it’s hard not to notice the chemistry between the team members themselves. they don’t shy away from one another, making eye contact amongst each other and playing off of their energy and emotions. if this was purely a concept battle, they would have won for certain, as expected of a team represented by an sr media delegate.

the song comes to a close and a short round of applause is heard from the judges and jian, who stands in the wings while the groups are performing.

“finally,” jihun sighs, “something worth watching.”

“we do have to give our feedback, though,” ran smiles, “but i think we all agree you all put on a wonderful performance. but, i have to point out, jingren,” her smile becomes a bit strained, “you didn’t look like you were having fun with that performance. is everything alright?” the scene flashes back of a clear frown on jingren’s face that was caught not just by ran, but by the cameras as well. “please don’t forget to mind your expressions on stage. even if you make a mistake, you can sometimes cover it up with confidence alone.”

“but you did make a mistake,” yuna points out. “your voice wasn’t terribly stable, unfortunately. and ran is right, if you had acted more confident i may not have noticed, or might have been able to let it slide. but by scowling like that, you admit to your audience that you’re not happy with your own performance. how can you expect the audience to be happy with it then too?”

“you’re improving, but you still need to work on your stamina,” jihun’s frown somewhat mirrors the one that jingren had been wearing on stage, funnily enough. his critique is short but maybe that’s a good thing.

“ahyoung,” jihun seems ready to call her out immediately again, “it seems like you can take things a bit more seriously when there's other people's dreams on the line.” he fixes the young woman with a stern look, though perhaps it’s an admission that she did improve at least the slightest bit. “at least you didn’t completely let your team down.”

“admittedly, i feel like this concept didn’t suit you as well as it suited the others,” ran smiles sympathetically. sometimes it’s not the participants’ fault; there’s always going to be someone who falls somewhat behind in any category. “your performance has improved, but perhaps you lacked the maturity to properly convey the emotions in this song. i appreciate your efforts regardless.”

yuna also smiles this time. “your rap is getting better,” she praises her, “but this isn’t exactly a song by a group well-known for their rapping. you could still work on your stability and stamina more. you sounded a little out of breath… aren’t you one of the youngest contestants here? you should be full of energy.” yuna teases gently.

“i could tell you felt better about this performance, inho,” ran smiles endearingly. “i loved the expressions you were showing us, very snarky and confident. it matched the concept well, i think this suited you fine.” 

“you danced and sang well, but more importantly you seemed to have confidence in yourself,” yuna praises him as well. “you’ve been a joy to watch improve so far. if anything, i’d say that you want to try to keep this same energy regardless of your personal feelings about the song. i’ll be the first to admit that i didn’t love every song in my own discography, but i had to perform with a smile anyway. i hope you’re able to keep this in mind for future performances you may not enjoy as much as this one.”

“all we can ask is that you listen to our feedback and apply it to your practice and performance,” jihun speaks. “you’ve done that.” it’s close enough to a compliment from him.

“jaeyoung, you’ve also taken our criticism to heart,” jihun gives a similar appraisal of the final contestant on this team. “teamwork is also a skill. it’s good to see you finally learn some of that.”

“were you on fire?” ran grins, “i feel like we could feel the heat radiating off of you. the expressions! in this case, your intensity was perfect for the concept you chose for this song. the chemistry of this team really shines, actually. you all made each other better by working together.”

yuna smiles as well. “i think i’m a little jealous,” she remarks, “i’ve never had a team to perform with, but your group made it look like so much fun. i should talk to my ceo, maybe it’s not too late to build a new team…” she laughs, clearly not serious about the idea, though the compliment is genuine.

“i do think you could have pushed the boundaries a bit farther,” jihun frowns ever so slightly, though that seems to be his default expression. “this was more or less just a remix with a new concept thrown on top, it didn’t completely reinvent a.maze’s song. but based on what else we’ve seen today, it was certainly better than others.” he doesn’t seem to be over the disappointment that was the studio delta teams just yet.

“well i enjoyed it,” ran asserts, though of course she would appreciate the more theatrical approach. “as yuna said, your chemistry really sold the show. i think you had the best synergy of any group we’ve seen perform today. but i’ll admit, i did think of a.maze the entire time. maybe it’s because they’re my group, but i couldn’t help but be reminded of their own close teamwork. you embodied the song well, but i have to admit you didn’t completely reinvent it.”

“regardless, great job,” ran concludes, giving the team another round of applause as they leave the stage, only to be replaced by TEAM B.

the scene shifts, as it had several times before, to the practice rooms. this time, the cameras waste no time in capturing the moments when team b is planning their performance, from concept to choreography.

“putting a performance together took a lot more effort than it seems on the surface,” it’s RYEO JIHYUN who is the first to appear in the interview room for this group. “so i’m grateful that we were all supportive of one another, things processed quite smoothly too.”

the scene shifts slightly, now only PARK STEVEN and CHOI HANGYEOL monopolizing the practice room. steven mimics a flowing dance movement that hangyeol demonstrates first, and then adds on to it. “okay,” he muses aloud, “i think after that, it’d look nice with like- a twisty? turkey kinda thing…” he demonstrates with his body what his lips can’t seem to describe.

“oh!” hangyeol recognizes the movement immediately, “it’s called an illusion- where did you learn to do that out of nowhere?”

“i’ve been researching,” stevie explains, seemingly embarrassed by his own admission, “i was watching some videos this week to kinda help give me an idea of what i’m doing.”

the duo keep choreographing together, hangyeol making the next suggestion. “it might be nice as a quick roll-off too. ooh- what if we did something a little spicy coming out of it? maybe one of those reverse scorpions, since we’re already so close to the floor? here-” he demonstrates the movement. stevie approves.

jihyun’s voice plays over a few more moments of practice before the scene shifts to him sitting in the interview room again. “it’s a song that tells a story about the singer who gets betrayed by their loved one who’s trying to move on from their toxic ex that’s still obsessed with them. we added a contemporary twist to it, so the way we sang and dance is a little softer than the original, we wanted to convey the bitter emotions felt in a song,” as luciel explains, the graceful yet tortured movements of the dancers hard at work seem to make much more sense. “we’re puppets controlled by the puppet master, that’s why there’s strings that gets cut off eventually, to show that we can get out of that toxicity.”

JIHYUN is seen in the practice rooms next, he and LEE NAYOUNG replacing the two young men from the previous scene. the coach has only just walked into the room, jihyun’s singing suddenly paused by the entrance of another person.

“is everything okay?” nayoung asks her teammate.

“it’s been alright so far but… i’m struggling to feel the mood of the song even though on paper, i understand the concept.” jihyun doesn’t look quite defeated, but he’s certainly perturbed by his struggles with the song.

“when in doubt, fake it,” nayoung advises, “even if you’re never experienced a toxic relationship, you can think about how it would feel, and try to reflect that in how you perform. i think if you tap into some kind of desperation, and frustration, you’ll embody the concept and it’ll come across well.”

it seems that nayoung’s advice to get used to acting filters throughout the group, jihyun now partnering with steven to work on their performance. “could you try singing while making eye contact with me?” jihyun suggests to the other man, holding a hand out as an offering gesture. steven takes it, and jihyun starts quoting the lyrics softly, speaking them instead of singing, “tell me that if i love you, i have to let you go.”

steven matches jihyun’s gaze, but only for a moment before his face turns bright red and he’s pulling away to cover his embarrassment with his hands. “wait, i’m shy,” he sputters. obviously, jihyun has learned well from nayoung if he’s able to fluster his male teammate so easily! 

while the team gets along well, there’s clearly a business-like focus shared between them. compared to team a in particular, the chemistry of team b is strong in the sense of a well-organized group project rather than the family-like feeling of their competitors. just how will that play out on stage?

there’s not much longer to wait!

however, before getting to the actual performance, one more scene pops onto the screen. it’s dress rehearsal just earlier that day and the entire team is running through the unique dance break, the full choreography yet to be revealed. during a scorpion move, HANGYEOL suddenly shouts in pain.

“i’m okay,” he insists, though the music stops immediately and staff immediately flock towards him to see what’s the matter. “it’s just an old injury. i have a brace for it backstage. nobody panic.”

how could they not panic, though?

nayoung approaches him, his wrist a scary-looking combination of tape and the brace, likely much worse than it looks, even if it is quite bad despite hangyeol insisting, again, “i’m fine.”

“you’re not fine,” nayoung disagrees, “we need to-”

“-change the choreo. i know.” hangyeol is fully aware of the hiccup that is his last-minute injury. he tests the limits of his wrist, thinking about just how they’re going to pull this off. “i’ll adjust to something that makes sense, so they don’t have to change anything.” he assures nayoung.

whether she’s convinced or not, there’s no time to do anything but simply trust him. “ok. i’ll let them know.”

a few worried conversations later and the entire team lines up on stage, hangyeol’s wrist still fully wrapped. will he push through the pain and injure himself more? will he really come up with something on the fly that still suits the choreography without distracting the others?

that lingering question haunts the entire performance, adding another layer to their haunted, contemporary retelling of don’t call me. as the dance break comes closer and closer and no sign of hangyeol suddenly cured of his ailment, just what will happen?

perhaps the best made plans cannot substitute for happy accidents. while the other young men lean forward into the scorpion pose, hangyeol pirouettes in place instead, spinning once, twice, three times while the others dance with un-injured wrists. at the climax, hangyeol grabs at his neck and falls to his knees, ripping his necklace off like the final chain broken between him and the toxic relationship still trying to sink its claws into him. he stares directly into the camera, directly at the viewer behind the screen, and drops the choker off the edge of the stage as if taunting the viewer with his newfound freedom.

a cheer goes up from the female judges as the team finishes their performance, the cameras catching each in their ending fairy poses before finally leaving time for the judges’ critiques.

“i’m glad this performance was last!” yuna exclaims, “it definitely felt like the grand finale of this episode! congratulations to all of you for successfully pulling it off.” she pauses to clap a few more times, giving the team their well-deserved applause.

“ah, but hangyeol,” yuna’s brow knits together in concern, “how’s your wrist? we heard what happened during rehearsal, are you alright?” she waits for his response, her frown sympathetic. “injuries happen. but being able to work through them, or despite them, makes you a stronger performer. i’m thoroughly impressed with your ability to think quickly and to make sure your team didn’t suffer for the accident. if we didn’t know better, your adjustments to the choreography really looked intentional.”

“and your expressions!” ran exclaims, also taken with the performance and perhaps with hangyeol himself in particular. “the whole team did well, but i felt like you connected with the song in particular. something in your face moved my heart… i think if jihun wasn’t such a grump, he would admit it moved his too.” she smiles and elbows the judge next to her.

jihun rolls his eyes, though he doesn’t look nearly as annoyed as he has before. “we normally scold contestants for injuring themselves,” he remarks, “and for this reason entirely. you can’t perform your best if you’re not feeling your best, and we don’t want to make an investment in someone who doesn’t know their limits and will tear themselves apart before they can even make it to debut. you are the exception in this case. you’re wise enough to know when to back off and how to make a performance work despite injury. your previous experience on stage must have done you well.”

“jihyun’s expressions were also surprisingly good, for someone who was faking it,” jihun quirks a brow as he looks on to the next contestant. “it’s good to see you take nayoung’s advice and apply it to your practice and performance. it shows good character and an ability to learn. i would just suggest that you remember to put that emotion into your voice as well as your face. you’re a good singer, but this song isn’t about good singers.”

“i do think it’s important to show off your abilities, though,” yuna disagrees gently, or perhaps just refines the critique that jihun has already given. “you have a good voice, jihyun. it’s pleasant to listen to… but you’re allowed to make us feel unpleasant at times if the song calls for it. but at this stage in your career, i understand why you didn’t. it’s a fine detail thing that will come with time.” she smiles encouragingly.

“you made this one particular expression during the performance that was especially good,” ran remarks, trying to mimic it on her own face. the screen replays jihyun’s conceited smirk as he bitterly sings about how awful his ex was. “i don’t know if many people would have thought to smile there, maybe they would have cried instead. it was a really captivating choice. maybe you have a future in acting as well,” her smile seems to be filled with unspoken plans and ideas.

“and steven,” jihun is the first to give the young man a stern look. though, perhaps he only does it now because he finds it entertaining that the contestant is a little bit afraid of him. “you’ve grown a lot since last season. i know we keep saying it, but it showed in this mission in particular. using your own free time to research for your performance was a very smart and mature move and you helped your team a lot by staying focused on the concept and goal.” 

“if i recall, this was the episode you were eliminated on last season, correct?” yuna brings up the past, her smile a bit sly as she once again drudges up memories steven probably would rather leave behind him. “i don’t think we’ve had to scold you once so far, have we? at least not so badly that i remember it. you’re a strong dancer and it’s refreshing to see you take the craft more seriously. you could work on your vocals more, but a.maze are notoriously difficult to keep up with. you did well for your first attempt at covering this song.”

finally, it’s ran’s turn. “stevie park, you keep making us eat our words from last season and i couldn’t be happier about it,” she smiles warmly. “i think what stands out most this time is how you’re able to bring brightness and joy to your team without distracting them this time. it can be difficult to keep morale up during long days of practice but staying motivated while remaining focused goes a long way in delivering a strong performance. keep it up.”

“as for your performance overall, i think yuna said it best when she said this was the perfect grand finale of the episode,” ran continues. “you not only changed the song right down to its very tempo, choreographed your own dance in a place that made sense, and introduced a concept that enhanced the lyrics, you did it all while singing and dancing at a near professional level. i’m genuinely impressed,” she claps her hands together, a short applause to cheer on the team that had given them such a great performance.

“i thought it couldn’t get much better than team a,” yuna admits, “but you gave us everything they did and more. ah, i wish we could keep this team together for the next round. you worked well together, very professionally, and it served you well in delivering a phenomenal performance. you tugged on all of our heartstrings. great job.”

jihun sighs, folds his arms, and leans back in his seat. “why did you have to be a sr media team?” he groans. “ran isn’t going to let me hear the end of this. i don’t even have much to critique. you used your coach’s expertise strategically, so congrats to nayoung for leading your team so well. i hate to say it. you made the song your own, which was exactly what we asked you to do.”

he also gives a begrudging round of applause with his fellow judges as team a rejoins jian and team b on stage.

“after deliberation, our judges have revealed the winner of this battle,” jian reads from her cue card, glancing at the judges with a smile before looking down at the winner’s name again, eyes wide. “the winner of don’t call me is… TEAM B!”

after a moment of cheering and celebrating, jihun picks up his microphone again. “you both did well,” he explains, “but someone had to be the loser. team b better embodied the challenge and made the song more uniquely their own, beyond just remixing the track and wearing different costumes. at last, we can only have one winner.”

“unfortunately,” jian announces, “it’s time to say goodbye to some of our teammates and friends. if the losing teams could all join me on stage,” she gestured to the wings where the losing teams from cake and pink venom join her on stage as don’t call me team b exits for now.

“KAITO, JAEYOUNG, and SIWOO.. please step forward,” jian announces. “according to our judges you are… safe!” she smiles as the contestants all breathe a sigh of relief, the prank surely making their heartbeats increase a few notches.

“the next three names will be the eliminated contestants for this episode,” jian confirms, no pranks left before the announcement. “from CAKE TEAM A… we’re saying goodbye to YOON EUNWOL.”

a somber feeling fills the room as the contestants say their goodbyes to the eliminated participant. before he can leave the stage, however, yuna speaks up one last time. “eunwol, you have talent, but you lack the maturity to show it properly. while we’re eliminating you today, we’re doing so in hopes of teaching you a lesson and that this will only help you in your performing career. you need to be able to stand strong on your own and push forward without complaint. please believe me when i say that we hope to see you again soon.”

after another moment of farewell greetings, eunwol is escorted off the stage.

“next, from PINK VENOM TEAM B… MOON JORDAN.”

more tears, hugs, and goodbyes are shared as jordan processes his elimination from the competition. perhaps this one was more of a shock.

“jordan,” jihun addresses him this time, “unfortunately, someone from your team had to go. it wasn’t an easy decision as we felt that you all performed fairly evenly, but unfortunately you drew the short straw in this specific circumstance. i hope this doesn’t discourage you too much and you’re able to continue to pursue your performing dreams outside of this show.”

like eunwol, jordan is also given his final hugs and handshakes before he’s escorted away.

“our final elimination tonight is from DON’T CALL ME TEAM A,” jian announces. she sighs as she reads the name silently before finally revealing it aloud. “tonight we’re sorry to say good bye to… PARK AHYOUNG.”

the team that had formed such a close bond so quickly undoubtedly sheds more than a few tears as they say good bye to their eliminated member.

“your heart was never in this, was it, ahyoung?” ran smiles sympathetically from her place behind the judges’ table. “but you still delivered us a good performance. we were glad to see what you had to offer, but i hope you’re happier pursuing music, or whatever else you’d like to do, outside of next gen. maybe our paths will cross again someday.”

as the final contestant is ushered away, the survivors and winners are gathered on stage. one by one, the updated ranking is introduced to them, time given to react while the scores pop up one at a time.

most notably, CHOI HANGYEOL has reclaimed his seat at the top, achieving the number one position for the second time this season. “congratulations!” jian praises him. “i don’t recall anyone earning the honor more than once last year. it’s a huge testament to your achievement!”

“next week will be another elimination round,” jian reminds the contestants in the bottom ranks, most notably SEIRA, JUEUN, and JIHYUN. “you still have time to raise your ranking to remain safe after the next evaluation.”

“speaking of, forget your old teams, because you’re all being rearranged into three new teams,” jian lets the contestants know. “our next mission is the CONCEPT EVALUATION!”

“our judges have been watching you over the last few weeks and have placed you into the concepts that they feel you’ll perform best. of the many diverse concepts that have appeared in kpop, and even just in sr media groups, we’ve divided it up into three main categories: cute and bright, elegant and sexy, and teen crush.”

“in the next episode, you’ll be performing the concepts in the songs chosen for you by the judges to the best of your ability. the winning team will be safe from elimination while the losing two teams risk members being sent home at the end of the episode.”

“your new teams and songs are on the screen above. take a moment to greet your new groupmates and get ready! we’re excited to see what you’ll show us on the next episode of next gen!”

“personally, i can’t wait to see more of HANGYEOL,” ran admits. a short clip of the contestant’s audition from last week and his subsequent first-place rank at the end of the episode plays across the screen. “he’s a talented young man and i have a feeling he’ll do well with this challenge.”

“actually, i think i’m looking forward to STEVEN,” jihun considers his words for a moment before continuing, “he’s already familiar with this type of mission, even though it’s a different song and dance from last year. i’m hopeful that he’ll show us a new side of himself this season.”

“since i asked, i should answer as well,” yuna smiles, “while i agree with both of you, i’m personally looking forward to seeing AHYOUNG’s performance. she has a strong personality and a lot of energy, so it’ll be interesting to see how that fits into the group.”

it’s no wonder that the judges are looking forward to the top three from last episode. they chatter for a few moments more before the talented emcee RHEE JIAN takes her position in center stage, ready to announce the first contestant.

ASAKURA TOUMA is the first contestant up, taking the stage shortly after a brief introduction from jian. the camera focuses in on his silhouette, silent except for the exaggerated sound of his breathing, as he waits for the music to start. just as it looks like the performance is about to begin, the scene abruptly changes to the very same contestant in the practice rooms provided for the NEXT GEN participants.

it seems that touma is quite the practice-bug, staying late hours in the practice rooms with KAITO and separately with HYUNKI, and stretching with JIHYUN. “i understand that i was doing more than i can chew, back then.” touma’s voice plays across a scene of him helping jihyun lean further into his stretch. “i’d like to think that i was able to balance things a bit more clean this time, focus on what i can do first.”

the scene fades back to the judges, their sharp eyes digging into the contestant even as the song has yet to start. “this will be… interesting,” jihun remarks. the two women remain quiet.

do better starts playing and the very first performance begins. touma is clearly enjoying the stage and while he starts strong with the rapping and his dancing isn’t bad, it’s singing where his performance begins to fall apart. the edit seems to highlight this, featuring every shaky note or slightly missed beat and making the boy’s performance out to be much worse than it may have been without the repeated cuts, replays of imperfect moments, or quick zooms into the slightest shake or wobble. 

even touma admits that he struggled; “it’s different from training,” he tells the camera, the scene suddenly cutting to the young man seated in a simple room. “i had to keep in mind the pitch and everything. i had to keep it stable while dancing too, somehow it’s easier with rapping.”

the performance comes to a close with an uncomfortable silence hanging in the air as the judges seem to collect their thoughts.

“i suppose i’ll start,” ran picks up her microphone and begins to address the contestant directly. “touma, i can tell that you took our advice to heart from last episode. we appreciate a trainee who’s coachable and applies feedback to their efforts, however…”

while ran seems at a loss for words, perhaps looking for a softer way to say what’s on her mind, jihun has no such delicacy. he takes over immediately: “just because we thought you were doing too much last time doesn’t mean you should have neglected your vocal training now.” he sighs, perhaps regretting that they were not more clear with their expectations, or that the contestants understood the assignment so poorly. 

“it’s a good thing that you can rap and dance,” yuna takes a more balanced approach to her critique, the carrot and stick method in a sense. “but for your sake, you should focus on learning to sing better. no matter how good of a dancer or rapper you are, the public will always perceive you as untalented if you can’t sing.” she speaks from a place of experience, her advice genuine.

there’s one last scene of touma in the interview room. “i’m happy i did it. i’m confident that i did my best, and i’m sure all my hard work will shine through somehow.” his optimism despite the rough critique is admirable. perhaps he’ll become a contestant to watch closely as the competition goes on.

“ah, well,” jihun sighs, “hopefully the next will be better.”

perhaps disappointed that the first performance was not a show-stopper, the judges moods brighten anyway as jian announces that CHOI HANGYEOL will be the next contestant on stage.

“mr. first-place,” yuna smiles warmly as the young man takes his place on stage. he bows politely and greets each of the judges.

“i’m sorry,” hangyeol announces, “i’m a little starstruck at the moment. thank you for this opportunity, and for your kind words of support from before. i’ll do my best to make sure you won’t regret them.”

“he speaks well,” jihun remarks, low enough that the contestant on stage can’t hear her just yet.

“he was working with my NAYOUNG this week,” ran informs the other judges, the scene shifting for a moment to show hangyeol and the trainee-coach in a practice room.

“how does it feel to have them say they want to sign you on day one? i'm pretty sure they didn't say that about anyone last season," nayoung asks her question of her student for the day, her competitive spirit obviously not at all dampened since her last appearance on television. 

humble as always, hangyeol’s response is as perfect as if written in a storybook: “it’s an honor, but one that i still feel like i need to earn.”

the scene shifts again, this time to just backstage as the young man stretches in preparation for his performance for the judges. a paper armband displaying his number one position wraps snugly around his upper arm, lest anyone forgets who wears the crown this week. suddenly, his arm flops down. “tsk…it’s heavy isn’t it? nobody tells you that part.” his tone is light, as if joking, but the viewer can read into the meaning behind it. first place is a heavy burden for a contestant to bear. will he live up to last week’s performance that earned him the title?

hangyeol once again seems to be a professional on stage. his mistakes are overlooked by the camera and the editors, zooming into his flawless expressions and sharp-yet-fluid movements which suit the heavy beat of the song well. it’s like it’s his personal music show… the captions praise him, the cuts suddenly looking very reminiscent of an idol performance as it cuts between different angles of the same performance. he’s stable, if a bit imperfect, but it’s clear that the powers that be behind the scenes are much more forgiving of their first number-one than they had been of the previous contestant.

all three judges clap their approval in a tiny applause as hangyeol finishes his performance.

“i’ll be honest,” jihun doesn’t smile, but he doesn’t look displeased either, “i didn’t expect you to be able to sing. you were surprisingly stable for someone who hasn’t done this before… have you?” he suddenly questions; it’s not out of the question that there may be small idols that disbanded or retired without the general public’s notice. 

“there were mistakes, but you never let them slow you down,” yuna nods her appreciation of the performance. “that’s hard to do, even for seasoned performers. it’s easy to get caught up on a mistake and make more because of it. your resilience makes you a stronger performer.”

“if i had one bit of advice to give, it would be to practice your enunciation more,” ran suggests, not unkindly. “your details with dancing are top notch, so i’d love to see the same attention given to your voice, whether you decide to pursue rapping or singing going forward.”

“good job, hangyeol,” yuna congratulates him, smiling warmly.

“if i can get yoon jihun himself to smile, i’ll consider it an accomplishment,” hangyeol’s voice is heard momentarily as he leaves the stage. for a moment, it seems as if his mission has failed. but after he’s gone, the tiniest upward curve is revealed on jihun’s lips.

“this is the part where i have to give you some not-so-good news,” jian announces to the judges, who frown as they listen to the emcee. “HAN YURA and MOON SOOYOUNG have both withdrawn from the competition for personal reasons. we wish the both of them the best of luck in their future endeavors and hope to see them on stage again soon.”

while the expressions of the judges don’t brighten they do give the two withdrawn contestants a round of applause to send them off of the show.

“with that, we’ll move on to our next contestant,” jian announces, “please welcome HAN JUEUN to the stage!”

the young woman walks out with a confidence rather uncommon among the contestants, which the judges pick up on immediately.

“she hardly looks nervous at all,” ran remarks.

“she doesn’t look nervous at all,” jihun corrects his fellow judge as all three stare down at the girl on stage.

“i’m pretty confident,” jueun herself confirms her aptitude for the stage, smiling at the cameras as she sits in the interview room. “with how hard i’ve been working, i don’t think i’m going to slip tremendously with this next ranking, at least.”

and she has been working hard; the scene cuts to the practice rooms, a montage of her sessions with various fellow contestants displayed. in each clip, she’s seen practicing a different skill, seeking advice from more experienced participants, and even giving advice of her own.

the scene settles on a moment shared between jueun and JIAYI, the two women talking together during a short break. “this whole thing is being televised,” jiayi reminds the other, followed by a confession, “i'm worried about that too, but i try to ignore all the cameras.”

“they’re kind of hard to ignore though, aren’t they? i mean, they are literally everywhere,” jueun laughs, perhaps betraying the slightest sense of nervousness with the sound. “but i’m trying my best as well.”

back to the present, to the woman standing confidently before the judges, and the music begins playing yet again. 

jihun notices something, though.

“she’s staring at me a lot, isn’t she?” he remarks. the women to his left and right have to stifle their laughter.

the performance wraps up and yuna is the first to speak this time. “you’re comfortable on stage, aren’t you? your expressions are good, and you didn’t look even a little bit nervous. do you have any acting experience?” she questions appreciatively, curious more than anything.

“like yuna said, it’s clear that you have experience on stage. i just can’t help but wonder why you seemed to only perform for ceo yoon?” ran’s tone is light enough, though her words more biting than typical of the soft spoken ceo. perhaps this is a sensitive spot for her. “yuna and i are also here, and also judges. picking one place to look is good for ballerinas who need to keep their balance while spinning, but performing to one person alone in the audience can make the rest feel a bit uncomfortable.”

“it’s clear that you practiced hard and put a lot of effort into this performance,” jihun shuffles the papers in front of him as he speaks. “your expressions are good and make for an engaging performance, but your skills could use a little more work. keep practicing, you’re doing well.” small words are a large compliment from the pickiest judge.

jueun is seen in the interview room one last time as her portion comes to an end. “i would love to see how much i grow skill-wise. i came onto this show like a blank canvas, and it’d be nice to see how colorful i become at the end!”

“HAN YUWOL,” jihun realizes who the next contestant is, echoing jian as she announces the next name. “he’s one of the odd ones, isn’t he?”

“this should be interesting,” ran agrees, though she appears to be more looking forward to this than jihun is.

the scene cuts abruptly to yuwol in the practice room, coach SEOJUN talking him through his session and addressing the contestant’s weaknesses as he approaches this challenge.

“i’ve never actually done any dancing before, much less performing dance,” yuwol admits. no dancing at all? certainly he has a daunting task ahead of him.

“i can help with that,” seojun assures his student, “i’ll do my best to having you knowing the whole routine in no time.”

the scene changes in such a way that it’s hard to notice that it’s a different time, a different person in yuwol’s company. it’s AHYOUNG now, abruptly pausing the music during their dance practice session. “enough!” ahyoung shouts, seemingly frustrated with the lack of progress either from herself or her companion. “i’m putting a random song on and dancing to that,” she proclaims. the camera focuses on yuwol’s face, taking in his reaction. 

“like we’re supposed to… freestyle it?” yuwol asks, as if it’s an entirely foreign concept to him. and, based on his discussion with seojun, maybe it really is.

how is he going to pull himself together for the judges? the captions drag out the tension, setting the contestant up for a disappointing performance if some miracle isn’t pulled off. the scene shows a few more seconds of awkward, stiff dance movements before fading to black. yuwol reappears on stage in front of the judges not a moment later. the young man takes a deep breath– is he also afraid of the results of his practice?

the poor thing. the cameras pan to the judges’ pained expressions as yuwol opens with an awkward rap, only made better by how the dance is somehow even worse. if ran and yuna try to mask their expressions, or at least soften them slightly, jihun does nothing of the sort. he frowns openly, disappointed with the performance before them.

an uncomfortable silence hangs in the air as the music concludes, the judges seemingly at a loss for words for a moment.

“yuwol,” jihun finally breaks the silence, “i think you know what we’re going to say. that just… wasn’t good. we thought you were a good singer in your audition, but we didn’t see any of that talent tonight. frankly, you have a lot of work to put in if you’re going to make it in this competition.”

“learning to dance is hard,” yuna tries to smooth over the harsh words of her fellow judge, giving the poor young man the benefit of the doubt. “it’s not something that can be done in a few days. i think you did your best to learn as much as you can in a short time. i can congratulate you on that.” somehow, even as she tries to find something nice to say, it falls flat.

“there’s nowhere to go but up from here, yuwol,” ran smiles, the kindest of the three despite the pity in her eyes.

the interview room makes another appearance, yuwol now seated in the center of it. “i looked… rather stiff, i’d be the first to admit that,” he confesses to the camera, “i’m new to all this, though that’s not an excuse… of course, it’s far from a perfect performance… there’s a lot to learn from it.”

“next,” jian’s lovely, smiling face takes over the screen after a brief pause in the wake of yuwol’s poor performance, “we’d like to welcome HWANG JINGREN to the stage!”

there’s not much preamble to jingren’s entrance to the stage. there’s only a short clip of him in the practice room, chatting with JAEYOUNG. “i don’t know if i’m any good. especially, considering how i ranked near the bottom,” jingren confesses, “i don’t have the natural beat at all.”

“everyone loves an underdog story,” jaeyoung offers encouragingly, “someone rising from the very bottom to the top. you have a whole arc ahead of you.”

will jingren rise or fall? 

as the music starts and the young contestant begins his solo performance, smiles are seen across the judges’ faces. the audio finally kicks in so the audience can hear what the judges do; a surprisingly stable voice, despite shakiness during the rap and imperfections in his dancing abilities. it’s not a winning performance, but it’s solid.

the judges applaud him regardless when he’s finished.

“to be honest, i wasn’t sure how this would go,” jihun confesses. “i was ready for another trainwreck on stage. you pleasantly surprised us, thank you for that. it wasn’t a perfect performance, but we can see your improvement already.”

“like jihun said, it wasn’t perfect. but we don’t expect perfection at this point. you’re all looking to become trainees, not to debut tomorrow. so i wouldn’t worry too much about being the best right now and just focus on continuing to improve your skills. you’re doing well, jingren,” yuna smiles through her feedback, encouraging the young hopeful before her.

ran is the last judge to speak, a little slow as she tries to find something to say that hasn’t already been shared by her peers. “it might be nice to see you enjoy the stage a little more,” she comments, “you looked a bit scared up there. i know this is all new and nerve-wracking but i’d love to see what you’re capable of if you can become a little more comfortable.”

“thank you, jingren,” jian congratulates the man on his performance as he’s ushered off the stage. “next, we’re excited to welcome HWANG YEJUN!”

“i like the way you dance,” it’s actually INHO’s voice that’s heard, the scene cutting to a practice room where the two young men rehearse together. yejun, the one on the receiving end of the compliment, looks flabbergasted more than anything. 

“thank you,” he sputters out.

the editors do him small favors to be a little more interesting, peppering the scene with rosy pink hearts and painting a picture of a practice room crush, at least on one another’s skills if not literally in a romantic sense. clips of yejun in practice, both in the main group classes, alone, and with inho and other contestants play in a short montage. and then, a clip of his singing voice, without dancing. he has skill, to be sure. will he be able to show it to the judges?

the camera catches his deep breath, the tremble of his hands as he stands before the judges.

“are you nervous, yejun?” ran smiles into her microphone. “it’s alright, we just want to see what you’ve learned.”

kind words can only do so much for the poor man’s nerves. but like it or not, the music begins regardless.

his nerves don’t completely disappear even as his performance starts, a shake in his voice and a wobble in his step even as he does his best to project confidence during his song and dance. that voice that was heard in the practice rooms lacks some of its power now, yejun’s energy split between singing and dancing. had inho been right to compliment the other contestant? yejun’s not terrible, but he may be his own worst enemy.

at least he hits the final note and pose, ending the song on a high.

the judges applaud for a moment before yuna is the first to pick up her microphone. “yejun, do you have stage fright?” she asks suddenly, “we could all tell you lacked confidence in this performance. you shouldn’t, you sing well and your dancing isn’t bad either. but when you make yourself seem so small, how are we supposed to react?”

“my trainees like you,” jihun adds. 

his commentary is interrupted by a clip of RENYI and DOHYUN discussing the contestants they’re supposed to be coaching. the camera shows yejun’s profile photo in renyi’s hand. “i think he’d be really good at a company that encourages his creativity, and we already know we get along well with him,” the trainee reveals the friendship he’s already fostered with yejun, though it’s yet to be caught on camera.

“i agree,” is all that’s heard from dohyun, though the cut is awkward as if he had more to say.

the scene returns to jihun, who has more to say: “but i don’t see why just yet. keep practicing and show us a better version of yourself next time. whatever it is your friends see in you, i’d like to see that too.”

“you’re here because we saw star potential in your audition, yejun,” ran cleans up the conversation kindly, unwilling to beat down a nervous contestant more than he’s already been beaten by himself. “i hope you’re able to show us that side again.”

yejun bows, utters his thanks, and leaves the stage. a gloomy atmosphere seems to hang in the air.

“well then,” jihun claps his hands together and leans back in his seat. “what do we have next?”

ITO SEIRA is the next contestant to showcase her skills, but before showing her on stage the screen cuts to the girl working in the practice room with HYUNKI. and then the screen splits to show her with JAEYOUNG. it splits again, now in quarters, to reveal her practice sessions with JIAYI and EUNWOL, and then into eight pieces with TOUMA, INHO, JIHYUN, and YUWOL, with the coaches CHAERIN, NAYOUNG, and SEOJUN, with JUEUN, STEVEN, and JORDAN.

the audio is filled with each time seira introduced herself to her fellow contestants, the voices multiplying clip over clip until it’s a whole chorus of introductions.

is there anyone who seira isn’t friends with? the captions suddenly question. it’s clear that the girl is quite the social butterfly, already befriending most of the contestants and half of the judges in the first week of practice alone.

“almost everyone was willing to help me,” seira appears in the interview room in the next shot, telling her story with a fond smile. “i was so surprised, nobody turned me away when i asked for help… we’re all in this together, we help each other. i don’t think there’s a single person i’m thankful for, i’m thankful for everyone, i hope people keep being willing to help, after all, this is a competition”.

and then, finally, seira appears on stage. the camera captures her bright personality, making it easy for the viewer to understand just how she was able to befriend the majority of the competition so quickly. “hello i am ito seira, my korean name is sunah, i am twenty-one years old, i’m thankful you’re willing to watch my performance, i hope you enjoy it!” the girl introduces herself, seemingly without so much as stopping for a breath.

“she must be a rapper,” the cameras catch jihun making the remark quietly to his fellow judges, who smile and suppress their giggles at the man’s rare attempt at humor.

the music plays again and very little is shown of seira’s performance, perhaps neither so good nor so bad that the editors felt the need to draw any special attention to any point of it. they are sure to capture the ending though, zooming in on the woman’s face as if an ending fairy in a music show. the camera catches the way she breathes heavily, despite trying to hide it.

“you’re a hard worker, aren’t you, seira?” yuna is the first to address the girl on stage, a fond smile on her lips. “we have staff report to us on your activities throughout practice as well watching your final performances, to see if you’ll be a good fit in any of our companies. i have to commend you for your collaborative efforts, even on a solo evaluation like this. it’s easy to get caught up in the competition but it seems that you have a knack for bringing people together.”

“you have some skill,” the ever-unimpressed jihun rubs his chin as he considers seira’s performance, seemingly undecided about his feelings on the matter. “you’re not perfect, obviously. you’re not debuting tomorrow. but there’s promise. and, as yuna so aptly put it, you have other talents that are just as important to have in an idol group. i think we’ll have to watch you more closely.”

“i heard you had a fall in practice, are you alright?” ran is the first to show concern for the contestant.

the scene suddenly cuts back to the practice room and seira’s practice session with JAEYOUNG. as they begin the dance, the girl somehow loses her balance and ends up flat on her back in the middle of practice.

silence fills the room for a moment, uncomfortable as if about to welcome in bad news to the wannabes working so hard.

jaeyoung breaks that heavy quiet; he laughs aloud. “how did you get on the floor like that?”

it turns out seira isn’t hurt, she’s smiling in return. “who knows? maybe i was adding breakdance into the dance.”

the screen returns to the evaluation stage and ran smiling warmly at the young woman before her. “i’m glad to hear you’re alright. please be careful when you practice, we’d hate to have to send you home due to any injuries. i’m excited to see what you’ll be able to show us next time.”

with those kind words, seira is dismissed from the stage.

"it wasn't exactly pleasant to see my name so close to the bottom," the scene fades into the next contestant, JANG HYUNKI, sitting in the interview room. clips from the previous episode play, the judges’ harsh words echoing over a clip of hyunki sitting quietly, as if haunting him like menacing ghosts. “it did make me want to work ten times harder to show everyone here and at home that i'm much more than what i showed in the audition."

will hyunki be able to show a better side of himself this time?

the scene cuts to the practice room, of hyunki and JUEUN standing in front of the mirror. "look,” jueun instructs him, “everybody knows you're a skilled dancer, but you've got to convince people that you're really feeling the music, and that involves using your face!"

hyunki, responding to her advice, straightens his posture and adjusts his face. “believable?” he asks.

“it looks like a customer service smile, if you know what i mean. your eyes are pretty much empty." jueun is honest with him, even if it’s not the results he probably wants to hear. 

as the pair continues to rehearse, hyunki’s voice is heard over the scene: "i worked exceptionally hard, and felt more confident this time around. i had the critiques to work off of and those all gave me a good starting point."

the scene changes again, this time to just backstage. SARANG is seeing the contestant off, playfully slapping his backside as hyunki steps up to take his turn on stage. "go kill it! one slip up isn't gonna kill you. you're gonna dominate this whole thing!" the trainee assures his student.

"all the coaches were super helpful," hyunki is shown in the interview room once more before his performance begins. "if i had to pick one, sarang's advice was probably most helpful for me this time around."

clips of sarang’s time on last season flash across the screen in a quick montage. if anyone could teach hyunki to be more expressive on stage, it would be mr. charisma sarang himself.

the camera pauses on hyunki as he stands on stage, building tension in the silence as he waits for the music to start. when do better finally starts playing, the young man begins moving, rapping, singing. it’s immediately clear that he took the criticism to heart; this performance blows his audition away entirely.

the song comes to a close and the young man bows, awaiting the judges’ response. all three are smiling, a much better sign than the last time they evaluated this contestant.

“well, hyunki, i feel like we owe you an apology,” ran begins, her smile wider than all the rest. “what you were able to accomplish in such a short time is a testament to your skill. we recognized your good foundation, but your ability to apply critique is unmatched so far. you worked closely with sarang? that was a good choice. he won last season for his charisma and stage presence, which was exactly what you lacked in your audition. excellent job.”

“i never regret my words,” jihun leans back in his seat, showing he’s impressed in his subtle mannerisms. “but you did make me eat them this time. you overdanced a little to the point your vocals suffered, but i can’t say you weren’t engaging to watch this time. good job.” rare praise from the strictest judge.

yuna pauses, smiling at hyunki before she speaks. “well done,” she congratulates him. “the audition was a bad time to have an off-day. i’m so glad to see we were right to bring you on the show, and that one off-day is not indicative of your abilities. i’m excited to see if you can continue to improve at this rate throughout the show.”

“great job, hyunki,” ran praises the young man again as jian gestures him off stage.

“he really did a one-eighty,” jihun murmurs aloud.

“did he actually impress you?” ran teases.

jihun shrugs. “maybe. maybe not.”

“i feel for whoever has to follow up that performance,” yuna remarks.

the lucky contestant is KIM ARA. a short clip of the girl stretching with KAITO in the practice rooms floods the screen. “next time, i’m going to bring my foam roller here too,” she announces, seemingly dissatisfied with the quality of her stretch without it. still, she bends in half easily, still having the breath and strength to chat with the other contestant even as she stretches. it’s clear that she’s flexible and a skilled dancer.

“i won’t be defeated by my placing,” ara tells the cameras in the interview room, suddenly reminding her that she’s fourteenth, rather low in the ranks. “but i will use it as fuel to further my ambition. there is room for me to improve and hopefully rise up.”

the girl is seen climbing up the stairs to the stage next, ready to show the judges what she’s prepared. 

the music starts and her flexibility in the practice room pays off as she reaches out to each movement in its fullest completion, never skimping or leaving a step incomplete even if the choreography is easy.

“i really did try my best to give a balanced performance and work on my singing,” ara’s voice is heard over the music just before the singing portion starts. and in the next moment, it’s her singing voice that’s heard through the speakers, surprisingly stable despite the dancing. her performance passes by quickly, the camera continuing to highlight the best parts of her dance ability, until the final pose is struck and she’s being greeted by the judges.

“ara, you did well,” yuna praises her immediately. “i wasn’t sure if you were going to sing well or not, but you even did well with rapping. i don’t think any of us expected that from you, so i want to congratulate you if you learned that well in such a short time or apologize if we overlooked your skill during your audition.”

“i do wish we saw a little more of your personality come through,” ran adds to yuna’s thoughts, “but honestly, it’s such a minor critique in the grand scheme of things. this was a solo performance but it felt like you were holding back a bit. it’s alright to be a little greedy in this stage. this is a competition, after all.”

jihun is quiet for a moment, collecting his thoughts. finally, he picks up his microphone. “i don’t think i have anything more to add,” he admits. “ran and yuna have more or less said it all. you’re very talented and we’d like to see what you’re able to do with this talent going forward. thank you.”

“we’re excited to welcome the next contestant to the stage, MOON JORDAN,” jian announces as the camera shows a brief clip of the contestant climbing up to the stage to take his position in the center. 

the scene cuts to jordan in the practice rooms, rehearsing choreography that’s distinctly unfamiliar. what is he doing? the captions question as the young man runs through movements that the other contestants certainly had not been doing. was he given a different assignment than the rest?

“i attempt to turn things into my own to make it fun and enjoyable for those watching me,” jordan tells the camera in the interview room, a sort of confidence in his demeanor even as he’s sitting there. some might find it attractive; others might find it cocky.

back to the present—or at least back to the stage and the performance in front of the judges. jordan’s performance begins the same as every other contestant, dancing, rapping and singing do better in front of the three people who will decide his fate in this competition. but, as he nears the end, something is different. it appears that jordan has added his own dance break, something that no one else has dared to do before. it’s a risky move; just how will the judges respond?

silence falls on the room as the performance comes to a close. the cameras pan across the judges who scribble notes down on the papers in front of them before they give their verdict to the young man before them.

it’s yuna who speaks up first.

“moon jordan,” she reads his full name off the paper in front of her. “do you have a problem with following directions?”

a hush falls over the room again. yuna has been kind, if a bit strict with the other contestants so far. her voice nearly shakes, as if she’s holding in her anger for the sake of all the people watching her through the camera right now. a veteran idol knows how to take care of her image, after all.

“this was a test of your performance skills so we could better evaluate your strengths and weaknesses. this was not a test of your creativity or an invitation to modify the song given to you. this song may not have been performed by anyone else before this group of contestants, but that doesn’t give you the right to change it on a whim.” she sighs, trying to relieve some tension. “you know you’re all expected to perform this together on mcountdown later this week, right? how do you expect to do that when you’re incapable of following simple directions?”

even ran looks rather displeased, though she lets yuna do the bulk of the scolding. this was a mission right up lime entertainment’s alley anyway.

“you should keep in mind that we’re looking to sign trainees from this competition,” ran’s words are phrased more as suggestions for improvement than yuna’s had been. “your performance skills are important of course, but we’ll also be teaching you to improve your natural talents throughout this competition and if you’re signed to one of our companies. your intangible skills are just as important to us. that includes things like teamwork and listening skills and your ability to take critique and direction.”

jihun, the scariest of the judges, is the last to speak. he’s silent for a moment, scowling at the young man in front of them. “i can’t say anything,” he finally raises his microphone to his lips. “you did not complete the mission assigned to you, you just made up your own. i can’t critique a performance that doesn’t even remotely fit the rubric that was given to you.”

perhaps the lack of comment is the greatest insult of all.

jordan is dismissed from the stage. the scene changes to a staff member approaching the contestant backstage, pulling him aside from the other contestants as they deliver a message from the judges.

“i’m sorry, but it’s been decided that you will not be performing with the rest of the next gen contestants on mcountdown this week. the judges’ decision is final on this.”

a camera hangs onto jordan’s face for a moment longer, displaying his reaction for the world to see.

a moment later the scene shifts to PARK AHYOUNG backstage, chatting with various contestants as she awaits her turn. a staff member taps her on the shoulder and lets her know that it’s her turn on stage. jian’s voice can be heard announcing the girl to the stage, but just after the camera watches ahyoung hurry off to her position it shifts to her in the interview room, speaking her mind.

"i guess i've never really danced before outside of like, the club,” the young woman shares, her words met with an uncomfortable silence after she speaks them. “i'm a great dancer in the club, don't get me wrong, but it's not really the same thing.”

the scene cuts to her practice session with YUWOL, the same that had been shown earlier in the episode. now, however, the camera focuses on ahyoung’s dance moves as the pair shake off their nerves with random dancing. how did you learn these moves…? the captions question, though no outright accusations are made.

finally, the camera cuts to ahyoung on stage before the judges. as the music begins, so does her performance, and the judges’ sharp eyes watch her every movement, their ears listening to every word, as they assess her performance.

she starts strong, as many of the contestants do, but as do better goes on, she seems to be losing steam. her voice becomes more strained and breathless, her dance lacks some of the energy it had in the beginning. the camera flashes to jihun for a moment, his stern glance as ahyoung’s heavy breathing is exaggerated on the audio.

as the song wraps up, the judges scribble down some final notes on the papers in front of them.

it’s jihun to speak first this time. “i think we may have rated you too highly based on your audition,” he admits a mistake, though only to point out the failures of the contestant in front of him. “let’s just say what you and i both already know; you lack endurance. if you smoke, quit now. work on cardio at the gym. you won’t survive this competition with your current condition. i’m saying this for your health.” he seems to attempt to extend some kindness, even if it’s still tough love.

“i’m more concerned with your work ethic, to be honest,” yuna frowns at the wannabe before her. “plenty of your competitors came in with little experience in dancing. they’ve improved their endurance a lot in the short time they’ve been with us. i think you’re taking practice too lightly. do you want to be here? or would you rather be at the club?” yuna becomes vaguely accusatory, perhaps a bit sensitive as an idol herself who has heard all of these criticisms before. maybe it’s better for ahyoung to hear them now from someone who genuinely wants to see her improvement instead of blasted a thousand times at her online by anonymous netizens who have nothing better to do but complain.

“you’re a naturally gifted performer,” ran starts with compliments, perhaps trying to soften the blow of her fellow judges before her. “you definitely shine and capture attention easily on stage. but that’s not enough past this point. please continue to improve your skills, you’re here because we saw your potential and we want to see how great you can become. thank you, ahyoung.”

the contestant is dismissed from the stage.

"i'm not gonna pretend i'm an expert, but i had fun.” ahyoung tells the camera in the interview room. it almost seems like she didn’t take the judges’ criticism to heart at all…

“up next, we’ll be watching the performance of RYEO JIHYUN!” as jian announces the next contestant up to the stage, the camera cuts to jihyun climbing the steps and waving to the judges with a smile, a confidence in his movements even as he approaches what’s likely the most nerve-wracking part of this competition so far.

“why are you even here?" the scene cuts suddenly, TOUMA and jihyun in a practice room stretching together as they prepare to run through the dance again. the camera seems particularly interested in touma’s question, however. it seems a bit inflammatory, bordering on accusatory. is this a rivalry budding already? touma sighs. "is this a side gig to you? are you here to feel something again?" neither is a very charitable interpretation of jihyun’s participation in the show.

“can you guess which is right then?” jihyun retorts, seemingly not giving an answer to the other contestant. at least he can handle himself well without starting a true altercation, verbal or otherwise.

“there was some fear and guilt that was lingering at the back of my head.” the scene cuts to jihyun in the interview room quickly. is touma bullying other contestants? the accusation is never verbalized or written anywhere on screen, but the viewer may start to get a sense of the story that’s being told here.

regardless of backstage practice drama, jihyun takes the stage anyway. his performance begins and jihyun seems to capture the spirit of the song well; tough, fighting for glory and recognition, and unafraid of anyone in the room, yet still having fun with every step. maybe his supposed spat with touma had helped him find his attitude for the performance. he’s captivating on stage regardless, almost sensual in the way he moves.

but the illusion of the competitor is shattered at the very end when jihyun sends a heart to the camera instead of maintaining the same persona he had for the entire duration of do better.

a laugh bubbles up from the judges without their permission, both jihun and ran having to cover their mouths to try to stifle the giggles. yuna just smiles, though it’s obvious she’s also amused.

“what happened at the end?” jihun questions immediately, too amused to think about anything else. “you spent the last three minutes convincing us that you were really here to ‘do better’ than all the rest of the contestants… and then ending with aegyo?” it appears that jihyun has not yet earned his way out of the ‘strange crowd’ among the contestants. “i’ll be honest with you, it ruined the performance. it doesn’t matter how well you sang and danced, all i’ll remember is feeling like you played a joke on us at the end. staying strong and following the mood for the entire song can make a performance. in this case, it broke.”

“aside from the heart,” yuna picks up her microphone next, “your rap skills are… well, they’re lacking. while not every idol needs to be an all-rounder, it is important to have some foundations in all skills. if you debut as a soloist, it allows you to release a more diverse portfolio of music. in a group, it allows you to fill in for a member if a situation should occur that demands it. you may not enjoy it, but i still recommend developing your basics better in the future.”

ran smiles warmly at the contestant before speaking. “first, i’d like to apologize for laughing. that was unprofessional of us, but you did take us by surprise. i didn’t think i could still be surprised like that,” she admits. “you’re already showing signs of improvement, but i think we would have liked to see a bit more from you this week. i don’t think we saw anything surprising, like your skills didn’t improve so much from the last time we saw your perform that there’s much to talk about. please continue to practice and improve. you’re here because we want to see everything that you’re capable of.”

“thank you, jihyun,” jian announces his departure from the stage.

“it was something relatively new to me,” jihyun admits to the interview camera, “i think i did quite well for my first time, and i’m satisfied with it. but of course, i’m not stopping at just being satisfied. i’m going to be even better the next time and come back with an improved version of myself.”

the camera flashes to touma’s face for a moment once more, gauging his reaction to his supposed rival’s critique and response.

“RYU INHO?” the scene cuts to the next contestant quickly, CHAERIN calling out a contestant’s name from a clipboard in front of her as she meets some of the participants she’s in charge of. "is this your first time singing and dancing at the same time?"

"ya, noona, so formal," inho starts joking with her immediately, obviously comfortable with the coach far more quickly than his fellow participants had been. is his familiarity disrespect to the young woman in charge of helping him grow?

he does admit it, though: "i'm not much of a dancer at all, let alone singing and dancing at the same time."

cutting to the interview room, inho addresses the camera. "i wasn't expecting such a high ranking," he admits, but then after a short cut to remind the viewer of inho’s fourth-place ranking, he issues a promising statement: "i plan on continuing to do what got me there in the first place. that is giving everything i do my absolute best effort, and then some. alongside ensuring i use my resources, such as the coaches.”

oh, so is the young man trying to schmooze with the coaches? the editing certainly seems to imply such.

chaerin, seemingly only slightly ruffled by his overfamiliar greeting, clears her throat and looks down at her clipboard again. "have you memorized the choreography, at least?" she steps toward inho, not backing down in the slightest, her brow knit together in concern. chaerin, at least, is all business.

the scene cuts to a different time and place, now with inho and SEOJUN. again, inho greets the coach with unprecedented familiarity: "didn't expect to see you here. how have you been? it's been a while."

seojun makes no attempt to hide the friendly relationship he apparently has with inho. "didn't expect to see you here either," he responds amicably, “i've been good. busy since i've been training a lot. glad i get to see you again."

the scene cuts abruptly again to seojun in the interview room this time. “would it be biased if i mentioned inho?” he asks.

yes, it most certainly would be.

at least the cameras don’t do anything further to damage inho’s reputation on the show, cutting away again to the young man taking the stage in front of the judges. his smile is confident, cocky, as if already in character for the performance he’s about to give.

the music starts; inho dances, raps, and sings. there’s moments when the camera catches that confident smirk fading from his face, unable to remember to hold it throughout the performance. it catches the moments where he pauses and catches his breath; while it’s in the choreography, the heaviness of his breathing almost becomes distracting. his voice stays stable for the most part, and the raps are decent from a contestant who doesn’t have a ton of experience in this area.

inho is gasping for breath as he holds the final pose. the judges furiously scribble notes down in front of them, capturing their last thoughts for when they have to rank all of the contestants later.

“inho, i think you also need to work on your cardio,” yuna half-teases the contestant with a smile on her lips. “i was disappointed in your performance not because of your skills, but because i felt that your breathing distracted me from your abilities. ‘ah, if only he had the strength…’ that sort of feeling.”

“you sing well and your rap and dance wasn’t bad,” ran compliments the contestant, “especially for your first time attempting these things. but you’ll have to work harder to maintain your position in this competition. there are so many talented participants this season… it’s not enough to only be a good singer anymore. i hope you can improve quickly.”

jihun is the last to leave his remarks: “taking advantage of the resources offered to you is good. however, i’d be more careful to watch your image,” he advises on the content the coaches have seen of the practice sessions rather than the performance in front of him, which the other judges had already covered well. “please be sure to mind your manners with our trainee coaches. even if you’re friends outside of work, it’s important to give them the proper respect in our buildings and in front of your fellow contestants. they’re trying to help all of you improve, so they need to be taken seriously.”

“otherwise, your performance was mediocre. i expected better.” jihun shrugs.

inho is dismissed from the stage just after, the cameras following him to capture the initial reaction on his face to the judges’ critiques.

“RYU SIWOO is next,” ran reads from a cue card in front of her. “wasn’t he the one with all of the luxury brand clothes?”

the camera cuts to siwoo in the practice room, somehow still wearing luxury clothing items as the camera identifies the sweat-soaked t-shirt he’s wearing as ralph lauren. 

a disembodied staff member’s voice is heard behind the camera in the interview room, the cut trained on siwoo and his reactions as they ask the question: “you were introduced as someone who comes from money and luxury brands. how do you feel about that?”

siwoo pauses uncomfortably, seemingly put on the spot. “i’m…thankful for the interest,” he words his response carefully, “i’m really interested in fashion and i like to dress up a little. so i guess they aren’t completely wrong.”

he seems to address the camera a little more directly in his next statement: “i’m a lot more than just that though. i hope it shines through on the show.”

and just what does he show? the scene cuts to he and NAYOUNG in a practice room, the trainee coach trying to help him learn do better and perfect his performance.

“fix your posture,” nayoung barks orders like a drill sergeant. “stand up straight and keep your head straight as you sing. it'll support your diaphragm and make this easier." she seemingly has an endless tirade of critique for his performance. the editors animate a hammer dropping on siwoo’s head. this is almost as tough as the military… the captions read.

but nayoung wouldn’t say such things unless the critique was warranted. the next several seconds play several of siwoo’s failures and shortcomings and nayoung’s quick corrections, her words as sharp as a whip as they lash out at every little mistake that her student makes. is siwoo really more than the money and luxury he comes from? at least he seems to take the critique well.

the scene cuts to the stage, siwoo already introduced by jian and ready to begin his performance. while he may seem a bit nervous in the beginning, he’s smiling by the end. there’s mistakes in his performance and he’s breathing heavily like many of the previous contestants; maybe nayoung wasn’t harsh enough on him.

“siwoo, do you think you can get by on looks alone?” jihun rips into the contestant early, not pausing for more than a moment before tearing into his performance. “i heard that you worked closely with the coaches, but i doubt that any of them would have let you come on stage with a performance like this. please take advice from the song next time; do better.”

“ah,” ran seems a bit taken aback by jihun’s harsh words. he’s not incorrect though. “this is still a bit unfamiliar, isn’t it?” she tries to sympathize, “you don’t look like you’re enjoying being on stage. when you smile, it looks like it’s just something you think should be done rather than something you’re actually feeling. even if you don’t like the song, you should be trying to make your audience fall in love with it. convince us that it’s the best thing ever, even if you secretly don’t agree. it’ll make you a better performer.”

yuna frowns into her microphone. “this choreography was rather simple, but you still struggled to execute it. i understand we’re trying to move quickly through this competition, but please do not neglect your basics. strong fundamentals will help you move farther down this competition than quickly learning one dance and forgetting about it immediately afterwards. this goes for your singing too.”

just as it seems that the judges are about to dismiss siwoo, jihun suddenly adds one more complaint: “also, what’s wrong with the name NEXT GEN?” he accuses the contestant.

the scene changes, giving context to jihun’s words, as it brings up a practice room with JAEYOUNG. “i was just thinking about the name next gen,” siwoo complains, “an idol survival show called next gen. who comes up with these names?”

the cameras cut back to siwoo before the judges, jihun’s arms folded crossly in front of his chest. “i thought we made it clear that we’re looking for the talent to lead the next generation of kpop. you might want to decide if you really want to be a part of that.” there’s a subtle threat to jihun’s words; disrespect the judges and face the consequences.

siwoo is finally allowed to exit the stage.

the scene cuts to the next contestant and, coincidentally, the very same as the young man siwoo had been complaining about the name of the show to: SONG JAEYOUNG. jaeyoung starts in the interview room, a disembodied voice questioning him from behind the camera. “you didn’t seem very happy with your current placement,” a soft feminine voice remarks.

“yeah, i’m not,” jaeyoung scoffs, “but that’s not surprising, is it? it’s not a very good ranking, all things considered.”

a quick reminder that jaeyoung placed sixteenth out of twenty-one total contestants last week plays across the screen.

“what did you find challenging during training?” the same voice asks him.

jaeyoung’s answer is unhelpful. “a bunch of things,” is all he says.

to try to shed some light on his practice experience, the camera cuts to jaeyoung and JUEUN practicing together. during a quiet moment, jueun strikes up conversation.

“i heard you’re good at spinning things,” jueun asks, “can you spin this?” she hands him a water bottle.

“i swear, people will only remember me for that now,” jaeyoung appears in the interview room once again, clearly annoyed with the question his fellow contestant had asked him.

"it's funny that that's what's making rounds and not the performance itself,” he responds just as wryly in person as well, though he ultimately takes the bottle to demonstrate his unique ability. “jueun. this is for you…” he somehow still sounds sarcastic.

and, frankly, the cameras focus more on jueun’s reaction than they do on jaeyoung.

little else is shown of his practice sessions before jian is announcing jaeyoung’s name on stage, inviting the competitor to begin his performance for the judges. his introduction is short, though maybe that’s for the best considering how hostile all of his moments in the interview room have been thus so far. instead, he wastes no time showing his performance.

jaeyoung is a little different from the other contestants. while there’s others also proficient in rap, he spits the words out with a particular kind of venom. the words seem like a challenge, like an attack on anyone who dares to critique him.

the performance is cut midway to the interview room again. “do you think you did better with this performance?” the same disembodied voice asks.

“i put my all into it, that’s what i can say,” jaeyoung responds, “i danced, i sang, i rapped. it’s not easy, anyone here can tell you. but i wanted to make sure people hear; that i’m not just yelling.”

it cuts back to his performance, where it does very much seem like he’s yelling as he sings and dances, his perceived anger boiling over in the face of the judges. jaeyoung bows at the end of his performance, punctuating it with a polite gesture at least.

“you certainly have spirit,” ran decides to speak first, cutting off jihun who was reaching for his microphone first. “and passion is so necessary in this industry, it’s good to see. i do think your performance was a little… intense for this song. we want you to do better like the song says, but it shouldn’t sound like you’re declaring war either. if you could work on your balance in your performance the same way you’re able to balance things on your fingers to spin them, you’ll be able to really shine in front of us.” ran, as always, advises kindly.

jihun is never nearly as kind. he’s ready to jump in and say his piece before yuna can also stop him. “you need an attitude check,” he condemns the contestant in front of the panel immediately. “you’re not the best contestant here. you’re just not. so instead of complaining about your rank, do something about it. being angry at us and our staff will not change your performance. if anything, it’ll make your life harder here. i’ll tell you the same thing i tell dissatisfied trainees: you can get with the program or get out.”

an uncomfortable pause falls over the room as yuna attempts to pick up her microphone and say her own advice and critique. that is, assuming jaeyoung and his supposed hot temper will still listen to anything after being scolded by jihun.

“one of the most important traits a trainee can have is their ability to accept critique,” yuna tries to explain. “it feels like you lack that ability right now. until you’re able to hear us with an open mind, there’s nothing we can do to help you improve.” she keeps her feedback short, turning her mic off and placing it on the desk in front of her as soon as she’s done.

jaeyoung marches off stage as soon as he’s dismissed. the judges don’t look worried about whether they’ve offended him or not, though the atmosphere still seems tense even in his wake.

“i don’t know about you, but i could use a break,” ran suggests to her fellow judges.

jihun shakes his head. “we’re almost done here. let’s just hope our next performer is a breath of fresh air.”

they watch as jian introduces SONG JIAYI and welcomes the young lady to the stage. jiayi smiles brightly to the judges as she takes her spot on stage. but the performances never start so quickly. instead, the viewer is taken back to jiayi’s time in the practice room, working with JINGREN. the pair are talking in a different language, mandarin based on the chinese flags that suddenly appear on screen around them. are they keeping secrets? are they gossipping about their fellow contestants?

after a few comments back and forth, the broadcast finally replays them with subtitles in korean.

“you seem to be a natural at catching on to the choreography compared to me,” jingren compliments the woman.

“i’ve always been a dancer,” jiayi explains with a rather vain flip of her hair. “i’m confident i’d do it perfectly.”

the cameras show jiayi in the interview room, now speaking korean with the staff asking questions from behind the cameras. “i have to rank myself number one until proven otherwise,” she tells the staff confidently. 

she seems to have a bit of an ego… the captions spare no moment to criticize the woman’s confidence. however, it’s only empty boasting if she’s unable to back it up with her actual abilities. the scene shifts back to the stage in front of the judges and jiayi’s confident smile. "i practiced long and hard to show the judges something i'm proud of.” her voice echoes over the image of her meeting the judges’ eyes.

the music begins and it’s clear immediately that jiayi’s confidence in her dancing is not completely unfounded. she’s sharp, precise, and fluid when the movements call for it. where it begins to lack refinement is in her voice. yuna had called her voice weak in the previous episode, and it seems that that critique comes back to haunt jiayi even now.

at least her breath control is decent. by the time she’s wrapping up the song, she’s not half as gassed as some of the previous contestants had been.

the cameras cut to the judges, who don’t look nearly as frustrated or upset as they had been when giving feedback to the previous contestant. jihun may not be smiling and ran may smile even when she’s upset, but the smile on yuna’s lips tells the viewers all they need to know about the atmosphere at the judges’ table.

“jiayi, you’re right to be confident in your dancing,” yuna begins, addressing the girl rather frankly. “you clearly have a strong foundation there and there’s not much for me to say. but your voice is still lacking. work closely with your vocal instructor for the next challenge. just like your body, your voice is a muscle that needs to be trained and exercised. since you haven’t done that much before, it’s not going to develop overnight. but keep working at it diligently to improve.”

“just because you’re a good dancer doesn’t mean you’ll make a good trainee or idol,” jihun gives his critique much more harshly, as per usual. “do you want to be a backup dancer or an idol? listen to yuna and follow her advice, or else your future will be at the back of the stage supporting the main show.”

“be nice,” ran chides jihun gently, seeming to think he crossed a line with his latest criticism. “jiayi, you’re a beautiful girl and an excellent dancer. as yuna and jihun have said, that’s only half of what you need to be an idol. the good news is that there’s still time to work on the other half. we enjoyed your performance and i can’t wait to see you continue to grow.”

ran leads all three judges in a round of applause as they release the girl from the stage.

“up next we’d like to welcome back a familiar face,” jian announces from her spot in the center of the stage. “back again to chase down his dreams of being an idol, please welcome STEVEN PARK!”

a shaky smile from the young man floods the screen before fading away to a short recap from last season’s appearances. steven had been a little… unrefined at that point, to put it lightly. he joked around in practice, he never took anything too seriously. ultimately, it had been his downfall and the reason he was removed from the show before the finale. and despite the humiliation, the harsh words from the judges, and not even making it to the end let alone earning a chance at a contract, he’s back. not only is he back, but he took third place in the last episode. has steven park turned over a new leaf after all?

“i kinda missed the grind,” steven’s voice is heard as clips of him practicing with the new group of contestants flicker across the screen.

a voice is heard from behind the camera as steven sits in the interview room. “compared to last season, do you think you’ve improved enough?”

“i’d like to say that i have,” steven smiles.

the scene cuts to the judges briefly as they wait for the young man’s performance. they had already mentioned looking forward to him once; will he surprise them? or will it be the same old steven park who they had to eliminate last year?

“ah, finally,” yuna smiles as she watches steven take the stage. “he looks a bit nervous… good.” one might think that she wants to terrify the young wannabes if they didn’t know better.

“be on your best behavior in front of the cameras,” another flashback to the practice rooms shows steven with JUEUN, the latter receiving advice from the more experienced contestant on this show. he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. “i’m not sure how great of tips i can give you… i didn’t last a long time here.”

steven’s performance finally is set to begin. the camera focuses in on him, capturing the slightest twitches in his expression that betray his anxiety. he’s taking this more seriously than he had last season, that’s immediately apparent. the music starts, and steven begins.

“he dances well,” ran murmurs to her fellow judges midway through the performance, the cameras suddenly picking up on her instead of focused on steven. “but he’s not making eye contact with any of us, is he?”

the other two judges shake their heads to confirm ran’s assumption.

steven is a talented dancer, that’s for certain. he controls his movements well, leaving himself with enough energy to breathe (and therefore sing and rap). “i think i could have probably worked a little more on the vocals,” his voice is heard over the dimmed sounds of his do better performance for a moment, before the original audio turns up again and the shakes and instability in steven’s voice can be heard more clearly by the audience now that they’ve been pointed out. he succeeds in finishing  the performance though, and the judges remain quiet as they wait to dole out judgement.

“steven,” jihun begins, the slightest smile tugging at his lips, “are you afraid of us?”

a chorus of giggles goes up from the judges. of course steven is nervous around them, who wouldn’t be? perhaps steven doubly so after his previous experiences. 

“you should know that we’re only hard on your when we think you’re not living up to your abilities or when you need a little tough love to reach your potential. there’s nothing for us to scold you about right now.” the man smiles a little more openly, suddenly softened in front of this contestant. “in fact, you did really well. it would have been nice if your voice had improved more since last season, but we can work with that.”

“congratulations on getting a compliment out of jihun!” ran exclaims, acknowledging that this is a major accomplishment for the man on stage. “those were probably the best words we could have told you, weren’t they? it’s true, we can tell already that you’ve matured a lot since we last saw you. however… i wish you weren’t so afraid of us.”

a short clip replays of every time steven had looked toward the judges but never quite at them, always above, below, or to the side of where they were actually sitting. the avoidance seems painfully obvious in the compilation.

“remember that until we invite others to sit in, we are your audience. you’re performing for us, so you should try to connect with us or… at least have the confidence to look at us. you’re a good performers when you’re focused, steven. i’d like to see you shine.” ran smiles warmly, hoping her advice is taken to heart.

yuna is the third and final judge to speak. “as a final word of advice, i’d try to keep in mind that you are the single most experienced contestant on this season. the others may start looking to you for leadership and guidance. try not to shy away from this opportunity; you’ll have more chances to shine by helping the people around you grow quickly as well. and it’s good to see you again, steven,” yuna smiles herself. 

it seems the judges have laid aside their past perceptions of steven and are looking forward to what he can show on this season. the three whisper and nod approvingly among themselves as they prepare for the next contestant. 

“up next is YAMAMOTO KAITO,” jian announces, but rather than show the contestant on stage the scene shifts instead to kaito in the interview room.

"what was the greatest challenge during this mission?" a voice from behind the camera asks him.

"i think that the greatest challenge was probably pushing myself too hard,” it may sound like a humble brag from kaito, but clips of him practicing until the wee hours in the morning, only to return nearly at the crack of dawn the next day fade into the screen, still overlaid with his own voice. he’s seen at different times with TOUMA, INHO, and ARA. “i tend to overwork myself when it comes to various things, in this case practicing and not being completely satisfied with my personal results."

the scene is overtaken by a particular practice session with TOUMA. it’s late, based on the quick cut to the clock on the wall, but things seem to running well as the two young men run through their rehearsal of do better again. it all comes to a halt as kaito makes a mistake, cutting himself off with a loud groan and kicking the air in frustration. “seriously!” he shouts out his frustration before turning to touma apologetically. “one more time…. just…. one more…”

kaito’s exhaustion is clear. from the way his shirt is soaked with his own sweat to the dark circles under his eyes, it’s hard to miss. touma picks up on it too, if the short temper tantrum hadn’t been enough to signal something was wrong. 

“this is a pretty good place to stop, i think,” touma suggests, laying a hand on kaito’s shoulder gently, “you did a lot already, you can pick it back up another day?”

“touma actually I've known for a while now.” the scene cuts back to kaito’s interview. “he's one that really helped when i was pushing myself too hard, again, and helped me realize that i needed a break before i ended up probably passing out, or worse." 

back in the practice room, kaito has to acknowledge touma’s suggestion. “maybe you’re right…” he admits.

“you’re already doing great. you’re getting fluid!” touma encourages his friend. “take a deep breath.” 

you’re already doing great, kaito! even the captions cheer him on with soft sound effects, trying to ease the young man’s pressure on himself.

“i just feel like i could be better. you know?” kaito confesses aloud and surely the other contestants can relate. so many of them must feel the pressure as the competition is kicking off with such a difficult challenge, and the looming threat of a live performance.

"i'm actually really confident,” kaito tells the camera once more, “with the amount of practice that [i] put in i'd like to say that i did the very best that i could.”

the scene cuts to kaito standing on stage before the judges. the camera catches his deep breath, perhaps the only thing betraying his nerves, as he waits for the music to start. and kaito’s practice does pay off; he dances well, though his singing and rapping struggles some with the sheer amount of effort he puts into his movements. he’s breathing heavily by the end of the performance, not unexpectedly, and the judges give him a short round of applause as he’s finally able to relax and prepare himself for their feedback.

“you’re really fun to watch perform, kaito,” ran begins with a smile. “you look like you’re genuinely enjoying every minute on stage and that’s always a pleasure for the audience to watch you do what you love. i do think your singing needs some attention. we can tell you worked hard, but i’d like to see you improve further moving forward.”

“we heard that you’re quite the practice bug,” yuna takes over next, “and it’s great to hear that you’re taking this competition seriously. it’s what we want to see from our contestants. but we don’t want to see you get hurt. things will only get more challenging from this point onward so please be sure to keep yourself healthy even as you’re rehearsing. we would hate for you to have to exit the show early due to injury or illness.” the judges seem genuinely concerned for the participants’ health.

jihun is the final judge to speak, his words never overly kind or as soft as those that came before him. “ran saying you need to work on your singing was an understatement,” he’s as harsh as always. “even rappers need to be able to understand how to carry a tune. while the future will allow you to play to your strengths more, please do not disregard practicing your vocal fundamentals. they’ll only help you as a rapper as well.”

“great job, kaito,” ran congratulates him once more before he’s dismissed from the stage. “i like him,” she tells her fellow judges once he’s out of sight. yuna smiles her approval, though jihun only frowns.

“our final contestant performing today is YOON EUNWOL,” jian announces from the stage, drawing the judges’ attention back to the next contestant up.

the scene shifts to a practice room, eunwol sitting by himself as other contestants practice nearby. is he hurt? he seems to be fine, physically. but a rather forlorn expression on his face seems to betray that there’s more going on in his head that meets the eye. 

“my greatest challenge?” eunwol is seen in the interview room. “working with others, acquaintances and strangers. well not strangers, fellow contestants, challengers. i’m not sure what we are called.”

is it awkwardness that keeps him from interacting with others? thankfully, there’s a social butterfly ready to help everyone out at next gen. SEIRA approaches eunwol with a smile. “wanna go over the moves with me? i keep forgetting them,” she offers.

"are you sure you want my help? i didn't place high and blanked," eunwol’s self-deprecation doesn’t cease even in the face of next gen’s friendliest participant. “i am currently debating with myself about walking out that door. i don't belong here." 

the editors leave an awkward pause between eunwol’s confession, before seira has a chance to respond. she’s determined not to be rejected, though. “last year’s season, the person who originally placed last made it all the way to the final,” she smiles warmly again, “who says you don’t belong here? do you know how many people auditioned for the show, and only twenty-one made it, you passed the auditions, you deserve to be here”.

it seems to convince eunwol enough and the two begin to work together, seira helping him to feel more comfortable in this competition through being the one to ask him for help.

eunwol survives, despite the hardships, and finds himself standing in front of the judges for his performance. the three wait patiently for the music to begin again; they may very well be sick of hearing do better after about twenty times today.

the music begins, and it’s clear very quickly that eunwol has taken a different approach than many of the others. a cut back to the interview room, and the young man explains himself: “well i’m not sure if it will work, but i did try and be cute,” he tells the cameras. the scene cuts back to his performance and the movements he modified to fit his vibe better. the performance plays in its entirety uninterrupted, not once betraying the judges’ reactions to the rather bold choice until it comes to a close, eunwol smiling brightly as he holds the final pose.

a pause takes over the room as the judges frown into their notes.

“eunwol, what about do better made you think that it was a cute song?” jihun wastes no time with his criticism. “this is a solo performance, but keep in mind that you’ll be performing this with a group very soon. we’re here to evaluate your performance skills but you covered them up with your cutesy act, so i’m forced to believe that you’re actually quite lacking. is that the message you meant to send us?”

jihun doesn’t stop laying into the contestant with his harsh words. “if you don’t want to be here, you’re welcome to leave. there’s thousands of children and young adults around the world who want to be exactly in the spot you’re in right now. if you’re not grateful for this opportunity, you may as well do them a favor and drop out now.”

quiet uneasiness lingers in the few seconds after jihun finishes his tirade. it’s ran who’s bold enough to break the silence. “eunwol, even if you don’t trust yourself, you need to trust us as professionals who have been discovering and refining talent for years now. if we didn’t want to see more from you, you would not be here right now. i hope to see better effort from you in the next challenge, but i do hope to see you still with us for that.”

yuna sighs, the tension in the room still hanging vaguely in the air around them. she’s not so much of a fan of when jihun gets heated. “you’ll need to re-learn do better to do it properly for the mcountdown performance with the other contestants. in a team, you can’t just do your own thing. that’s going to be more important going forward, so please try to make an effort to be more of a team player. working with others is how you’ll succeed.”

eunwol all but sprints off the stage as soon as he’s dismissed. he’s looking a bit green, so the judges make no further comment.

with all performances complete, it’s time to gather the contestants to the stage as one big group. jian smiles at them as they take their places, the judges’ deliberation finishing up in the background behind them.

“contestants, you’ve been re-ranked based on your performances today. we’ll be revealing your positions from last place to first.”

one by one, the numbers are revealed. it shouldn’t be a surprise that moon jordan takes last place, his punishment for going rogue still weighing heavily on his shoulders. things start to get exciting with the top five, however. stevie, hangyeol, hyunki, and ara all have a shot at being the centers of their respective genders.

“in fifth place is… one of the girls,” jian announces. “so we’ll know who our female center is once this rank is announced. who do you think it will be?” she asks a few of the contestants, most declining to give an answer. jueun and ara’s faces are watched closely by the cameras.

“our fifth place contestant for episode two is… han jueun,” jian finally announces. the participants congratulate ara and applaud jueun, now that the battle has been decided. stevie, hangyeol, and hyunki are all still in the running.

it’s revealed, however, that stevie took fourth place for this particular episode. it’s still a great rank, but it brings hyunki and hangyeol, rivals set up by the judges since the first episode, into the final competition.

“in third place…” jian draws out the tension, the camera zooming in on each potential center’s face as they try to guess whose name will be on her lips in mere seconds. “please congratulate… choi hangyeol!” the top three ranks are revealed at once, hangyeol in third, just below ara, and hyunki taking first place for episode two. “congratulations hyunki, ara, you’ll be our male and female center for your performance of do better on mcountdown next week. everyone, please give yourselves a round of applause!”

a roar from the contestants goes up, though some may be lamenting their ranks.

“i have good news for all of you; there will be no eliminations this episode. however, next episode they will begin. those of you in lower ranks should do everything you can to rise quickly. those in higher ranks, don’t get too comfortable! you’ve seen how high hyunki jumped up, the same thing could happen in the wrong direction to any of you,” she warns the idol wannabes carefully, hoping they know how serious the next challenge will be.

“your next mission is the PERFORMANCE EVALUATION,” she announces. “this will be a head-to-head teamwork mission lead by our trainee coaches,” the camera pans to SARANG, RENYI, SEOJUN, NAYOUNG, DOHYUN, and CHAERIN briefly. “each of our trainees will be overseeing their own team. coaches, your responsibility is to be a guide and resource for your team, but not a leader. the contestants are being challenged to come up with their own unique performance of a senior’s song from each company.”

“this is your chance to show your creativity and how you can transform an existing song to be your own,” jian instructs the contestants. “but here’s the twist: two teams will have the same song. you’ll be battling head to head for who was able to create the better performance. the winning team will be entirely safe from eliminations. the losing team… not so much.” a hush falls over the crowd as the stakes are finally revealed.

“take a look at your team assignments,” she gestures up at the massive screen, which already shows six teams, their assigned coaches, and what song they’re tasked with making their own. “we can’t wait to see what you’ll show us next week.”

TASK:

COMPETITORS:

this event is for next gen participants only. part 2 will run until march 22 at 11:59pm. any solos posted after the deadline will not be considered. please send in your submission before this deadline.

please use the hashtag #BE:NGS2P2 for all posts relating to this part of the event.

please write at least one 4-post thread with another participant or coach preparing for the mission. NOTE: this task may be completed multiple times.

please write a 300+ word solo about your muse’s performance in front of the six judges

OPTIONAL: please write a 200+ word solo about your muse reflecting on their preparation and their performance in front of the judges. this should be treated as a verbal interview. what was the greatest challenge during this mission? was there another participant who was especially helpful? do they feel confident in their performance? etc. 

TRAINEE COACHES:

please write at least one 4-post thread with a fellow coach or a next gen participant preparing for the mission. NOTE: this task may be completed multiple times.

OPTIONAL: please write a 200+ word solo about your muse reflecting on their first time coaching the competitors in this season of next gen. they may comment on the participants they feel are progressing well, the ones they're worried about, the struggles they're facing as coaches, what they're most looking forward to as the season moves forward, etc.

NOTE THAT THE WRITING TASKS FOR THIS EVENT ARE NOT OPTIONAL UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. POINTS WILL BE AWARDED IN THE NEXT UPDATE.

please keep in mind that all threads and solos should be written with the assumption that cameras are on the participants at all times.

when you’ve completed these tasks, please send the following form to our events blog:

SUBMISSION TITLE: MUSE NAME - NEXT GEN S2 EP 2

preparation: link to thread *may be completed multiple times; please include multiple links if so

performance: link to solo 

there is no emcee yet for the first episode, just the three judges and a series of television monitors in front of them. at first, they only display the NEXT GEN logo, though the screens change soon enough. on each monitor, there seems to be a different angle of the same room, like the studio has been turned into a massive editor’s booth. the judges look around expectantly, obviously not at all surprised by their scenery. this was all part of the plan.

“the auditionees think that we’re too busy to watch them,” ran explains directly to the camera, sitting in a room not entirely dissimilar to the interview backdrop used in the first season. it seems even the judges want to share their minds this season. “but actually, we’re watching their whole audition process. from the time they walk in the front door and check-in with the staff, we have them all live on the screens in front of us. i almost felt like a spy.”

“it really allowed us to see what they’d be like with their guards down,” yuna explains as she takes over the screen next, “auditions are nerve-wracking, especially if you want something really bad. but sitting in front of your idols? that’s a whole new level of fear and anxiety. i feel like this gave us a chance to start to get to know everyone much deeper than if we were standing in the room with them.”

a quickly edited clip of auditionees showing parts of their skills back to back to back takes over the screen for a moment, a preview of the talent that is to come. jihun’s voice plays over the image: “this gives us the opportunity to examine them from all angles. how do they conduct themselves among their competition? how do they treat the staff? appearance and skills are important to become an idol, we can’t deny that, but the intangible efforts are important to building a healthy team as well.”

“shall we begin?” jihun glances at the other judges, a rare smile on his lips. the others nod and verbalize their agreement with positive hums and all three begin staring at the screens.

a graphic plays over the screen, showing a photo of the auditionee in question as well as his name, age, and date of birth as a quick introduction to the audience. ASAKURA TOUMA, the graphic reads, before dissolving into the room where the auditions were held. the camera shakes slightly as it zooms in to focus on touma. the boy introduces himself, reciting the same information that was on the graphic moments ago, but then he continues beyond that. more names are listed, each a little nonsensical, until he reveals that those are the dogs that he walks every few days.

“cute,” ran murmurs, the scene cutting back to the judges for a moment. she smiles and rests her head on her interlocked hands. “he stands out immediately.”

“what’s he doing?” jihun frowns, brow furrowing together as he sits back in his seat with his arms crossed. the scene shifts back to the audition, to the young man rapping, singing, and flapping his arms around and jumping here and there with an apparent lack of coordination. he sends a heart to the camera, even as his own ears turn red and flustered. “at least he has the sense to be embarrassed,” jihun remarks, clearly unimpressed with the performance. yuna, silent, presses her lips together with disappointment coloring her face as well.

"if i'm being honest, i want to try everything at least once." touma tells the camera.

“that’s the problem,” yuna points out. “he’s too ambitious for his own skill level. if he’s a dancer, he should just dance at this stage. if he’s a singer, just sing. he wasted a lot of energy trying to show too much at once and made himself look worse.”

“there’s potential there,” ran points out anyway, “he’s creative and energetic. we can work with that.”

finally, the camera zooms in on his special skill, the artwork he creates on the spot. bright colors and wild shapes paint the canvas in a way that seems to fit the auditionee’s zany personality rather well.

“well, that was a bit of a disappointing start,” jihun sighs. “hopefully the next will be better.”

a new profile graphic lights up the screen, now introducing CHOI HANGYEOL. after a few seconds, it again fades into the audition setting with a young man smiling gently at an auditionee much younger than himself, hardly more than a child. "ah, your number's much smaller than mine, are you lost?" he asks gently, a warm smile on his face that could melt even the coldest heart. "i think your group is down that way. good luck! you'll do great."

“he has leadership qualities,” yuna points out, the screen splitting to show her reaction to the scene in front of them. “he’s good at talking to people and putting them at ease.” 

the man on the screen nudges the auditionees next to him. it’s impossible to know if they’re old friends or if they just met today, but the other boy on the right and the girl on the left seem to be soothed by his presence, smiling in return when he raises his fist in a small fighting! gesture.

“we’ll have to see if he’s any good,” jihun remains determined to be unimpressed, still frowning at the screens. that said, the camera picks up the slightest bit of interest across his expression as hangyeol introduces his audition as being self-choreographed.

whatever the judges had been expecting, it was apparently not beyonce. even if the argument could be made that the song and choreography was much better suited to femininity than the young man performing, there is no denying the grace and power in his movements as he seemingly takes up the whole room, turning the audition into his own personal stage. the young man even has the sense to look directly into the eye of the camera, a strong gaze capturing the viewers instantly. 

“this is what we were expecting from this season,” yuna smiles appreciatively. “he’s a talented dancer, it’s clear he’s very experienced as a performer as well. i wanted to see more by the time the performance was over.”

"i've always felt most in my element when i can be strong or sexy, or when i'm given something i can make bold choices with,” hangyeol’s face takes over the screen again, a quiet confidence coming from him even as he answers the rapid-fire interview questions. “i think as long as i get to put a little bit of me into it, i'll perform it well."

“do we need to see his special skill? i think we’re all quite smitten,” ran half-jokes with her fellow judges. regardless of her wishes, though, the television shows all anyway. again, the natural leadership of hangyeol is on display as he selects staff and fellow auditionees alike and begins teaching them what appears to be quite the difficult dance move, the death drop. from the name alone, it seems to intimidate some of the less experienced dancers. but, within minutes, hangyeol has them all looking like professionals.

“even i have to like him,” jihun finally admits. “i wish i could sign him today.”

“it wouldn’t be fair if you did,” ran chides him again, “i’m sure we all want a chance to make him an offer.”

the next contestant’s profile lights up the screen, introducing HAN YURA to the audience. 

“​​what was the first thing you thought about when you woke up this morning?” a staff member asks her, showcasing her interview first unlike the previous contestants.

“what shoes to wear and whether it would match my jacket,” yura answers.

the scene is interrupted by a snort from jihun, clearly unimpressed with the response. 

“which company would you want to receive an offer from and why?”

“delta studio,” the woman answers with confidence.

“she doesn’t even know the name of my company,” jihun laments. “and she expects me to sign her? she’ll have a lot to prove.”

“she’s angered the bear,” ran jokes with a smile. “i like her enthusiasm, though. i hope we can channel it to the right areas.”

only a short clip of her rapping is shown, the judges seemingly less than impressed other than a remark from yuna that competent female rappers are rather rare. “she has the fundamentals, at least,” the judge concedes. “and choosing to do something different from her peers makes her stand out.”

as if standing out was a problem for yura, her special skill seems to take all three judges by surprise. the screen is painted in hues of red and yellow as the woman proclaims that she’s about to heat things up. the ends of the batons catch and suddenly all three judges are on the edge of their seats, watching as the woman dances with fire in the middle of the room.

“she’s lucky the fire alarms didn’t go off,” jihun is even taken aback as he remarks on the special talent. 

“look at how precisely she throws the baton,” yuna points out as the camera catches the whirling fire stick soaring just below the ceiling of the building.

“i like her,” ran grins. the warm lights from the screens in front of them almost make her look like she’s the one playing with fire, a surprisingly sinister look for a woman known for her warmth rather than heat. “did she prove herself to you, jihun?”

“not yet,” the stubborn man frowns, “but it’s a start.”

while they may want to see more from yura, it’s time to move onto the next contestant. the profile of HAN JUEUN takes over the screen, only lasting a few moments before dissolving into a lovely girl dressed in a flashy pink outfit.

“she looks the part of an idol,” yuna points out, a smile on her lips. “didn’t another group dress like that for one of their songs? it’s familiar somehow.”

“i think you’re right,” ran agrees. “it wasn’t one of our groups, was it?”

their question is answered soon enough by jueun’s performance. for a brief moment, the screen cuts to a music show recording of kara performing the original song, then a split screen with jueun showing how she would blend seamlessly into the group in her current getup.

“she’s smart to focus on her vocals,” jihun points out. “but if she’s going to dress up like that, shouldn’t she dance? if she’s a singer, she should have chosen a song that’s a little more vocally impressive. pretty girl is a popular song, but it’s not very difficult. i would’ve liked to see something else.”

as if directly responding to the man’s critique, the response from jueun’s rapid-fire interview plays across the screen next. “i think the perky, fun and energetic style that’s similar to what i prepared today fits me the best because i’m looking to have fun! plus, i think my smile’s really pretty,” the girl laughs. and it’s true; she does have a lovely smile.

the girl continues to surprise as she initially explains that she had a ribbon rhythmic gymnastics routine prepared, but instead of batons and ribbons she pulls tangerines of all things out of her backpack. “i will now show you the fastest tangerine peeling i guarantee you have ever seen.” she announces.

“she’s a bit odd, isn’t she?” ran remarks, though the fond smile on her face betrays that she’s rather charmed by the oddity. “she’s not as flashy as the last auditionee, but she captures your attention anyway.”

in less than ten seconds, the girl has two tangerines entirely peeled. the camera cuts to a staff member trying to peel a tangerine of his own, seemingly testing how difficult the task really is. it’s clear that he’s not nearly as good as the girl.

the scene fades away into the next auditionee profile, HAN YUWOL. “that name seems familiar, somehow,” jihun remarks. he doesn’t have time to place the memory before the skills performance begins, yuwol singing in the center of the stage.

“he has a unique voice,” jihun speaks again, “unrefined, but i like that it’s different.”

“he’s good at expressing the emotions too,” ran points out.

“what is the most interesting place that you have been to wearing the shoes that you’re wearing now?” the staff leap into the interview rather quickly, never betraying their emotions about the performance they witnessed. it’s not for them to decide anyway.

“it's probably... a forest somewhere. i was trying to get myself lost." yuwol responds.

“excuse me?” jihun nearly chokes as he takes a sip of water from the bottle on the desk in front of him. “where did they find the kids who are auditioning this year? none of these people are normal.”

“i think it’s fun,” ran beams.

“they know how to stand out,” yuna laughs, seemingly baffled by the young man’s response. 

"not sure if this counts as... unique, but this is what i do to make it through my daily life. i play my violin." the young man is clearly a skilled musician from the moment he draws his bow across the strings. although only a short portion of his piece is shown on camera, it’s clearly high-level playing.

“that explains it,” jihun nods his head, “musicians are neurotic.”

“you’re one to talk,” ran laughs.

the profile of the next contestant up interrupts the banter between the judges. HWANG JINGREN’s face and basic information light up the screen before fading back into the audition, the young man standing before the staff and immediately singing a slower, poignant song. the scene flashes to the three judges, their expressions unreadable. they almost seem bored.

there’s very little commentary on jingren’s performance, for better or worse, before he’s immediately thrown into the rapid-fire interview. this one stands out, however, as being a little less rapid. perhaps it’s a strategy, or maybe the young man is just good at hearing the sound of his own voice. and yet, somehow, very little of note comes out of his lips. the editing does him no favors as it speeds up each response to the questions, making him look like he rambled on and on but also never really exposing what he actually said. 

“he’s a bit…” ran seems to struggle with the right word for a moment.

“he’s boring,” jihun finishes for her, not one to mince his words or try to soften the blow. “the fundamentals are there, but there’s no personality to this one.”

“he has potential,” yuna argues, “his vocal fundamentals are strong and he must have good stamina if he’s able to do handstands like that.”

“lime can have him, then,” jihun snorts dismissively. “though i thought your standards were higher than that.”

the show is quick to hurry away from a lackluster performance and onto the next contestant, his profile displayed in all its glory. HWANG YEJUN’s turn is now on display before the judges. those with a keen eye might notice hangyeol next to him or remember him as one of the contestants that the other man encouraged earlier in the episode. for only a moment, the cutting and scrambling of clips of an mnet show for reactions and views is betrayed.

“another musician,” jihun points out as yejun pulls out his guitar. “let’s see what this one has in store for us.”

unlike the violinist, yejun comes across as much more normal. his responses are soft-spoken, matching the way his hands move across the strings and frets almost lovingly.

“he has a nice voice,” yuna praises the short performance. “though his pronunciation could use some work. it’s a… choice to perform a song in a language you’re not proficient in at an audition like this.”

“it’s nice to hear authentic music, in a sense,” jihun remarks, “everyone else so far has sang acapella or to a pre-recorded backtrack. there’s skill in being able to play and sing at the same time as well.”

"i can't whistle,” it seems as if the young man makes the confession out of the blue, though it’s clear it’s in response to one of the interview questions. perhaps the editors wanted to continue the ‘all musicians are neurotic’ trend even with a more mild-mannered contestant. “i've tried to learn, but no sound ever comes out." he punctuates the thought with a demonstration that makes all of the judges laugh.

“he’s cute,” ran giggles, “yuna, does lime have any workshops on teaching trainees to whistle?”

“we don’t, but i’ll make that suggestion to ceo kwon,” she laughs.

the judges watch as the young man demonstrates his talent next, jihun wincing as a staff member intentionally clips one of the strings of the guitar. the young man is right when he admits that he’s not the quickest in the world at restringing a guitar, but the time passes quickly anyway. perhaps more impressive than the stringing is how quickly he tunes it.

“does he have perfect pitch?” jihun’s brows raise. “normally someone would use a pitch pipe or tuning fork, or even the low e string to get the right note. he didn’t use any other sound for reference.”

“it’s not as uncommon of a skill as you’d think,” yuna points out, “especially among musicians.”

ultimately, yejun’s time on screen comes to an end somewhat unremarkably. he’s quickly replaced by the profile of ITO SEIRA, the second foreigner to appear so far.

“she’s the second japanese trainee we’ve seen so far,” yuna points out, “this show must be gaining international interest.”

“i’m not sure we can take credit for that,” ran smiles, “it’s last year’s contestants who must have captured everyone’s hearts.”

it turns out that seira, like yura before, is another rapper. she performs a senior’s song, fairly proficiently for someone who is not yet considered a professional.

“it’s a shame that the rappers we’ve seen today haven’t written their own lyrics,” jihun sighs. “it’s a wasted opportunity.”

“i think she has more performing experience than we know,” yuna observes, “she’s a little nervous but she seems to know what she’s doing.”

very little is shown of seira’s interview, the editors apparently thinking nothing is worth showing to the audience. they only briefly show her answering the questions as ran looks down at her notes, seemingly lacking interest in the contestant before them.

the girl pulls out a bag of watermelon seeds and anyone who has seen a variety show before should know where this is going. she’s admittedly quite skilled at getting the seeds she spits into the air to land exactly where she wants them to. 

“it’s unladylike,” jihun frowns.

“it’s cute,” ran disagrees.

“she’ll do good on variety shows with skills like that,” yuna also concedes.

again the scene changes to the next contestant, bearing the profile of JANG HYUNKI. his profile photo fades into the auditionee himself, scanning down his body until reaching his bare toes, exposed for all to see.

“what?” ran laughs aloud at the foot reveal. “did he rush here and forget his shoes in the morning?”

“dancers sometimes perform barefoot,” yuna reminds her fellow judge. “though… it’s a bit brave to walk into a new place with nothing on your feet. i don’t know if i would have made that choice.”

the young man announces that he will be performing original choreography, piquing jihun’s interest again. “we’ll see how this compares to the other,” he remarks, “i’m guessing it will be an entirely different style of dance.”

as predicted, in stark contrast to the bold, captivating choreography that hangyeol had shown before, hyunki displays a far more emotional performance to a much slower, ballad-esque song. 

“some emotion seems to be missing,” yuna murmurs, seemingly still deciding exactly how to place her critique. “he choreographed it himself, he says, but some parts almost seem… robotic? like a performance of what he thinks the emotion should look like instead of actually feeling it himself.”

“i see what you mean,” ran agrees. “i think more practice with facial expressions might help… and he seems a bit rigid as well.”

“it’s a strong choreography, though,” jihun, shockingly, gives the highest praise of the trio of judges this time. “he just might not be the right dancer for it, even if he made it. i can’t tell you how many songs have been written that the writer couldn’t sing as well as the performer. it happens.”

"what can you bring to the table that we won't see in any other contestant?"

"no one else here can dance the way i do,” hyunki answers the question with confidence. “and execute all the styles i can with the same, or even close to similar, charisma and talent."

“am i the only one who would love to see hangyeol try his choreography?” jihun remarks, a sly grin on his face. a rivalry is already being established by the judges and editors. “i feel like he’d make him eat his words.”

“i agree,” yuna smiles as if imagining the showdown already. “hangyeol was much more expressive. he wouldn’t dance it the same way… i suspect he would do it better.”

the young man’s special skill is ventriloquy, and the judges seem more disturbed than impressed by this one. 

“what a strange skill… and that he uses it to torment his friends,” ran frowns.

“i don’t think i believe that he could do that perfectly on a whim without any practice,” yuna’s expression darkens as well. “maybe his real talent is storytelling.”

“that’s a nice way of saying lying,” jihun says the quiet part out loud. the mood of the judges darkens for a moment. they are not yet a fan of this contestant, as far as the editing shows.

the editors are quick to move onto the next segment, introducing KIM ARA through her profile graphic. 

“she’s pretty!” yuna remarks, cooing over the young wannabe immediately. 

“she photographs well,” ran agrees, holding back laughter at yuna’s cute reaction.

the contestant is another dancer, showing off a routine usually performed by animated video game characters. the song was very popular, but it wouldn’t be unheard of if someone hadn’t seen the choreography performed by a real human being before.

“it’s not the most impressive choreography, but it shows she has the fundamentals of dance down,” yuna observes. “i wish she had chosen something a little more challenging to show off her skills.”

“unless she doesn’t have the skills to show off,” jihun, always the pessimist, points out.

“hush, you,” ran swats him on the arm. “they’re all here to learn.”

"why do you want to become a kpop idol?" the staff questions the girl, moving onto the interview without any further preamble.

"i enjoy dancing a lot,” ara responds, “i enjoy performing on a stage, and i enjoy being in the spotlight.”

“she reminds me of me when i was younger,” yuna smiles. “it’s good to have a love of the stage. being an idol is a hard job to have if you’re not passionate about it.”

“it only gets harder,” ran nods her agreement.

ara’s special talent is juggling, perhaps made slightly more impressive by the fact that she handles three completely unrelated objects with ease instead of evenly-sized juggling clubs or balls.

“can you do that?” ran suddenly asks of jihun.

“i don’t know,” jihun admits, but somehow is willing to embarrass himself and give it a shot. he makes a weak attempt at juggling the pens and water bottles on the table in front of them, only for everything to come crashing down from his lack of experience.

“apparently not!” ran laughs.

up next is JORDAN MOON, as announced by the profile graphic displayed on the screen.

“as someone who has flown thousands of miles to be where i am today, it will be worth it in the long run.” jordan’s voice is heard as he stands in the audition room, preparing for his turn to show off his skills.

“where is he from?” jihun looks through the notes in front of him, looking for the answer.

“new york,” ran finds the answer first.

“that is quite the trip. did he really come all the way to korea just for this show?” yuna’s brows raise expectantly. 

“we did remark about the international interest,” ran points out.

jordan is a singer, and a talented one at that to be performing beyonce for the staff and judges. it’s a difficult song, certainly harder for a deeper masculine voice, and the camera cuts to yuna nodding her head appreciatively.

“is it bad if i say he’s a bit… boring?” jihun pretends to beat around the bush for a moment before going in for the kill. “as yuna would say, he has vocal fundamentals. but is that all he has?”

“let’s see,” ran refrains from passing judgment before the rest of the tasks are completed.

"what would you do if you won ₩1,000,000,000 in the lotto?" a staff member asks.

“if you spot me front row at a beyoncé show, you do not know me.” jordan’s tone is lighthearted, but his joke goes over like a lead balloon with the judges. jihun’s frown deepens.

“is there more to his personality than being a beyonce fan?” he remarks, clearly unimpressed. even ran now keeps her lips sealed, her own opinion falling low enough to refrain from commenting further.

perhaps the final nail in the coffin is a lackluster special skill, showing off a painting that he claims to have made himself.

“when we had other contestants showing their skills live to our judges, i’m not sure if we can really accept this,” jihun sighs. “we don’t even know if he really painted this himself. which, if i’m being honest, i’d expect it to be beyonce if it were really his own work, based on everything else he’s shown us.”

“he has talent, but he doesn’t stand out,” yuna agrees.

“let’s just move on,” jihun frowns.

move on they do to MOON SOOYOUNG, whose profile takes over the screen not a moment later. 

“oh,” jihun’s brows raise at the mention of this contestant’s name. “she’s auditioned for my company before… look here,” he points to something in his notes, unseen by the audience. “she’s the older sister of one of my trainees. do you remember MOON JINYOUNG?”

“he was on last season,” ran recalls, the best memory of the group or perhaps just the quickest at reading the notes provided to them. “he ended up in studio delta after all?”

jihun nods. “he’s quite the dancer. i wonder if his sister is similar.”

the young woman is also dancing to viviz’s maniac. as the music plays, the judges seem to watch her with rapt attention. 

“this choreography is much more difficult than it looks,” yuna points out, “and the fact that she makes it look just as simple as the original is a good indication of her skill. she’s a bit stiff in the waist, but she probably just needs to work on her flexibility in that area.”

“she doesn’t look happy to be here,” ran points out. “it’s probably nerves. still, i’d like to see her smile.”

her interview questions pass quickly and without any comments from the judges, seemingly uninterested in her responses. “it’s interesting that she doesn’t mention her brother,” jihun points out only once.

sooyoung only recaptures their attention as she showcases her special talent, using another unnamed auditonee as a model to show off her ability to quickly change someone’s style in a matter of seconds.

“i didn’t know that bang trick!” yuna exclaims. a brief break where both she and ran attempt to try something similar on themselves ensues, though it seems that sooyoung’s ability to style hair far exceeds the judges’.

they move on quickly to the next contestant, PARK AHYOUNG introduced to the audience with her profile on the screen.

“why do you want to become a kpop idol?” the staff asks her.

the girl shrugs, seemingly disinterested in a genuine response. “i just think it would be fun.”

“excuse me?” it’s yuna who bursts out laughing, perhaps thinking of her own early experiences as a trainee and young idol and the path that brought her here today. “that’s… a bit flippant for an audition, don’t you think?”

“she can be flippant if she has the skills to back it up,” jihun argues.

the girl seems to have some manners, though. she bows politely to the staff before beginning her performance. of all of the rappers today, ahyoung is the first to use her own unique creation rather than someone else’s songs. that said, the lyrics aren’t exactly her own either.

it’s jihun’s turn to laugh now, though lacking the incredulous tone from yuna moments ago and genuinely amused instead. “these are all lyrics from QUARTZ’s songs,” he explains to his fellow judges, who look confusedly at him. “how clever to put them all into one performance like this… i like this one.”

it’s high praise from the notoriously picky judge. even yuna begrudgingly has to acknowledge ahyoung’s skill.

the impish character returns, however, for her special skill. the girl drags a male staff member into the center of the room where she begins doing his makeup. "you have really nice skin,” she tells him, “your skincare routine must be amazing. you have better skin than half of the girls whose makeup i've done before, for real."

“i think her special skill is actually flattery,” ran half-jokes. 

“he does have nice skin,” yuna agrees.

the final results are… not terrible, but maybe a bit questionable. at least the man can leave the studio when filming wraps without attracting too much attention in public.

“ryeo ‘luciel’ jihyun,” jihun reads the next contestant’s name out as RYEO JIHYUN’s profile is displayed on screen. “it’s certainly a… unique name.”

“he must be another foreigner,” ran offers.

the young man does not command any great stage presence as he steps forward for his audition. yet there’s a charming freshness about him as he smiles and introduces himself. he wastes little time before beginning his song, perhaps much more somber and sentimental than was expected of him.

“he shows off his vocal color well,” yuna praises him. “this was a good song choice for this audition.”

“his gestures are nice,” ran observes, “there’s a lot of singers who don’t know what to do with their hands or look too rehearsed. he seems to feel the music well.”

they move quickly to the interview portion, a staff member suddenly asking the question “what style of music suits you best and why?”

“i grew up playing classical instruments and listening to them, i even used to participate in a piano competition,” luciel explains, “classical music conveys dramatic emotional stories that comes from the heart, it’s like poetry in the form of music. so i believe that kind of genre suits me.”

“he’s a classical musician but sang a rock song?” jihun looks confusedly at the notes before him as if unsure if he’s getting something mixed up or that they’re hearing the broadcast correctly. “they really all are quite strange, aren’t they?”

as if in direct response to the ceo’s comment, luciel introduces his special talent: “it wasn’t for long, but for a while i learned waacking,” the contestant reveals.

ran can’t help but let out a delighted little laugh. “he’s full of surprises, isn’t he? classical piano, rock, and now waacking… what can’t ryeo luciel jihyun do?”

“he’s very versatile! i like it,” jihun remarks.

the clip of luciel’s dancing is only a short few seconds, leaving the viewer wanting for more. it only lasts a few seconds before the editors are introducing RYU INHO with his profile taking over the screen.

“another guitarist,” jihun points out. “is that an amp?”

an amp it is indeed with inho pulling his electric guitar out for his vocal audition. it’s a different color than yejun’s had been before, as could be expected for acoustic versus electric instruments, but the judges are seen nodding along and enjoying the vibe of the song. 

“he seems confident,” ran observes. “he must have practiced this a lot.”

the staff begin questioning him shortly after the performance wraps up, launching into their tirade of questions without hesitation. "why do you want to become a kpop idol?"

"i love to sing and connect with people. if i was to become an idol, i would be able to do both of those at the same time. maybe have the power to make positive impacts on people's lives."

the scene cuts back to the judges, a rare shot of all three smiling as they listen to the wannabe explain his dreams on screen. “we’ve heard similar answers a lot,” yuna points out, “but he seems very sincere”

“i don’t know what it is. he has this aura that makes you want to root for him,” ran smiles.

"i would be fortunate and honored to receive an offer from any of the three companies but any three of them would also be very lucky to have me. i don't have a preference." inho answers the staff a second time.

jihun bursts out laughing. “he’s bold… but i suppose he’s fair. it’s wise not to choose a favorite when all three of us have to decide if he moves forward or not.”

inho’s special talent is revealed next, showing the young man quickly breaking apples in half with his bare hands.

“maybe we should be afraid of him,” yuna jokes, “he’s strong.”

“oh, he’s handsome,” ran is quick to remark on the next auditionee up, the screen showing the good looks of RYU SIWOO alongside his basic information. and indeed, even in a very amateur selfie image, the young man has remarkable good looks.

“look at that watch,” jihun points out the contestant’s outfit, “that’s cartier. he’s decked head to toe in luxury brands… either he comes from money, or he gets tricked by counterfeits easily.”

the young man before them is another rapper, performing in a rather unique style that has jihun leaning forward with interest and the two women looking rather confused.

“does he want to be an idol like that?” yuna questions, “his tone is good, but i don’t think he has a sound that will appeal to many people.”

“that’s why we shape them with further training,” jihun argues, “he’s starting from a decent foundation. you said that for other contestants, remember?”

“what is the most interesting place that you have been to wearing the shoes that you’re wearing now?”

“the windsor castle,” siwoo responds, “i went with some family friends last year, they really wanted to see the place.”

“he definitely comes from money,” jihun confirms, “i haven’t even been to windsor castle. have you?”

he glances at his co-judges, who both shake their heads in confirmation.

“i hope there’s more to his personality than luxury brands and european vacations,” yuna straightens the stack of papers in front of her. “he’s good enough that we can see what he does on the show. but i’m not so sure about him.”

the less than glowing review fades into a new contestant, now introducing SONG JAEYOUNG. little time is spent on initial observations from the judges this time, now diving right into the young man’s performance. fast-paced, intense, and…

“is that japanese?” yuna blinks in astonishment. “he’s korean, isn’t he?” she checks the information in front of her again, seemingly not believing what she’s hearing. “this is certainly a… unique choice.”

“i couldn’t tell,” jihun grumbles, “he sounds like he’s yelling more than singing. i suppose i was distracted by that.”

the trend of somewhat erratic contestants continues with jaeyoung, the judges watching bewilderedly as he somehow balances a whole stool on a single finger, tilted and wobbling just a little but upright nonetheless.

“you have to admit, that’s a little impressive,” ran points out. 

“it’s just physics,” jihun remains unimpressed.

“people say i’m horrible at shutting up,” it’s the only intelligible part of the rapid-fire interview that the audience can hear from jaeyoung. the rest is sped up to the point it’s all gibberish, the young man going on and on with his answers and proving his point.

“i suppose it’s charming in a way,” ran smiles. “we certainly have a lot of characters on this season.”

“we could do without them.” jihun’s grouchiness has yet to fade.

next up is SONG JIAYI. as her profile fades from the screen, the young woman’s audition begins immediately.

“it’s a bold choice to perform goeun’s songs in front of her ceo,” jihun remarks, glancing sideways at ran. 

“i’ll admit, i’m surprised she’s not singing,” ran muses, “goeun’s choreography is flashy, but not overly demanding since she’s such a strong vocalist. it’s… an interesting choice to focus on her dance instead of vocals when choosing one of her songs.”

“maybe she has a weak voice,” yuna suggests. it’s what they’ll have to believe until they see jiayi sing, someday.

"which company would you want to receive an offer from and why?"

"lime entertainment." the scene cuts to a small fist-pump from yuna, grinning as her company is chosen by the contestant. jiayi continues to explain: "i grew up listening to cherish, and i admire lime entertainment's strategy when it comes to business.”

“interesting she would say that but sing a song from a sr media artist,” jihun the instigator remarks. ran shoots him a sharp look.

“oh my god!” all three judges exclaim at the same time when jiayi reveals her special talent. it’s unnerving to see a human body contorted into unfamiliar, uncomfortable-looking shapes. "i'm very flexible," jiayi laughs.

“she looks like a horror movie,” jihun attempts to recover his composure after the shock.

“i wish she had picked choreography that used her flexibility better,” yuna remarks. “showcasing it like this is… a little scary.”

the next profile should be familiar to anyone who watched last season and even the judges clap their hands appreciatively when they see STEVIE PARK appear on screen.

“i’m surprised he’s back,” jihun’s brows raise. “i hope he’s matured since last season.”

a short compilation of stevie’s antics of season one plays across the screen, from him goofing off in practice rooms to chattering away with his fellow contestants while he probably should have been practicing. what will stevie do this year? the question is asked of the viewers.

“what was your favorite thing about the last season of next gen?” an off-screen staff member asks stevie the question, the cameras zoomed in on the young man’s face to study his reaction.

“i think probably…performing and working with people. i’m a social butterfly after all.” stevie laughs, and a short cut to the judges seems to say i know without anyone actually verbalizing the words. the clips from last season have already highlighted that well enough. “some might say it’s my biggest flaw, though.”

“at least he’s self-aware,” jihun sighs. “let’s hope he’s learned about the proper time and place for such things.”

“he was a dancer, if i remember,” yuna chimes in, “i wonder what he’s showing us today.”

subverting all expectations, stevie chooses to sing instead. he moves, of course, as all dancers do when they hear music, but it’s simple sways and hand movements, a clear focus on his vocals this time.

“i think it’s safe to say that the class clown is turning over a new leaf,” ran generously forgives stevie for last season’s transgressions. it’s time for a new slate, after all.

“his skillset has definitely broadened,” yuna admits.

there seems to be an uncharacteristic amount of nerves from the boy as he introduces his special skill. he rushes to grab something and the cameras catch the slightest tremor in his hands.

“he’s nervous,” ran points out. “i don’t remember him being so anxious last year.”

“i skateboard, and i skated here,” stevie stumbles over his words as he adjusts the skateboard in front of him, placing a foot on it in preparation for his trick. “so i’ll– do a trick i guess. i’ll keep it safe, though, i promise!”

the promise is good and the young man lands his trick without incident. he gives a thumbs up, smiling perhaps in relief. “safe and sound.”

“he’s changed,” ran murmurs.

“hopefully for the better,” jihun responds.

the screen changes to a new profile, introducing a new face after reminiscing over an old one. YAMAMOTO KAITO’s profile fills the screen before fading into the auditions, kaito repeating some of the same information as the basic profile already listed but then adding on a short list of the many jobs he’s currently working.

“he’s busy!” yuna exclaims. “how does he have time for this?”

“he made time for it,” jihun folds his arms and leans against the table in front of him. “i like this type of person. he works hard but makes time for the things he’s passionate about. this type usually makes for an excellent artist.”

his skills are tested soon enough, kaito showing his prowess as a rapper before the staff and the judges sitting behind the cameras. 

“look,” jihun points out to his fellow judges, “he’s making eye contact with every single person in that room, even if they’re not paying attention to him.”

“i wonder if he’s been on stage before,” yuna ponders aloud.

“if not, he just has good performing instincts.” jihun seems to be a fan of the young man already.

“i have a strong passion for rapping and dancing, so i'd love to share my own passions with more people while performing on stage someday.” kaito’s interview is condensed into a single response in the broadcast.

“i wish he had shown his dancing too,” yuna frowns and scribbles down a note. “if he’s passionate about both, he could have shown it.”

“especially since his special skill was beatboxing,” ran agrees. “that usually goes hand in hand with rapping, doesn’t it? it would have been nice to see a little more diversity in his skills.”

“still,” jihun agrees, with a twist, “what he did show he did well. i think there’s promise there.”

the show is nearing its close, but there’s one contestant left to show the viewers. YOON EUNWOL is last, and hopefully not the least of the many talented auditionees evaluated by the judges for this season. the scene fades to a rather nervous looking wannabe. eunwol greets the staff and introduces his audition piece. “i prepared a dance to a song that i created, i tried to make a pop feel with a ballad flow.”

“so he created the choreography and the track?” ran’s brows raised, impressed at the amount of work that goes into such a feat.

“don’t get excited yet,” jihun warns her, “i’ve seen something like this go badly before.”

eunwol performs, though the majority of the broadcast is dedicated to the judges’ reactions. the consensus seems to be that they remain unimpressed.

“fundamentals, this and that,” jihun sighs, “but no character or soul. even you have to admit, it was lacking.” he glances at yuna, who nods her agreement.

“attempting to show us something completely unique was a great idea. i just wish he had shown us more,” she agrees, “i feel like i didn’t learn anything about him, his style, or his personality. if you’re creating a performance from scratch, usually you put a little bit of yourself into it.”

"what two things do you consider yourself to be very bad at?" a staff member asks the young man, who answers with awkward laughter. 

“interviews seem to be one thing i think i am bad at,” he admits. the response earns a smile from the judges. at least eunwol is cute.

however, all three stare incredulously at the screens before them as the wannabe stands up and walks away as soon as the rapid-fire interview is over. “he just left?” yuna sputters, in awe at the audacity. “what about his special skill?”

“he may have thought that he already showed it during the skills part of the audition?” ran offers, trying to come up with an excuse or explanation.

“under normal circumstances, i would call for an immediate disqualification,” he shakes his head, poorly holding in his laughter. “but since the special skill was my request, i think i’ll let this pass. honestly, it’s just funny. and i want to see what this guy will do next time.”

ran and yuna look utterly unamused by jihun’s decision, but even the two of them can’t override what the studio delta ceo decides for his own challenge.

“well, i think that wraps up the auditions,” ran announces, clapping her hands together once. “we have some decisions to make, some contestants to reach out to, and a show to put on.”

the screen fades to black. then, all of a sudden, a bright flash and a new set appears with the season two theme music playing in the background. for the first time, RHEE JIAN appears on screen to reprise her role as emcee of the show. “welcome everyone,” she smiles as she gazes out across the contestants seated expectantly before her, “and congratulations on being selected to participate in season two of NEXT GEN!”

the camera pans across the contestants, revealing the auditionees who made it past the final round of auditions and onto the show.

“now that we’ve started to settle in, it’s time we revealed a secret to you,” the hostess smiles, a glint in her eye. “i know you believed that you were selected by the mnet and axis staff that hosted your auditions a few weeks ago. however, i’m sorry to say that we tricked you.”

the giant monitor behind jian changes suddenly, showing the three judges in the studio room they had observed all the auditions from. “our judges were watching you every step of the way, evaluating your character as well as the skills you showed. why don’t we give them a warm welcome as well?”

yoon jihun, seo ran, and yuna emerge from backstage to stand next to jian, waving and smiling at the contestants that they had judged not so long ago. a round of applause and cheers go up and the camera captures the most exciting reactions from the contestants who were surprised by the sudden news.

“we’re sorry for tricking you,” ran smiles as she addresses the crowd. “but we’re under a lot of pressure to make this season bigger and better than last year, and we agree that all of you can help up with that.”

“you’re here today because you’re all talented or interesting enough that we want to see more from you,” jihun explains. “over the next few weeks, you’ll be put through our training curriculums and given a series of missions to complete. the winners will be signed to a company of their choice, or we’ll choose if we want to sign you. the losers will be sent home.”

yuna speaks next: “we’re excited to see how all of you grow and develop throughout your time on NEXT GEN. we wish the best for all of you and your careers as performers and hope that this will be an exciting and informative experience for all of you.”

“that said,” jian takes over as host again, “this is a competition. based on your auditions, our judges have ranked all of you in order of most promising to least promising. those who didn’t make the top twenty-one were eliminated from the show entirely. while we’re not sending any of you home today, it’s good to know where you rank and to try to ascend to the top. you should all be working for first place.”

a pause falls over the crowd while they’re left to absorb the information.

“without further ado, let’s reveal the rankings,” jian turns to the screen behind her again, now displaying a graphic for the contestants’ initial rankings. one by one, the contestants are revealed until only the number one and last place are left. “in first place for episode one is… CHOI HANGYEOL!”

the camera catches hangyeol’s reaction, as well as eunwol’s reaction to being revealed in last place for the first episode.

“this is only based on the auditions that you prepared on your own,” jian explains, “but we want to make this fair for everyone. your first mission will be the CENTER SELECTION.”

a short clip of last year’s song and male and female centers is played before returning to the present season. “the song this year is DO BETTER. once again, you will all learn the same song and choreography to perform alone for our judges to evaluate your potential to be the center of a future group. the center is a pivotal role for any idol group and should be someone who has the stamina to sing and dance at the same time, and make both look and sound good,” jian explains.

“you’ll be working with axis staff and coaches to prepare you for this evaluation. however, we’re also bringing in some of the most qualified special coaches to help you achieve success this season. please allow me to introduce our special coaches,” jian gestures to the side of the stage, where the mystery guests file out one by one.

fans from last season will recognize the top three winners from last season, YEOM SARANG, LEE SEOJUN, and ZHOU RENYI. they’re joined by fellow trainees and former contestants LEE NAYOUNG and PARK DOHYUN, as well as a new trainee to the public LEE CHAERIN. each special coach introduces themselves briefly before jian resumes her hosting duties.

“sarang, seojun, and renyi will be assisted by nayoung, dohyun, and chaerin in preparing you all for this evaluation. listen closely to their advice as they’re familiar not only with what it takes to win NEXT GEN, but also the intricacies of each company they represent.”

“you’ll be re-ranked based on your performances. just like last year, the top female contestant and top male contestant will be selected as centers. you’ll all be performing on an episode of MCOUNTDOWN following the evaluation, so this is a great opportunity to show your best side to fans and the judges alike.”

“we’re excited to see the results of this season of NEXT GEN and all that you can accomplish,” jian smiles at the contestants again. “good luck!”

STARRY DREAM line distribution

coaches: lee seojun and yeom sarang

stevie park

asakura touma

han jueun

jang hyunki

choi hangyeol

ANTI-HERO line distribution

coaches: park dohyun and lee chaerin

han yuwol

kim ara

song jiayi

hwang yejun

BANG! line distribution

coaches: zhou renyi and lee nayoung

ito seira

song jaeyoung

ryu inho

ryu siwoo

ryeo jihyun

NOTE: line distributions have been added!

TASK:

this event is for next gen participants and coaches only. part 5 will run until may 25 at 11:59pm. any solos posted after the deadline will not be considered. please send in your submission before this deadline. the final episode will be shared on june 2, at around 9PM EST.

please use the hashtag #BE:NGS2P5 for all posts relating to this part of the event.

please write at least one 4-post thread with another participant or coach in your team preparing for the mission. NOTE: this task may be completed multiple times.

please write a 300+ word solo about your muse’s performance in front of the three judges and the live audience

OPTIONAL: please write a 200+ word solo about your muse reflecting on their preparation and their performance in front of the judges, as well as the entire season of the show. this should be treated as a verbal interview. what was the greatest challenge during this mission? how do they feel about their participation in next gen? are they hoping to be signed alongside another hopeful? etc. 

NOTE THAT THE WRITING TASKS FOR THIS EVENT ARE NOT OPTIONAL UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED. POINTS WILL BE AWARDED IN THE NEXT UPDATE.

please keep in mind that all threads and solos should be written with the assumption that cameras are on the participants at all times.

when you’ve completed these tasks, please send the following form to our events blog:

SUBMISSION TITLE: MUSE NAME - NEXT GEN S2 EP 5

preparation: link to thread *may be completed multiple times; please include multiple links if so

performance: link to solo 

OOC:

Welcome to Season 2 of NEXT GEN! 

This event is for WANNABES ONLY. Auditions will run until February 23 at 11:59pm. Any solos or threads posted after the deadline will not be considered. Please send in your submission before this deadline.

Please note that over the next several weeks, the NEXT GEN survival audition program will be more demanding in terms of timely writing requirements than previous events. While we’ll try not to be too overwhelming and will adjust requirements as necessary, please keep this in mind should you decide to have your muse(s) participate in this program. There will not be an option to join the program after it has started.

Please use the hashtag #BE:NGS2P1 for all posts relating to this part of the event.

It can be assumed that all Wannabes passed Part One of the audition and are invited to Part Two. 

For the SR Media portion of the audition, 3-5 questions will be asked of your muse at random. Each participant will be asked a slightly different set of questions, just to keep everyone on their toes. Sample questions can be found below:

"What was your favorite thing about the last season of Next Gen?"

"What style of music/performance suits you best and why?"

"Which company would you want to receive an offer from and why?"

"Why do you want to become a kpop idol?"

"What can you bring to the table that we won't see in any other contestant?"

"What would you do if you won ₩1,000,000,000 (~$750,000) in the lotto?"

"What was the first thing you thought about when you woke up this morning?"

"What two things do you consider yourself to be very bad at?"

"Would you rather go to a tropical island or to the North Pole?"

"What’s your favorite useless fact?"

"What is the most interesting place that you have been to wearing the shoes that you’re wearing now?"

No points will be awarded at this stage, however your increased participation may have additional benefits. All Wannabes interested in participating are asked to fill out this form and write a 300+ word solo describing your muse’s audition for the show, including all three parts of the Part Two audition process.