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it only makes sense that the concept evaluation episode opens with a flurry of brightly colored scenes, clips from the performances yet to appear as the editors reintroduce the viewer to NEXT GEN and do better playing in the background. a short recap of RHEE JIAN announcing the concept evaluation plays and the teams and coaches are displayed to the audience one by one. finally, when all of the refreshers are over and done with, the new content begins.

three judges take their seats at the usual table across from the stage. the room is quiet save for the few staff members milling around in preparation for the performances, the contestants somewhere backstage beyond their sight and safe from critique for now.

“SEO RAN,” YOON JIHUN is the first to speak to his fellow ceo, “it’s a little odd that we gave the contestants a concept evaluation but not a single one is performing a SR MEDIA group’s song. are you not confident in your own artists’ selections?” he grins slyly, perhaps trying to start something.

ran, to her credit, only smiles in return. “it’s a favor to the contestants, actually,” she clarifies, “our groups have such clear, well-defined concepts for most of their releases that it can be hard to separate the song from the music video or stage performances you remember and come up with something new. it wouldn’t be fair to try to judge them on something that’s difficult even for seasoned professionals. instead, we gave them songs that had a certain vibe, but not as set in stone in terms of memorable visuals and creative direction. it’s almost a blank canvas for them to work on, in a sense.”

“i understand what you mean,” YUNA nods along. “no matter how good you are, people will always compare you to the original when you’re performing a cover. the more beloved a song is, the harder it is for anyone else to do it justice.”

“exactly. not that any of these songs aren’t great tunes in their own right, but they’re easier to handle than A.MAZE or WONDERLAND,” ran confirms.

“so why organize the groups the way we did?” jihun is clearly reading off a cue card, moving the conversation forward in the way the writers and editors want them to.

“well, some of them are obvious,” ran flips through cards with each contestant’s face printed on them, laying them out on the desk in front of them. “JUEUN, for example, has excellent confidence on stage that makes her look like she’s having fun no matter what she’s performing. the cute and bright concept leans well into that. and SIWOO is just clearly born for the elegant concept. STEVEN, on the other hand, probably would have suited the cute concept as well but i think he needs to be challenged more than someone like siwoo does and he has potential for other concepts in him as well.”

“when we’re putting together a group, they’re very rarely doing one concept for their entire careers,” jihun points out.

“exactly, which is why some contestants needed to be introduced to a different facet of themselves,” ran smiles. “we may be surprised by some of them.”

“are we ready to begin?” a voice from the production staff calls out, and the judges collect their contestant cards to save for rankings later.

a scene of all teams are gathered up on stage around emcee jian plays before fading into the first practice room scenes.

"the judges told us how modifying the choreography could express the storyline we're attempting to tell better," YUWOL muses aloud to HANGYEOL as the NONSTOP team begins preparations for their first performance together. "but to be honest, i'm not the best when it comes to that."

“that’s why i’m here!” hangyeol assures his teammate. and who would dare to doubt the shining star of the season? hangyeol’s confidence is nowhere near unfounded; perhaps his teammates feel better just having him and his good luck nearby. maybe it would be easy to dislike him out of jealousy or resentment, but the man has a rather cute disposition, throwing his hands in the air exuberantly as he volunteers his help to the team.

after a moment of stretching, hangyeol stands and walks over to the sound system while explaining his ideology to yuwol. ““the first step is to find what’s special and unique about the way your own body moves. we’re in a carnival, right? so let’s move through the room as if it is a carnival, but then take everything you do and heighten it by, like, thirty percent!”

“i’ve never been to a carnival before,” yuwol confesses and a record scratch is played as hangyeol’s jaw drops.

“really? never?! yuwol! we have to change that!” it doesn’t deter hangyeol though, who effortlessly links his arm through yuwol’s as if guiding him through an imaginary carnival in the practice room. “i just think everyone should get the chance to ride a ferris wheel and eat cotton candy at least once in their lives! next time there’s a carnival in seoul, i’ll have to take you. how does that sound?”

“pretend you’re surrounded by all sorts of lights, and colors, and smells. and you have all day to experience every single one with the person you care about the most,” hangyeol continues, describing the event in detail in lieu of yuwol’s personal experiences with one. “i know it might seem a little absurd at first, but trust me, it’ll help.”

“i struggled with dance at first, but… nowadays, it’s actually rather fun,” yuwol explains in the interview room, his scene with hangyeol cut short by his own words. “actually, coming up with ideas for the stage was also exciting. these are all rather new to me, so i’m surprised at myself too. that i’m able to enjoy the process this much.”

looks like that isn’t the only new thing being done. the scene shifts, showing yuwol and jueun in front of one of the training room mirrors. jueun makes a face, puffing her cheeks, confident in her cuteness; coming off natural. "come on, i want you to look in the mirror with me and pretend like you're on a date and trying to make your partner smile or something,” she tells yuwol, who seems to be having a harder time making the same facial expressions.

yuwol hums, seeming to be in thought. eventually, like jueun had done earlier, yuwol puffs his cheeks, pouting, imitating his teammate. it’s his first attempt, that’s for sure. “okay… how was that?”

jueun giggles in turn. “well, it’s definitely better than what you were doing before,” jueun approves.

“how did you feel when you saw that your ranking had dropped so much?” a disembodied voice asks jueun, now the only focus of the camera in the interview room. “i knew it could happen at any moment, since this is a competition show, after all. however, i was still a little shocked. however, it motivated me to work even harder to show the judges that i still had a lot more to show them.”

what is it that she’s eager to show the judges? this time, jueun and hangyeol are back on screen, going over their rap lines together. “look at us being the main rappers of the group,” jueun says, nudging hangyeol’s side with her elbow. hangyeol seems to share the enthusiasm, not without expressing some of his struggles.

“why does this feel like it’s harder than singing?” hangyeol questions, although the pair continue to work on their lines. "the professionals make it look so effortless. and here i am, sounding like i'm about to perform a hip-hop remix of the three bears." hangyeol sounds rather distraught, but jueun remains positive still.

“it will not sound like a hip-hop remix of the three bears,” she reassures her companion. “"i've been tapping my pen along to the beat to make sure i don't fall behind since the rhythm seems to be the most important thing in a rap," jueun suggests as a method of practice.

that seems to give hangyeol some sort of epiphany. “oh! I’ve seen something online- thisth-” hangyeol takes his own pen and sets it firmly between his teeth, “this is supposedsh to help with your pronunshiation.” it’s a rather comedic scenario, the camera lingering on hangyeol’s hilarious display for added effect.

most of the team members seem to be new to rapping as a whole. JINGREN is pictured practicing his lines with jueun as well, despite having lesser rapping verses. "it's a safe place here. did you want to practice the rap parts with me? so that we can get comfortable before the song before we split up the lines so that we can take any part that we possibly get,” jingren suggests, motivated to work on a new skill. “i am willing to give rap a try, especially since it seems like i haven't quite found my direction with something specific yet."

“how about we listen to the original a few times on repeat first so we get the basic rhythm down?” jueun says in turn, eager to start rehearsing as well.

“i really didn't know if i had it in me to rap, but i was willing to try,” jingren’s voiceover from his interview plays over the scene of the two practicing their lines. “the song had quite a few rap parts, and while it was divided between a few of us, i'd never rapped before other than during karaoke."

“guess we will all have to pick up some slack since i don’t think anyone in our group is particularly a fantastic rapper. but it’s not possible to cut these key parts of the song out,” jingren summarizes, determined.

despite all the hardwork the team is displaying, there’s a few shared moments where they can breathe and relax. YEJUN is seen approaching hangyeol. “congratulations!” yejun exclaims, a tender smile on his face. “i know we barely have any time for it, but your second first place should be celebrated. i’ll do something better if you get a hat trick.” the moment is sweet, cute and bright, funnily enough a contender for the concept the team had been assigned. yejun is handing something over to hangyeol, presumably a congratulatory gift.

hangyeol seems to appreciate the gesture, expressing his gratitude from the way he takes the vitamin drink and bowing slightly. “thank you, yejun. that’s so kind. i only feel like i have to work…even harder now. maybe even harder than before. i’m afraid one of these days i may run out of ‘hard’ to work.”

yejun rebuts that, almost immediately. "you deserve this, you're amazing,” he reassures, notably gentle. “i’ll be your voice teacher if you be my dance teacher,” yejun adds, not forgetting what they’re here for.

“you’re too nice to me, hwang yejun,” hangyeol tells the other off lightly, although it’s obvious he doesn’t mean it. “but it’s a deal.”

overall, the team seem to be working well together, working on what they know they lack. but where are the coaches?

the scene changes again, this time showing DOHYUN and yuwol separated by a makeshift desk. dohyun is holding a camera directed at the contestant as he is practicing something, a little bit lost in thought. a short clip plays taken from the previous episodes, where jihun had snapped: “i’ve never been more humiliated by a studio delta team in my life.” that, of course, referencing dohyun’s team at the time. is that what dohyun has been thinking about?

“and, like that. that’s what i had in mind… what do you think?” yuwol asks, which seems to bring dohyun out of his haze. the audience doesn’t get to see what exactly yuwol is asking dohyun’s opinion for, that will be saved for the performance later. but whatever it was, dohyun is reacting positively.

“i think.. you’re going to end up with a million new fans and a million other grandmothers wanting you as a grandson- i would call that a success,” dohyun replies as he ends the recording, encouraging and supportive.

“do you have faith in us?” yuwol asks next, and the frame closes in on dohyun’s face, searching for a specific reaction. as if implying, would the same unfortunate occurrence happen again with dohyun’s new team? that unasked question doesn’t receive an answer.

“you were at the mercy of the teams we gave you,” jihun’s voice can be heard once more, playing as the screen zeroes in on dohyun’s face. will this time be different? perhaps, there is a glimmer of hope. there is no verbal answer from dohyun at this time, however.

maybe that answer will show itself in the team’s performance.

the team of five enter the stage wearing matching outfits of a pastel color scheme, showcasing a certain theme. while the stage is still dimly lit, it can be seen that certain corners of the stage have different mini sets, keeping the audience guessing what they could be. but then the set fades away, the camera is instead being greeted by jingren’s face as the music begins.

the lens pans down, showing jingren’s hand linked with the cameraman’s—or in this case, the audience—and leading them towards the stage. jingren’s smile is beaming, taking the audience towards the set, which seems to be a mini carnival with booths and DIY date spots.

the other three have already taken their positions, and the performance begins.

it becomes apparent that the team will be moving across the mini sets, having their own date moment with the camera (a.k.a the audience who are watching). yejun’s is up next, seemingly going through an array of mirrors. the camera ‘trips’, but yejun is quick to rush over to his date, concerned as he helps his date regain their feet. the singing goes on, yejun hitting his notes despite multitasking with his acting. even adds a sigh of relief when he notices his date is okay, pointing to a mirror with a laugh.

as one person gets the spotlight, the others become supporting characters. even though they’re moving from set to set, they maintain the same flare of choreography, modified to fit their elaborate stage.

as yuwol’s rap verse approaches, the camera shifts to a different point of view, carefully taken to another set. this time, it’s a wooden stand colored pink with the sign ‘kissing booth’ plastered on top. the contestant on the other side of the booth is yuwol. he’s holding a lip balm, uncapping it as the audience continues to watch. yuwol acts nervous with the way he bites his lip and steals glances at the camera. using his finger, he swipes the lip balm on his own lips before pretending to apply it onto his date’s. he doesn’t kiss his date though, despite the name of the booth, he lifts his face up and allows it to disappear out of frame, leaving the audience to wonder what exactly yuwol had done. either way, he’s giggling as if he’s teasing.

the song continues on, the team returning back to formation as they move towards the next set: hangyeol’s. he’d be delivering this scene along with his rap verse too. his moment is centered around a snack booth, hangyeol leading the camera towards the booth. a cake is then served which hangyeol takes advantage of, taking a forkful of whipped cream and holding it up to the lens mischievously, acting flirtatious. some of that whipped cream remains on the tip of his nose, followed by a finger coming from behind the camera to wipe the whipped cream away. the scene ends with hangyeol’s blush.

the last individual moment of the stage focuses on a faux photobooth, which is jueun’s time to shine. jueun pulls off a few poses alongside the camera, as if she’s actually taking photos, singing her lines accordingly all the while. it’s a cute and intimate moment, jueun being playful with her company. that is, until the rest of the team ‘photobombos’ the photos and poses with jueun and her date.

“i’d just like to say that i gave it my all, and this was all really fun,” jueun’s voice from the interview room plays as the camera focuses on the group, all with smiles on their faces.

the performance goes on, and with jueun taking charge of the last line, she gives the camera a nice wink for her ending pose.

a round of applause can be heard from the judges, before the contestants get ready for their critique.

ran is the first to pick up her microphone; this is her company’s challenge after all. “first, i want to congratulate you all on a successful performance. i could feel your earnesty in trying to put on a unique, memorable performance and i want to be sure you all know that your efforts didn’t go unnoticed. you were the only team without a representative from sr media helping you, so please know we’ll take that into account as we review this stage.”

“as a whole, it was a very charming performance,” ran continues to smile. “it was sweet how you were able to highlight each member of your team and stay within the theme you chose. however, i don’t think it was very far off from the original performance and came off a bit… amateur-ish? which i suppose is to be expected, especially since you lacked guidance.”

she seems to shoot a look at DOHYUN and SEOJUN, who were notably absent from the preparation clips. however, neither trainee being from her company, she decides to simply let it be.

yuna takes over instead: “while concepts and acting may be sr media’s specialty, lime entertainment also dabbles quite a bit in using stages and storylines to enhance our performances. i’m surprised that seojun didn’t take a more active part in helping to plan your performance. coaches, please remember that it’s your responsibility to support our contestants. we may not be able to eliminate you from the competition, but these contestants are your responsibility. please do not take it lightly.”

the woman sighs before continuing on: “in any case, i do have to agree with ran. the performance was cute and charming, but seemed a bit disorganized at times. like you were trying to fit too much into a short time. it’s easy to let ideas get ahead of you, but it should have been on your coaches to help rein them in and refine them.”

“dohyun, you’re not going to regain my favor by disappearing into the background. you’re still representing studio delta in a competition, so i expect to see a little more effort from you in the final round.” yoon jihun crosses his arms and scowls unhappily. he may not be shouting with the same rancor as he had the previous round, but his disappointment is palpable. “nonstop team, you did well to support yourselves despite the lack of effort from your coaches. i feel like that should be praised more than yuna and ran have mentioned so far; you’re all just beginners, babies really. you had to learn how to walk on your own while everyone else was getting better support. i want to commend you for your effort; you did well with the resources provided.”

“and HANGYEOL,” jihun continues, now moving onto individual critiques, “it was rather brave of you to take on so many rap parts when it seems to be a relatively new skill to you. you’re a great performer so you were able to pull it off decently enough, but it was clear that it’s really not your strongest talent. i can’t quite say you let your team down, but i don’t think you did them any favors.”

“you helped your team with the choreography changes, right?” yuna pipes up, “once again, you’re showing us that you’re an excellent leader. leveraging your talents with the areas your team needs to improve was good. you’re a great dancer, we’re frankly running out of ways to say that, but you’re also a good teacher which is much harder to find in a show like this.”

“i think we did well to put you in this concept,” ran smiles warmly, clearly harboring a soft spot for this particular contestant. “you have a lovely smile, you know. your stage presence is strong enough that even with simple choreography, you still shine. you adapt well to different concepts and that’s something we look for at sr media; being able to be a diverse performer as well.”

“great job, hangyeol,” jihun congratulates the contestant once more before the judges fix their attention on the next member of the team, YUWOL’s face taking over the screen.

“i’ll admit, i didn’t have very high expectations for you with this concept,” jihun begins again, his frown more contemplative than antagonistic for once. “you’re a bit… well, you were put in this team since we didn’t think anything else would suit you very well. you surprised us, yuwol. who knew you had it in you? maybe you should consider acting as a career.” the man laughs.

“jihun is laughing, but i would genuinely suggest the same thing,” ran takes over. “you performed your part well and we could tell that you put a particular amount of effort into selling this concept. half of the road to success is hard work and practice and you certainly gave your best effort with this challenge. honestly, i’m almost sorry that we won’t be seeing this stage ever again. you did well.”

yuna picks up her microphone next, her expression a bit complicated. “i agree with jihun and ran that you performed this concept beyond our expectations, however i want to caution you to not neglect your performance skills as well. you’re still a bit awkward when you’re dancing simple steps. at this point in the competition, i’d like to see a little more improvement in that area. your voice is nice, but i want to warn you not to neglect your fundamentals and fall into the habit of relying on stylization instead of basic ability. overall, you gave us a good performance. but as we reach the end of this competition, you would do better if you tried to be great.”

“thank you, yuwol,” ran finishes the feedback before turning to the next contestant.

YEJUN is the next focus of the judges who waste no time in giving him feedback.

“are you getting more comfortable, yejun?” jihun asks, “you’re not trembling on stage this time. i think it’s the first time we’ve seen you actually smile.” is that teasing in the harsh judge’s voice? the camera zooms into jihun’s face, which actually has a smile on it, before panning to yejun’s expression in return. “if all it took was asking you to act cute, we would have done that ages ago. you seem harder on yourself than even i would be, so i don’t think i can tell you anything about your performance that you don’t already know. i just hope that you don’t lose this spark, whatever it is.”

“is that a compliment from jihun?” ran’s eyes widen in mock-surprise, a wide smile on her face. “in any case, i have to agree that you looked much more at ease, like you were actually enjoying the performance this time. you played cute pretty well, i think you have a good face for the concept overall, but when you’re able to smile you really light up the stage. did it help to have friends on your team this time? while it’s important to be able to get along with whoever is on your future teams or debut units, having familiar faces can help ease a transition. i’m glad we were able to unlock a new side of you with this performance.”

yuna smiles as well. “you’re a talented singer, yejun,” she points out, “and you’re becoming a better performer too throughout this show. it’s been a genuine pleasure to watch your growth. singing is something you love, right?” the camera turns to yejun again for his response. “me too. it’s that passion that got me to debut, and then to all the success i’ve had since then. i hope you’re able to hold onto that through the rest of next gen and whatever comes after.” yuna smiles once more before the camera abandons yejun for now.

“i’d like to point out how JUEUN shined on this stage,” ran beams brightly as she compliments the girl, “your confidence on stage was almost unmatched and this concept suits you almost perfectly. honestly, i don’t even have much to say since there’s hardly anything to critique this time.”

“i wouldn’t say that,” jihun disagrees; of course he would always be able to find something negative even among an overwhelmingly positive situation. “if anything, i would just caution you to be mindful of your groupmates. you were just on the edge of out-performing half of this team, which is good for you in this competition but if you debut in a group someday, being able to work seamlessly together will be important. it could also make your teammates look worse than they actually are and put you at risk for elimination, if you’re not careful. but like ran said, this concept suited you well. you’ll probably be fine.”

yuna ponders over her response for a moment before finally speaking up. “you said that you’d work harder and you had more to show us. talk is fine, but what i’m most impressed with is that you actually put your money where your mouth is, so to speak. you put on an amazing performance that made us all regret dropping you down in the ranks last week, if the other judges agree?” yuna looks over at ran and jihun, who both nod their confirmation of the statement. “well done. it’s no easy feat to do exactly what was promised when it comes to performances like this.”

“JINGREN,” yuna turns her attention to the next contestant, “it was… brave of you to attempt to learn to rap in just a few days of practice. the parts you were assigned weren’t particularly difficult so you were able to pull it off, but i can’t help but think it’s a bit of a shame… you were awkward and it showed to the point it took away from the entire group’s performance. i think that’s why it came across as amateur-ish in some parts, because you didn’t have the ability to sell the performance with confidence.”

“you’re in a team of talented performers this time, jingren,” ran continues, her voice soft and kind despite the criticism coming from her lips. “unfortunately, that can make it even harder to stand out as a performer yourself. i think you did well with the concept overall, you were rather cute, but as yuna said… your performance skills weren’t up to par with the parts you chose.”

“jingren, i’ll be honest with you,” jihun sits forward in his seat, leaning against the table with a rather grim expression on his face. “if nonstop team doesn’t win this battle, you’re likely to be the member we eliminate. the competition is too tight at this point to be too forgiving with poor performance skills. if you’re a singer, you should sing. why try to pick up rap at this point? it was poor strategy that, again, should have been caught by your coaches. if you have to blame someone for this, blame them.”

the camera zooms in closely on jingren’s expression before the entire team is dismissed from the stage, jian’s bright smile taking over as she announces the next performance will be PUZZLE.

as the PUZZLE team prepares for their stage, the scene shifts to the individual who has been told would embody this elegant and sexy concept the most. SIWOO is seen… practicing how to put a tie on? strangely enough, instead of attempting it on himself, he’s doing so around JIHYUN’s neck instead. unlike the previous team’s harmonious chemistry, there seems to be a more tense air between these two. the contrast is made evident.

“do you know how to be elegant?” siwoo asks, not without what seems to be annoyance.

“i’ve taken etiquette lessons as a child, so elegance should come naturally to me,” jihyun answers, somewhat unfazed despite how long siwoo is taking to put on the tie.

“you needed lessons to learn etiquette?” the question slips out of siwoo as if it’s a challenge, or a pointed and directed attack, as subtle as it may be. what has siwoo so bothered? could it be because of their similar circumstances and background?

it looks like siwoo isn’t the only one feeling rather irritated, because it cuts to jihyun speaking in a manner that’s different than his usual self, as if provoking the other. “tell me more about it, partner in crime. siwoo-ya~?”

the scene remains unresolved, instead switching to siwoo in the interview room. “it seemed like you had some sort of tension with jihyun?” the same disembodied voice asks.

siwoo doesn’t seem to respond much at all, and there seems to be a glimpse of displeasure in his face as the name is brought up. “ah…” is all he says, before the scene changes once more to jihyun in the interview room.

“we were happily bantering with each other. siwoo is kinda fun to tease. we were forced to hold hands at some point to get along… but i dont think it’s that big of a conflict?” jihyun answers instead of siwoo, but not giving a lot of explanation for what had transpired.

thankfully, the other teammates seem to be getting along well. HYUNKI and TOUMA are tasked to edit the choreography to suit the concept they have in mind. hyunki is sitting on the floor. “two teams,” hyunki mentions as he nods—what could that mean? is this team being split into two? no answer is given at this time, instead hyunki continues on. “almost like a battle? we could have moments where we change the formations… angled to face each other, but still be looking towards the judges?”

touma is quick to agree, grinning at his teammate. these two working well together, different from the pair before. “yeah, that’s a good pitch! and the battle commencing would be the best time to finally combine the teams and make one formation. SEIRA could be in the center, and that’s when the reveal happens?” the reveal mentioned is never explained in detail, leaving the audience with a moment of anticipation for what this team had cooked up.

hyunki takes up what he and touma came up with to CHAERIN. “if i’m understanding correctly, you’re saying the formation for this part will be different from the original because of the storyline you’ve created, right?” chaerin asks for confirmation, tablet in hand.

“that’s exactly right, adjusting some of the dance seemed like a great way to help highlight the idea of their being these two separate factions within the group.” hyunki seems confident, but open to feedback from someone clearly more experienced.

“i understand the point of it, but i think you should keep in mind that it may be hard to catch your breath if you’re moving around the stage too much,” chaerin verbalizes her concerns, which hyunki takes in stride.

“touma and i practiced it some with the two of us, and it was alright, but i can see how it might be difficult with the full team. it would be an easy fix though! but thank you for the feedback on this,” hyunki responds, happy to accommodate his coach’s feedback. whether they managed to rework the choreography to satisfy chaerin’s expectations is unclear, though. there’s an underlying concern whether the team can manage the demanding choreography.

perhaps the audience is concerned now, as the camera switches to seira and siwoo, who had struggled with dancing in previous episodes. the two of them are seen practicing together. surprisingly, in spite of seira’s lack of confidence in her dance skills before, she’s giving her teammate advice. “for that part, it looks like you’re not moving your arms fast enough?” she remarks. “you’re having great facial expressions though, and you fit the vibe well, i might have you help me with facial expressions.”

that advice seems to work for siwoo, repeating the steps according to seira’s feedback. “thanks seira,” he smiles. “for facial expressions, i think about how no one else can pull off looking like me… but me.”

“so… i should just act really confident?” she asks with her head tilted. that seems to be the theme surrounding seira for this episode, because in the next scene she is asking NAYOUNG something related to her confidence as well.

“how do you seem so confident when you perform?”seira asks as she’s stuffing a riceball into her mouth, with her coach in front of her. “it always looks like i lack confidence…” she expresses, clearly worried.

“i think confidence comes with practice,” nayoung says, providing guidance. “if you don’t feel confident, you can think of it like…playing the role of someone confident. it’s also helpful to just…pretend to be confident to yourself, too.”

as seira takes a bite out of her kimbap, she follows up with another question. “if i pretend to be confident enough, will i eventually turn confident?”

instead of that question being answered by nayoung, it cuts to nayoung in the interview room. “did you have any worries giving seira such a large role, considering she’s currently ranked last?” the mysterious interviewer questions, although it isn’t expanded on what exactly seira’s role is, leaving suspense for the performance later on.

“we realize it’s a risk, but chaerin and i were in agreement that seira deserved the opportunity to prove she’s better than the rank she received. she, and everyone else, worked really hard. i hope those efforts are evident in the performance, and that the judges can see it.” nayoung speaks realistically and to the point, simultaneously invested in her team’s growth but also coming off professional, able to separate emotions from work. perhaps it’s a trait others would appreciate in a coach.

and just what does seira do with this significant role of hers, propelling her to the center of the storyline?

with a seed of doubt planted, it cuts once more to a montage of seira struggling with the concept itself alongside different teammates: with ARA she says, “for this part, could you help me with facial expressions?” to jihyun she says, “the concept, it’s one i’ve never done before, so i’m a bit unsure about my facial expressions, maybe you could help with that?” to hyunki she says, “for this part, would it fit better if i tried to look serious or sexy?” to touma she says, “i’ve never really done a concept like this before.”

can seira live up to her coaches’ expectations?

for now, it focuses on the first scene, showing a clip of seira and ara practicing together, lighthearted and eager to improve. “why not let me take a breather, and i’ll watch you run through this part and i can give you a few tips?” ara proposes, resting against the mirror.

“look for the small things too, they’re also important,” seira requests with a giggle.

ara’s voice can be heard as the pair continue with their practice. “while helping seira with expressions and dance, it also helped me out greatly too. it is true what they say, that teaching something is also one of the best methods of knowing your own material.”

when it comes to workshopping characters, ara and hyunki seem to be having a blast discussing them. “i think i might want to go the angle of a little sneaky myself, a bit mysterious and lurking myself, in some movements if possible,” ara tells her teammate, clearly having put a lot of thought into who she will be portraying. “have you gotten close to finalizing what you want to do for your character?”

“i think so, not that you’ll know much about my character, seeing as you’ll never catch me,” hyunki teases, dropping hints to the audience what character dynamics would be at play on stage.

ara is also working with jihyun when it comes to perfecting dynamics on stage. “do you want this? why don’t you come get it and be lured in by my trap?” jihyun provokes his teammate, holding a phone to his chest like it’s a precious item.

“i won’t perish in your trap… even if it is tempting to get caught up in the lure,” ara replies with determination. it seems the members are enjoying themselves when it comes to the process of building their characters.

but not everyone is breezing through this. touma is seen with jihyun, seeking his fellow contestant for a reason. “you’re all about elegance and… sexiness. any tips on how to… be both of those things on stage?”

it looks like jihyun almost laughs, but doesn’t. instead, jihyun starts explaining by taking touma’s hand. “everyone perceives sexiness differently. play it cool, know how to gaze into their eyes and then smile at the right moment” jihyun gently traces a finger across touma’s palm. “when you do this quickly, it’s not sexy at all… but when you do it slowly, you’re bound to feel something tingly.” that seems to make something click in touma. just like jihyun had flustered stevie in the previous episode—a clip in the corner shows stevie’s reaction from episode three once again as this scene unfolds—jihyun had succeeded in flustering touma as well.

touma seems to be whispering something into jihyun’s ear afterwards, but nothing can be inferred from that short conversation. whatever it was, it got jihyun to laugh; completely different from his interaction with siwoo.

even with his confidence when it came to teaching touma about the vibes of the concept, jihyun isn’t without his own qualms. he seems confused, at wits end even, as he’s seeking some sort of clarity from nayoung. “is there something in me that isn’t shining like the others?” it’s a heavy question, albeit slightly cryptic.

nayoung keeps it honest and blunt, like always. “i think you're a little bit forgettable right now. you just really need to look at it as your time to shine. for now...just perform like it's the last chance you'll get to. hopefully it's not, but if it was, you'd want to give it everything you have and make sure you leave everyone something to remember you by.”

nayoung isn’t just working with jihyun, though. the scene briefly cuts to her working with siwoo, rubbing his shoulders with what seems to be newfound determination, a refreshing state of siwoo’s considering his previously lacking attitude and motivation. “our team has good dancers… i don’t want to fade into the background.” is he finally taking this competition seriously?

“their main issue, in my opinion, is mostly just…believing they’re capable, opposed to their actual skills.” nayoung’s voice is heard as her scenes with the two boys play. “ i think they lacked most when it came to confidence. all of that to say, by the time performance day came, i had the utmost confidence in them.”

chaerin is now the focus of the interview room. “i have personally seen each and every one of you do your best for this performance.” a short clips cuts in, showing chaerin working with touma and siwoo on their singing. “even if things don’t work out exactly how you want it to, just know that somebody knows that you have put your all into it.” she does a little fighting gesture, chuckling.

with each team member working desperately on what they lack, eager to prove themselves to the judges and climb the ranks—how will this performance fare?

there’s no need to wait any longer, as the team members ready themselves for their performance. but instead of opening with the faces of all the contestants, it starts with three of the contestants staring at a makeshift police board, analyzing. touma, ara and seira have taken the role of detectives, which means the other three (siwoo, hyunki, jihyun) have been appointed criminals.

“when we were contemplating the elegant and sexy concept and how it worked with the song itself, we all pretty quickly decided on the idea of criminals and detectives, with one of the detectives actually being another criminal.” hyunki’s voice can be heard as the performance continues, explaining the concept. “we wanted to play with the lyrics that speak about solving puzzle. so the criminals are art thieves who stole a piece of puzzle art, and are leaving small clues along the way for the detectives to follow. they also are confused because the criminals leave the playing cards as a calling card, one for each suit, but they don’t know which criminal represents the diamond, until the end,” he explained, referencing to seira’s reveal.”

the detectives are the only ones visible on stage for the moment, looking at pictures of several art pieces along with images of the three known criminals decorated with their card suits. however, there is one card suit with no corresponding criminal. this seems to be important, but before the audience can start speculating the detectives begin their routine, with seira’s lines being the opener.

so this is the division of teams that hyunki had mentioned, it’s also clear that they’ve included a modified version of the choreography. one that gives the vision of chasing and dodging, a game of cat and mouse. there’s a certain ‘catch me if you can’ aura throughout this performance, with jihyun provoking touma through glances and gestures, as well as siwoo’s eyes finding the camera with a teasing smile, as if daring the audience to look for him. hyunki, too, continued to escape the detective’s grasp. the three criminals remain cocky and confident.

siwoo is seen with the rest of the criminals on the other side of the stage, dropping a large puzzle piece that seems to be taken in as evidence. once siwoo’s first verse closes, the six members come together for a complete formation. this must be the battle that hyunki and touma had discussed prior, where the detectives and criminals are facing one another. a few more puzzle pieces are dropped for the detectives to find, and the song continues on.

at jihyun’s climatic line, the bgm starts to fade out and the puzzle is once again highlighted, the object of the crime. there are two puzzle pieces missing. in this moment, seira takes her detective jacket off and reveals her a diamond attached to her outfit, putting the missing pieces into the puzzle—which is one of the next gen logo. with this, it is concluded that seira had been an undercover criminal this entire time, which must be what nayoung had been referring to during her interview.

the formation returns to six once more, everyone performing the last chorus completed with jihyun’s adlibs. it’s a dramatic scene of triumph and betrayal, a neat closure to a tense storyline.

after applause dies down, the team gathers themselves for their critique.

“did you know that i love crime shows?” ran’s smile is wide as she prepares to review puzzle team’s performance. “so this concept was a real treat for me! you pulled off the detective and criminal concept elegantly, which can be difficult to do considering it’s so easily confused with the children’s game. and tying the title of the song, ‘puzzle’, into your performance by leaving puzzles and clues for the detectives to follow… it was a very nice touch. whose idea was that? nayoung, did you help with that?” ran asks her trainee, clearly approving regardless of who takes credit. “and the grand reveal at the end… oh, i just love it. i felt like i was watching a movie, it was fantastic.”

“where nonstop team came across as a high school theatre performance, puzzle team looked more prepared for broadway,” jihun points out, “nothing against the production value our stage teams put together, and maybe the concepts themselves lent to the difference, but there was clearly more refinement from this team. having an active representative from sr media no doubt helped your performance, which nonstop team also lacked. ah, it’s a shame that we only have one team to compare with, so far,” he sighs, “but you certainly sold us elegance and sexiness.”

yuna sits forward in her seat a bit before delivering her first round of critique of this team. “conceptually, it wasn’t that different from A.MAZE’s sherlock,” yuna points out, the creativity not totally as unique as the others seemed to make it out to be. “but you added new layers to the story that weren’t told before. the playing cards, the heist, the grand reveal… even if you took inspiration from another sr media group, you were still able to make the concept your own, which is impressive in its own right. congratulations on a successful performance, i think as a whole you’ve impressed all three of us.”

“except TOUMA,” yuna continues into individual critiques immediately, “i think you were in your head too much with this performance. you looked like you were fighting the concept more than you were living it, especially in the first part of the performance. the only time your expressions were believable was during your exchange with jihyun. your tone was flat, your dancing was too methodical, and the immersion was broken whenever i was watching you. you did seem to improve your vocals though, so good job on that.”

yuna’s curt review is followed up by ran, who addresses the contestants a little more gently. “you weren’t very comfortable being sexy, were you touma?” she asks, the camera zooming in on touma’s reaction before she continues. “we wanted to challenge you with this concept and… well, you were definitely challenged. maybe we pushed a bit too hard. is there another concept you would have preferred?” again, the camera waits for touma’s reaction. “you did well despite the hardships and i want to commend you for giving it your best without giving up.”

“at least you’re singing better now,” jihun remarks, his words far from soft and gentle as ran’s had been. “as long as we see improvement, we know we’re putting you down the right path. maybe this wasn’t your favorite concept, but you have to trust us a bit more that we know what we’re doing and embrace change more quickly. you did alright. not great, but it’s passable. you didn’t let your team down.” that’s the closest one can get to a compliment from jihun.

“ARA,” jihun turns his attention to the girl once his evaluation of touma is complete, “you seem to be balancing the desire to stand out with the need to support your team. it’s not an easy happy medium to figure out. in fact, it’s one of the hardest things even our trainees have to navigate. these people are your competition, but they’re also your key to the next phase in your career. how do you address that?” he pauses as the camera pans down the puzzle team lineup. “i think you found that balance this time. i could see your ambition, but you didn’t sell out your team to climb to the top. kudos, or whatever.”

“it won’t kill you to give a compliment every now and then,” ran swats jihun’s arm lightly, though she turns to ara with a smile. “ara, you played your part to perfection,” ran praises the girl warmly, “you stood out in a good way, as one of the most comfortable people on stage so far tonight. but, as jihun said, not in a way that made the rest of your team look bad. you were clearly giving this performance your all, which is exactly what we want to see from every contestant at this stage in the competition. it’s only their own fault if they don’t, at this point.”

“you’re a good singer and even better dancer,” yuna compliments the girl, “and i think we were all pleasantly surprised by how well you adopted this concept and absolutely owned the stage. you gave us a good performance. honestly, i don’t really have many notes here for you. if anything, just watch your energy to make sure it’s consistent throughout your performance. it’s okay to be tired at the end.”

“great job, ara,” ran congratulates the contestant one more time.

“HYUNKI… you disappeared into this performance, a little bit,” yuna comments, looking down at something written in front of her before she continues. “you didn’t really have many lines. why was that? the song is a bit rap-heavy, sure, but were you really so content not to give it a shot just to give yourself more time in center stage? you should be a little greedier. this is a competition, don’t forget.”

“yuna’s right,” jihun frowns. “were you really satisfied with the parts you were given? i like to see a little more ambition out of my trainees, especially in the later stages of a competition. did you get complacent just because we gave you a good ranking a couple of times? don’t forget that hangyeol has been first place twice now. you may have been our male center, but you don’t have that much room to fall back on your laurels.” of course the rivalry manufactured early in the season comes back to haunt the contestants now. of course jihun would be the one to bring it up.

ran chooses her words carefully before continuing the critique. “your brand of sexy was a bit… unlikable, at times,” she admits, seemingly unable to find the right words. “cocky can be charming, or sometimes it’s just boastful and loud. i think your performance fell into the second half, i wasn’t as charmed with you as i was with some of your teammates. it’s okay to do things outside of your own comfort zone, but i thought you would handle this concept better.”

“hangyeol would have,” jihun butts in, again bringing up the rivalry. ran doesn’t respond.

the camera watches hyunki’s expression for a moment before turning to the next contestant to face the judges’ criticism, RYU SIWOO.

“siwoo, did you finally wake up and join us?” jihun almost laughs as he addresses the contestant. “don’t think we didn’t notice your apathy in the early rounds, especially compared to how much you seemed to care about this performance now. were you frustrated? did you want to do better? good. that’s what we want to see. if you didn’t, we’d have to send you home by now. we knew you had it in you.” he almost seems smug, as if this discovery was something that jihun himself was responsible for and not siwoo’s own decision to lock in on this competition.

“as expected, this was your concept,” ran beams. “you fit sexy well… your looks help, but your demeanor and expressions during this performance looked so natural. you liked it too, didn’t you?” she teases lightly, a bright smile on her lips as she compliments the contestant. “i think this was our best performance from you yet, siwoo. keep it up and i can’t wait to see what you’ll show us next time.”

yuna presses her lips together in a tight smile. “jihun and ran have praised you for this concept, so i feel it’s my responsibility to point out that your performance skills still aren’t quite up to par. you know this, don’t you? you can cover it up with stage presence and good looks to some extent, but it won’t last forever. siwoo, i hope you continue to take this seriously and show us an even better performance next time. now that you seem more focused, i’ll look forward to how much you can grow.”

“speaking of growth,” ran moves on, “can we talk about JIHYUN’s stage presence? to be honest, at the start of this competition, you looked rather… robotic on stage, jihyun. but this performance… whew!” ran fans herself with her hand as if cooling herself off. “you certainly figured out how to embrace sexy! we knew you had it in you, we’re just glad to see it come out by the time you stood on stage. excellent work.”

“were you really provoking touma on stage?” jihun smiles, amused at what he had witnessed on stage. “i don’t know what’s going on between you two, but we’ve noticed that you seem to be more competitive with each other than the other contestants. it worked well for this performance and you didn’t sacrifice teamwork for whatever it is between you two. sometimes rivalry can bring out the best in both parties. keep at it.”

“this was our best performance from you yet,” yuna smiles, and then glances sideways at ran. “and i’ll admit, i was rather captivated by your performance tonight as well. i’m not sure there’s a girl watching at home who didn’t fall for you a little bit!” she laughs, not at all embarrassed; this is the job of an idol after all. “you sing well, you’re dancing better every episode, and you finally found your confidence on stage. if you can bring that same energy to the finale, you’ll be a hard opponent to beat. great job.”

next to face the attention of the judges is SEIRA, and as yuna picks up the microphone she doesn’t look too happy about what she has to say. “seira,” she sighs, pausing for a moment before deciding how to continue. “you know the phrase ‘fake it until you make it,’ right? we can tell you’re still faking it and haven’t made it yet.”

yuna shakes her head. “i don’t know where to begin. you had the most important role in this concept and yet you didn’t seem special at all on stage. your expressions were inconsistent with the vibes of the performance, your performance itself seemed stiff and robotic, and you keep saying you’ll improve your skills and yet we hardly see a difference from when you first started this competition. i know you worked hard, but it seems that you lack focus and direction.”

“it’s disappointing, to be honest,” jihun also looks unhappy, though that’s not uncommon. “your team trusted you with this role and i’m not sure why when you’ve proved to us over and over again that you can’t stand on stage without leaning on someone else for support. it’s fine to work in a team, but what are you actually good at? if even you can’t confidently say anything, how are we supposed to believe you have any ability? you should be doing better by now. thank your team, since they carried you once again.”

ran purses her lips together. she doesn’t want to be as harsh as jihun, but something has to be said. “i don’t think you were ready for this performance,” she sighs. “i don’t know whether it’s a maturity issue, a skill issue, or if you just don’t have the talent at this point. i hate to be harsh, but you have to understand that we’re late in the competition. everything matters more now. you lack focus in tackling your weaknesses and your performance suffered for it. i’m sorry, seira. if your team doesn’t take first place, you’re in serious danger.”

the camera zooms in close on seira’s face, now the second contestant of the night to receive a similar critique. it’ll all come down to the final judgements at the end of the episode. puzzle team is dismissed from the stage shortly afterward.

before how practice had gone for the ADRENALINE team is shown on screen, there’s the sound of a loud bang of a door cutting in, along with intelligible noises of what seems to be a heated conversation. glimpses of balled fists and shaky hands flit across the screen, followed by murmurs and whispers indiscernible behind the restroom door. just what had happened amongst these team members?

leaving that for later, the camera focuses on INHO and JAEYOUNG, talking about their concept ahead. it seems that the two of them are working on their characters. “do you consider yourself a nerd?” inho asks his companion. it sounds like a random question, a completely different vibe from the preview that was shown earlier.

“i consider myself an enigma,” jaeyoung doesn’t flinch as he says it, uttered with utmost conviction. but he follows that up with a more appropriate answer. “ if i had to say… i guess i’d be the nerd spitting random facts and talking incessantly because i’m socially awkward and spend most of my days buried in books.” why are they talking about nerds, exactly? could this be part of their concept? “you can be the musical nerd. theatre kid vibes, maybe,” jaeyoung urges, giving his teammate suggestions.

“i don’t think i have ever identified myself with the concept of ‘teen crush’ or 'bright’, both of those were ones i knew i would find myself being more uncomfortable with.” inho is seen in the interview room, speaking on his thoughts about the concept he was given. “as we practiced i found myself becoming more and more comfortable with the concept and the storyline.”

“isn’t that you everyday?” inho asks first with an obvious teasing cadence, it’s clear that the two of them have a friendly relationship now, inho listening to jaeyoung’s ramblings with patience. “the music nerd, though, that makes sense for me i think.” luckily, it seems inho is finding his footing even with a concept that he doesn’t seem to be as excited about at first.

jaeyoung seem to be helping others feel in touch with their inner nerdiness, seeing as he’s also talking to KAITO. “have you thought about what cool thing you want to do to impress the popular cheerleader?” he asks, immediately following that up with another question. “actually, do you think i look nerdy enough as is?”

kaito doesn’t seem to mind, answering the questions in succession. “i’m stuck on either bringing a guitar, ‘failing’ to dance, or even just straight up tripping and making myself look like a fool,” the last idea being said in jest. “you look great. what do you think about me?” kaito returns the question, pushing up the glasses he’s wearing.

“it suits you. not all nerds wear glasses though. should we add braces to the costume?” jaeyoung adds on, although it’s clear in the way he said it that it’s not a genuine suggestion.

it seems kaito and inho share the same sentiment when it comes to the concept of teen crush, holding the belief that it’s far from their area of expertise. perhaps because they’re aware of this, they’re discussing their preparations for their future role and how they feel about it. “so, do you think you’re ready to go up there and show how ‘nerdy’ we can be?” kaito asks in a joking manner, gesturing to their attires later—although, the audience doesn’t get to see it just yet. “i wonder if i should have just dressed this comfortably when i was in school.” he tilts his head, as if he’s trying to be cute in that moment.

“ready as i’ll ever be,” inho responds, seeming amused at kaito’s cutesy act. “comfortable was always better if we didn’t have to wear uniforms, but you might wanna work on the aegyo,” he says, teasing his teammate.

“i don’t think i was actually made for the whole 'aegyo’ thing, but if i somehow manage to make it to the very end… well i’ll do my best to show the best aegyo at the finale just for you.” it’s an optimistic promise that kaito is making, hopefully that statement becomes true.

on the other side, stevie and JIAYI can be seen working on the choreography. “what do you think about this?” stevie showcases a few moves to jiayi, seeking her approval and commentary. “looks kinda powerful? maybe? might fit with the drop.”

“i like that it follows the beat drop,” jiayi compliments. “what if we continue that trend throughout the rest of the dance intro?” she hands out her own idea, contributing.

“i think it’ll flow nice. we could add a few transitions too… maybe take turns on each side? so they’d have to pan from side to side? two on the side, then one in the middle to bring it all forward? that could lean towards the end of the intro, if anything.” he speaks as he repeats his motions. “what do you think? am i cooking here?” stevie cracks a joke, grinning.

jiayi is on board. “a panorama of the team. instead of an ending fairy, we’ll have a beginning fairy!” whether a ‘beginning fairy’ will happen or not, will only be shown during the performance itself.

inho seems to be taking on an older sibling figure in this team, helping both stevie and jiayi with their concerns vocal-wise. first, the screen features inho and stevie. “what can i lend my ear for?” inho tells stevie, always willing to help, patient when he speaks and guides a teammate.

“i think i’m good with the tone, but i think my breath control could use a little work…” stevie admits.

“show me what you got so far, and we’ll figure out what we can do to get you a bit steadier. i struggled with that when i was younger,” inho replies, turning his full attention towards stevie. before that scene can be resolved though, it cuts to inho and jiayi instead, working on vocals once more.

“how have you felt about our run throughs so far?” inho asks when he walks over to jiayi. “i think our pitch sounds good together.”

"i thought at first, maybe the harmonies would sound better if it were you and another one of the boys singing this part, but i think it's contrasting in a good way. it adds another layer of . . . depth?" jiayi seems confused at her own wording, but inho is capable of understanding her.

“it definitely adds nice layers as we are winding down the song. sure, me and one of the boys would sound great together i’m sure, but i like it as the two of us.” inho confirms, hopefully putting jiayi at ease. perhaps inho is gifted as a coach, too? or is this because he is familiar with the role of an older sibling?

that being said, the coaches aren’t sitting idly by either. SARANG, with skills in stage presence and performance, is guiding stevie in the right direction with expressions and the like. “i think it’d be fun to do like, some audience eye contact– throw out some more cheeky grins. more personality? that kind of thing. what do you think?” stevie seems eager for a dash of sarang’s wisdom.

“i think that’s perfect, and i think you have the natural ability to know when to milk those moments, and when to lean away from them,” sarang notes. “definitely keep your expressions varied through the ending, but when you strike your final pose, find your camera, and shine; treat that lens as if it’s your favorite person in the world and show it all the love you can!” it’s a helpful imagery, one that stevie seems to understand.

“i think i can do that. i just have to settle on what expression i’d wanna make,” stevie concludes, seemingly thinking about what he should do.

as stevie continues to rehearses in front of sarang’s watchful eyes, stevie can be heard speaking throughout the clip. “i thought it was fun. our song choice helped– it calls for bright and upbeat, and it’s hard not to be when you’re singing along, y’know?” although his face can’t be seen at the moment, it’s obvious that stevie is smiling as he talks. “and everyone was super involved, i feel. there was a lot that we could do with it, but i think we’re all happy with what we ended up with.”

once again, the unseen interviewer poses a question. “you think? were there any disagreements in the creative process?”

it’s then that the screen switches to stevie in his interview room, capturing the nervous look on his face and the shaken laugh. “i mean…a little? i think we all can agree tensions are a little…crazy with how things went last episode. a little probably carried over those first few days.”

finally, there’s a shot of RENYI in frame, accompanied by the voice of jihun in his moment of anger. it plays in the background as ren is closely observing one of the contestants. “renyi, i hope this was an oversight on your part and not an intentional contingency plan for teammates you preferred,” is one of the lines being replayed. “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?” jihun’s voice can be heard yet again, almost haunting.

there’s a few cuts on screen as jihun’s voice continues, particularly of ren paying extra attention to little details, every small mistake like the next tick to a bomb. stevie in particular seems to have noticed, on edge, almost like he expected ren to snap at one point. but stevie isn’t the one gracing ren’s attention. it’s jaeyoung, the contestant that ren is currently watching.

after splitting off into individual practice, jaeyoung had been dancing, until something seems to have popped into his head. he pauses for a moment, walking over to his bag to take out a pen, scribbling something into his palm. unfortunately, that is the last straw for ren. “the winner of this battle is team a, but only because we can’t have two losers,” jihun’s voice plays once more as ren stands up, approaching jaeyoung, asking whoever is nearby to shut down the music.

“do you think because you got a bit of praise last time you can do whatever you want now?” even though he’s spouting harsh words, it seems as if it’s almost against his own will. and yet, it continues to spill out of him. “look around. everyone else here was ranked higher than you, and yet you’re practicing the least. is this a joke to you? because for some of us, this is a future. maybe the only future we know. and if you aren’t taking this seriously, you should leave now.” the words are eerily familiar to the things jihun had said before, whether ren noticed or not though is up to interpretation.

before jaeyoung gives his responds, the scene cuts to jaeyoung in the interview room instead. “i take every comment and feedback that’s given to me seriously. i will respond accordingly, too.” jaeyoung puts on what looks like a diplomatic smile, something that he hadn’t done before throughout the show. “i have nothing else to say here—everything i needed to say, has already been conveyed to whoever needs to hear it. that’s all.”

the scene returns to the confrontation, with jaeyoung wearing that same smile he had in the interview room. it’s almost jarring, uncanny. “thank you for your feedback, i appreciate it. earlier too, i appreciated that you steered our concept in the right direction.” it’s clear he tried to make it sound genuine and polite, but it doesn’t come off that way. “i know you’ve been paying extra close attention to me in particular since we finished discussing our concept,” it’s a subtle shade and jab from jaeyoung’s part. it’s revealed then that what jaeyoung had written were things related to the stage, plans and ideas that he had been thinking about for his own part. “i’ve been racking my head wondering what i’ve been doing wrong, realized working with a team meant compromises. it’s why i waited until individual practices to actually start brainstorming so i don’t hinder joint practice.”

when jaeyoung lifts his gaze towards ren’s, it almost feels like a challenge, despite his smile there’s clearly a fury in there that he can’t contain. “what are we to you, exactly? just tools for you to prove your worth? your second chance to show you-know-who that you deserved your prize last season? a trophy for you to present to your ceo as a 'hey-i-did-this-please-keep-me’ thing? our lives are the ones on the line, and here you are plastering your failure onto all of us. waiting for one of us to mess up, maybe. i don’t know. you know yourself best. if you can’t handle the pressure of coaching, of training, of failing to do all that—why did you sign up?” it’s a long-winded speech, only fueling the rising tension between both parties. he looks frustrated, perhaps he realized that arguing with one of last season’s winners wasn’t a very good idea?

of course, ren doesn’t take too kindly to that—that’s to be expected, he almost seems to crumble and break. whether from the pressure as whole or jaeyoung’s words, only ren knows. “do you know that every day, when you go home after filming, we go back to training? that not only do i have to make sure you’re good enough, but i have to make sure i’m not getting worse too? that at any moment, on any day, it doesn’t matter how long i’ve trained, someone can decide i don’t have what it takes? nobody here is guaranteed anything. not you. not me. not anybody. i’m grateful to be here every day, even if it’s with someone like you. you should act like it.” ren sounds tired, the stress reaching its peak.

but that seems to be the end of it, for now. the rest of the group is staring at the pair, the cameras still pointed at them. it’s an uncomfortable situation, where only silence permeates. eventually though, ren speaks up. “i need a break, i’ll leave first.”

the only one who follows after the trainee is sarang. the two enter the restroom, and that’s when the clip ends. compared to dohyun, who had gone through the same brutal criticism, it doesn’t seem like ren has a lot of faith in his team.

there is no conclusion to this fight, really. instead, stevie’s voice can be heard again. “i think i’m being more hopeful, than anything. but i guess, yeah. i am pretty confident with what we’ve done. i think everyone worked hard on it– tirelessly, too. maybe that’s why.” a hopeful lilt, despite what had been shown previously.

with that, the team’s performance is slated to begin.

the setting of the stage is a classroom, with the contestants wearing outfits corresponding to their characters. which, in this case, are a bunch of nerds—except for jiayi, tasked with the role of being the popular cheerleader that everyone is head over heels for and fighting over. as she passes by, the boys act like lovesick fools vying for her attention, following her like a bunch of ducks. each nerd brings out something cool to impress her: stevie doing a trick with his skateboard, inho with his electric guitar, jaeyoung with his small board with difficult math equations.

they all fall into formation for a dance break intro, focused on introducing jiayi as everyone’s crush, highlighting her like the sea parting as she walks on.

jaeyoung’s voice can be heard playing in the background as the dance intro continues. “i think we did pretty well. we worked together and created something fun to watch! my favourite part was working on the dance intro.” it’s shown to be a self-choreographed dance intro, with contributions from stevie, kaito and jaeyoung, something original that they had done for this stage.

the choreography starts off rather simple, but slowly begins to progress as the melody makes a change. it builds up as it goes on, eventually dropping into adrenaline. this team is taking the romantic comedy route with their storyline. everyone seems confident in their performance, with hints of cheeky smiles and boyish attitudes. there’s also a chemistry of rivals mixed in, tensions and heat rising as they compete for the hand of the popular cheerleader. there’s a few petty glances and looks, particularly from jaeyoung, but it seems in sync.

stevie gives a wink, as jiayi smoothly glides to the front. the ending slowly approaches, everyone looking like they have a good time. they strike their ending pose, before it turns to another brief skit. each nerd looks at jiayi with expectations, begging her to choose. instead, jiayi acts unimpressed, choosing no one and confidently walking off. the boys act distraught, there’s even a small yell of “wait! give me a chance!” in the midst of it all. stevie lags behind for a moment, throwing some of the confetti in the air before laughing and continuing with the chase.

after a moment of applause, the team returns to their positions on stage, awaiting their critiques.

“it was cute!” ran laughs into her microphone, her expression bright at first before it fades into a more serious look. “but your concept wasn’t cute, it was teen crush. i couldn’t help but feel that you missed the mark just a bit. teen crush is supposed to be the enviable kids, the popular students who exude confidence and invite others to be like them. i can’t help but think that only jiayi really fit that role in your performance. the rest felt a bit.. comedic. it didn’t suit the image we asked you to portray.”

“like ran said, the performance was enjoyable, but that doesn’t mean that we think it checked the boxes we assigned to you. teen crush is a tricky concept, it’s a bit vague compared to ‘sexy’ or ‘cute’ like the other teams, but groups like our PRIZM have set an example of what it should look like,” yuna sighs. “there was also tension on the team that bled into the performance, wasn’t there? it’s fine, teams fight sometimes, but you have to put that behind you before stepping on stage.”

where yuna seemed unwilling to call out any particular contestant, jihun has no such reservations. “RENYI,” he frowns, though it doesn’t seem to be directed at the trainee behind some of the drama. “i wish DOHYUN had half the fight you do. you should be upset after i tell you you’re doing something wrong. and then you should fix it. you took steps to improve and to help your team, even if they didn’t want to hear what you had to say. dohyun disappeared.”

jihun shakes his head. “as for the performance itself, i’m surprised that a sr media trainee would let this group stray so far from the concept they were assigned. surely you knew the difference, right?” he looks directly at sarang, though he doesn’t scold someone else’s trainee any more. that’s not jihun’s place, after all.

“as we said, JIAYI was the only contestant who we felt fit the teen crush concept,” ran kicks off the individual critiques on a high note, at least. “it makes sense since she was the object of everyone’s affections and the literal ‘crush’ everyone was interested in, but why couldn’t the rest of the team be less…”

“losers?” jihun suggests when ran struggles to find the words. she shoots him a glare but seems to accept that description.

“your confidence definitely shined during this performance,” ran commends the girl, “good job for not letting the boys take over or bully you into the background. you were the star and you played your role well. great job, jiayi.”

“your expressions were especially good this time,” yuna praises the girl as well, “a little bit of cheekiness fit the role really well and made you very charming to watch. the boys didn’t know what was coming, did they?” she laughs. “as ran said, your role was the most ‘teen crush’ role on the entire team. it’s just a shame you had to sell the concept all by yourself; that’s too much even to ask a more experienced idol group. you should have all worked together to build the concept, but that’s not your fault. great job.”

“i can see why none of the boys impressed you,” jihun almost laughs himself. “they didn’t impress us either. you did, however. whatever the fate of adrenaline team may be, you’ll be safe. your performance ensured that.”

while the judges had nothing but high praise for jiayi, it’s not such the case for KAITO.

“honestly, i don’t even know what to say,” yuna sighs, flipping through the papers in front of her as if searching for some sort of comment on the young man’s performance. “you completely disappeared on stage, as if you were never even there. at this stage in the competition, that’s not acceptable. you know that, right?”

“she’s right,” jihun agrees, his expression significantly darker than it had been when talking to jiayi. “you didn’t show up at all, kaito. are you taking this competition seriously? do you want to be here? it’s too late to replace you now, but at least it makes our decision easier should someone from this team have to be eliminated tonight.”

ran folds her hands in front of her, clearly unhappy about having to lay down the law with another contestant. “you’ve done well in the competition to make it this far, but your past performances don’t count toward what you showed us tonight. whatever happens… just understand that we gave you every opportunity we could.”

a deep sigh passes through all of the judges, trying to shake off the tension before they turn their attention to the next contestant.

“JAEYOUNG,” jihun begins, “did you really have to fight with renyi?” however, he doesn’t seem that upset. “was that the only way to make you wake up on stage? you were dancing like you had something to prove for the first time. this might have been your best performance yet. and while we’ve critiqued the overall concept, you played the competitive part of your character well. but that’s about it.” he straightens his papers in front of him. “rivalry is a good motivator, as i said before, but you’d be wise to listen to your seniors too. they do know what they’re talking about.”

“as jihun said, you played your role well,” ran takes over before the tension can mount any more. “there was a fierceness to your competition for jiayi’s heart that the others lacked. while nerds aren’t really the best suited for the concept we asked for, your character seemed to be the closest. you were focused and confident this time and it came across well on stage.”

yuna picks up her microphone last. “if i had one criticism, it’d be that your skills seem a bit… average. you did well with this performance as far as your character work went, but it didn’t quite translate to the way you sang and danced. like, your face had a good expression, but your body language lacked a bit. you performed cleanly, but too cleanly, if you understand what i mean.”

“thank you for your performance, jaeyoung,” ran smiles once more.

“INHO,” ran kicks off the next contestant’s critique, “do you not like the concept we assigned you?” she waits for a response, the slightest frown on a normally warm and happy face. “even if you hated it, i wish you had been a little more enthusiastic on stage. unfortunately, your feelings about this song and concept showed in your performance and impacted your ability to tell the story. we know you’re not actually interested in jiayi, but it was your responsibility to make us forget that for at least a minute. you failed, in that regard.”

yuna sighs as she picks up her microphone. “unfortunately, it’s not just your acting performance that suffers when you dislike a song or concept so much. you’re a better performer than we saw tonight. you can sing and dance better than what we saw. even if you hate it, you should put your energy into pretending otherwise. you owe it to your team to leave your ego at the door when you walk into this competition. you’re all at the same level, you know that right? you’re not better than them for thinking you’re too mature for the teen crush concept.”

“more than that, it’s disrespectful to us, the judges, who assigned your teams,” jihun frowns. “as we said, we chose concepts we thought would fit each contestant or challenge you to put on the best possible performance. do you not trust us to know what we’re doing? do you think you know better?” jihun stares down the contestant, waiting for an apology before continuing. “you should be worried about your rank tonight.” he warns.

“STEVEN, on the other hand,” jihun changes his attention to the final contestant on the team, “lived and breathed the concept, didn’t you?” a slight smile appears on the man’s face, the smallest sign of approval of the contestant before him. “were you a nerd in school? you almost played the part too well,” he laughs, almost mockingly if it weren’t for the way he had praised stevie before. “you looked like you were having fun on stage, which suits the concept. if you hadn’t gone for a nerd concept, i think you would have suited teen crush even better than jiayi.”

“can you show us the skateboard thing again?” ran beams brightly, enthralled by stevie’s performance. “i hadn’t seen anyone do that on stage before! while i do think you were a bit more cute than teen crush, i think it was more of the fault of the character you were assigned rather than your own performance. it’s alright to be a bit of a loser, but you have to be an endearing loser. you fit that role well, great job on this performance.”

“besides the fact that you acted well,” yuna takes over, “your dancing was also the best on your team. you seemed to feel the music move through you and had a great natural groove. honestly, i kept finding my eyes landing on you during the performance in a good way; i was having fun watching you perform. great job, steven. you’ve really grown a lot.” yuna smiles.

with all performances concluded, all three teams return to the stage with jian standing in the middle of them. “after much deliberation, the judges have come to a decision on which team is the winner of the concept evaluation,” she holds up a folded card, the results written inside and hidden from view. “the team in first place and safe from any elimination is… PUZZLE TEAM!”

a moment for celebration and congratulations is shared before the contestants calm down again. puzzle team leaves the stage for the moment, all members safe, while NONSTOP and ADRENALINE teams will be losing members.

“we’ll start with our last place team, ADRENALINE,” jian announces. “JAEYOUNG, JIAYI, STEVIE, please step forward.” as the three contestants step forward, spotlights shining down on them, the music suddenly turns intense. “the three of you are… safe! please return back stage for the moment while eliminations are decided.” the three teammates say a quick good bye to the remainder of their team before disappearing backstage. only KAITO and INHO are left.

“one of you will be going home,” jian tells them. “unfortunately, the contestant we’ll be saying good bye to is… KAITO.”

“kaito, you just didn’t make an impression on us at all with this performance, so we had to let you go. we hope that you continue to improve your abilities and we see you on stage again someday,” ran informs the eliminated contestant, an unhappy expression on her face as if she didn’t really want to eliminate anyone at all. alas, rules are rules.

a moment for good byes is given before both contestants return backstage, where a camera captures the tearful moments with the entirety of adrenaline team saying good bye to their eliminated teammate. the moment is only a few seconds and yet still seems too long before the scene returns to the stage where nonstop team awaits the same fate.

“JINGREN and YUWOL, please step forward,” jian asks them. “the two of you are… NOT SAFE.” the remainder of the contestants are dismissed backstage again as the two bottom ranked members of nonstop team are left alone with jian to announce their fate.

“do you have any final words for our viewers?” jian asks the two, giving them each a moment to speak before she returns to the task at hand. “i’m sorry to say that the final contestant leaving us tonight is… JINGREN.”

“jingren, you had the unfortunate coincidence of just being the lowest ranking person on an otherwise very talented team,” yuna explains. “it was a hard decision to make, please believe us. unfortunately, someone had to go home and the others on your team out-performed you in this one particular performance. you’re still very much a talented individual and we have no doubt that this is not the last we’ll see from you.”

as with adrenaline team, nonstop team is given time backstage to say goodbye to their eliminated teammate.

with the eliminations complete, all contestants are brought back to the stage to see the rankings and reveal the next episode.

“the next episode will be our LIVE FINALE,” jian announces, “you will all be performing original songs, never before seen or heard on any stage, all in front of a live audience of next gen fans! the fans have voted for what songs they’d like each of you to perform, so let’s see our teams for the finale!”

the screen changes to the lineup of each team, a short snipped of the song assigned to them playing as the names appear on screen.

“the top three ranked contestants will be offered a contract from any company of their choosing,” jian explains the stakes again to the contestants, “with the runner-ups receiving a contract from one of the three companies, should they want to sign them. this final performance will decide your fate, so please prepare diligently! we’ll see you LIVE on the next episode!”

do better plays louder in the background before the credits begin to play on screen.

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