#minor!

what did you think of the results last week?

“harsh as always,” hyojin says with a soulless laugh, before his eyes widen and he covers his mouth, “am i allowed to say that on broadcast? it’s just shocking how tough the ceos can be when deciding on who passes and who doesn’t. that’s what i mean -- i don’t think they’re out to get us, or anything, but it’s just surprising sometimes. my heart hurts for them.”

he says this, thinking of daniel and minhyun, wondering if the worry he felt was even a fraction of what daniel was feeling right now. that man seemed to have the world on his shoulders.

how was it like working with daniel?

“it was great!” smiling his signature shy, albeit soft smile, hyojin’s eyes curl up into pretty half moons before he elaborates, stating, “daniel is really creative with what he does, so it’s interesting hearing what he has to say and what he thinks. i don’t think he gets enough credit for it, honestly, but he’s quite talented. although...”

hyojin frowns a little, remembering the hesitation daniel seemed to have with him every time he said something new. “sometimes, i think, even though he’s really strong in certain aspects, he’s not confident enough offstage. onstage, his charisma is really impressive, but when we’re talking out things and planning, i think he sometimes lets the bad comments online get to him. i hope more netizens show him love and support now that they’ve seen our performance.”

how do you think you did?

”i think we managed to show our good sides well this time around. it’s different this time, right?” he says, asking the interviewer, although it’s more of a rhetorical question, “we spent a lot of time on the details and refining everything so that it’d sound good, and i think it turned out well in the end. i hope we manage to get some compliments this time around.”

were there any performances you liked?

”oh, definitely! i know i mention her every week, but... sakura and kenta’s performance was really nice -- i think they chose a really cool song, and it’s multicultural. very smooth. as for minho and seunghun -- my soulmate,” he says affectionately, “they also did great. the reversal from one type of sexiness to another type of sexiness was really wow!” speaking the last word in english, he nods, finishing up his comments.

which duo do you think complemented each other the most?

“that’s a tough question.” thinking, hyojin offers, “maybe sia and her partner? sia does a really good job of meshing well with the people she performs with, so i think her and ryujin had good chemistry.”

who from those eliminated last episode do you think will return?

“hm.. maybe jinyoung-ssi and jackson-ssi? they’re both really good singers, so i think they could do well. everyone deserves another chance, though.”

with that, hyojin adds, more as a final comment overall than anything else, “i hope you weren’t too tough on daniel. he’s had a long day.” he says it a little absentmindedly, thinking back to daniel’s sad expression throughout the rest of the performances after sungwoon and eunji made a mistake with timing, and his even more troubled expression after coming back from the interview.