#rkmga5groups

The camera pans over the new empty set and, slowly, it is filled with the 1500 viewers who managed to catch a spot in the audience to watch the performances before anyone else. A crew outside gets some comments out of the people waiting in line. “KT has my two favorite contestants!” Says a girl besides her friend. “I’m cheering for LEE NAKYUNG and SIA KIM! They’re both charming ladies so I understand why Katie Lee would want them under her label.” Her friend quickly shakes her head. “Of course I’m here for the team that’ll actually win, Royal. They have LEE SUWOONG and DO KYUNGSOO. This is the team to be frightened.” The scene changes for a mom and a smaller boy, the latter being the one interviewed. “I’m here to cheer for MIYAWAKI SAKURA! I really hope she’ll win!”

Back inside the set, a man makes his way onto the center of the big stage. He is Hong Jinwoo, the MC assigned to present this episode. “Hello, all, and thank you for being here today!” The crowd cheers in response. “My name is Hong Jinwoo and it’s a pleasure to be here as well. Before we start our performances, why don’t we hear from our judges first?” The view changes to the five chairs and the five people sitting on them. It’s your favorite CEOs! “Thank you all for coming,” Seo Jisub starts it off today. “Today we take one last step before the end. Our contestants have prepared their performances according to the companies they were assigned. Each group will have one of their members eliminated, and those who make it through will officially become a finalist. So welcome to the sixth episode and semi-finale of the Mnet Global Auditions!”

They show the cheering crowd once again as they build their expectations for what’s about to come. The MC takes back his role and begins to introduce the acts. “Now, let’s receive our very first act of the day. Here comes the Sphere contestants!” He motions with his arm towards where the contestants appear, five in total. They’re CHWE HANSOL, KANG DANIEL, MIYAWAKI SAKURA, NAM JOOHYUK, and PARK WOOJIN. “Action!” And then all the team members clap their hands in near unison before saying their team name. “We are Hollywood!”

Before they can take their places, the scene changes to the outside of the Sphere building and, then, their designated practice room. DANIEL and WOOJIN arrive together first. “It’ll be nice to have a practice room we don’t have to share with another team,” the first one comments before the rest of their teammates show up. HANSOL approaches him. “Hey, can we talk?” And the two take a seat by themselves to have a chat. “I wanted to talk to you because I didn’t want there to be an odd air between us and I wanted to be upfront so that we could get any weird tension out of the way. I have to admit that based off of last week working with your team in the same room that I did start to feel rather annoyed and put off by both you and Kenta because of all the fooling around.” A very short compilation of the two either whining or doing something weird last week appears with a black-and-white filter before return to the present. “I gotta admit going into that it’s really concerning me. I’m just questioning how committed you are to actually working towards the same goal.”

DANIEL appears sitting for his interview. “Vernon saw me at my worst last week, so he had some doubts going in. Dancing was really difficult.” The interviewer moves on the next question. “There’s been quite some criticism of your guitar, including from contestant Jo Yuri. Any thoughts on what she said?” The boy relaxes a bit before moving on. “I don’t know if Yuri-ssi has actually watched my performances. If she did, she would know I’ve done just about everything someone can do on this show.” As he lists them, DANIEL counts them on his fingers. “I played a self-composed song, I played guitar, I sang. I rapped. I played bass- Just in last week’s performance alone, I sang, rapped, and danced. I don’t know what more she’d like from me, but she can let me know if she’d like. I’m always looking to improve,” and so he smiles.

The view returns to the inside of their practice room and the three assigned coaches making their way inside. Two of them are members of the boy group CONVEX, Jinki, and Jinwook, while the third is the winner of last season, Go Hojung. “They’re so nice! And supportive!” SAKURA says in her own interview. “I’m glad to have them as coaches. They’re wonderful people.” It’s Jinwook who appears next to leave a comment. “It’s been three years since I’ve been here as a contestant myself, and I never expected I’d be invited back to coach. People may be concerned that our team is weak in dancing, but it’s definitely workable. You might not believe it, but Jinki’s the strict one between us. He’s going to make them work hard!”

They all sit together trying to throw ideas of what they should choose to perform. “I don’t know idols very well,” DANIEL admits, “but I listened to all of Sphere’s artists last night and they all seem generally bright but really versatile.” No one seems to go against him for that. “We could always do a remix of a Convex song? Or a mashup with one?” He suggests, but WOOJIN doesn’t seem to like that idea very much. “Maybe you should focus on learning the dance instead of spending time remixing songs.” The other looks down. “I think giving everyone plenty of time to learn the dance is important,” Jinwook chimes in. “Dancing for non-dancers is hard, so it would be better not to do any complicated remixes unless they can come together quickly.”

While the others work on the song, PARK WOOJIN steps aside to learn the choreography by himself. “I ended up being the only dancer in the group, so I had to help the others out with choreography and stuff. Since all my previous teammates had been dancers,” he explains. “I don’t think I’m good enough to be taking that role, but someone had to.” The boy appears dancing until late at night, keeping up with practice because of the role he had been automatically applied. He huffs and puffs when he ends the routine, and before he can start again the scene changes back to the stage where the five members stand ready to perform.

The song starts taking over the set. It’s only the soft instrumental at first before KANG DANIEL says the first few lines. The performance may start soft, but the dancing is demanding on the details. To start the chorus comes SAKURA, the only female in the group, followed by WOOJIN and then the girl again, who returns to show she can also rap. When it’s time for the second chorus, HANSOL is the one to start it until JOOHYUK joins along. It’s HANSOL also returns with a rap. WOOJIN leads the finale as the center of the dance break and the eventual end.

“I think…” HANSOL comments, “it was like I met a song where I was finally in my element. I don’t have anything to complain about. I really enjoyed myself on stage this week.”

“Hello! We’re Polaris!” The next group says in unison, a reference to the company’s theme, and receives cheers from the audience. They’re the ones from Nova, the second to stand on stage tonight. The group is composed by CHOI YEWON, KIM SEUNGHUN, SEO CHANGBIN, TAKADA KENTA, and WANG JACKSON. One by one, they introduce themselves individually before they move to their starting positions as the lights fade away. 

All the members are inside Nova’s practice room when they appear on screen again and they zoom in to capture their reactions when the coaches join them. While they don’t look surprised, the strong aura of Nova’s future idols and trainee have intimidates the five. Before the group starts discussing song options, coach Lee Sunmi advises them to pick a song with a strong stage presence that would fit the company’s image. The coaches share some notes with the contestants, telling them the areas they want them to improve, but it’s KENTA who receives harsher feedback from SUNMI, who says she didn’t even expect him to make it past the last round, but he should work hard. “I’ll do my best!” He nods and answers. Following the advice received from the trio of coaches, the group spends most of the day going over songs and getting to know one another, settling on Run by ATS as their final choice.

It’s when they start working on the line distributions and choosing centers that things get more heated up. SEUNGHUN is the first to raise his hand to demonstrate an interest in singing the high note, followed by JACKSON, another well-known vocalist from this season. The group decides to have both of them singing the part to pick the best voice and the older boy is the one who ends up with the position. On the other hand, when it comes to the one who’s starting the performance, things are not solved so easily. YEWON seems clearly upset when KENTA says he’d like to do it and doesn’t hold back her opinions, bluntly pointing out the spot is not a good fit for the dancer. “No, I can do it. You have the first lines, so I think it works better if you come out from behind, like RM does, in the original.” KENTA protests, trying to prove his point. “Look this is going to sound harsh, but I just don’t think you can pull off the role. I’ve seen your performances, and I just would feel better if you took a different role.” She says. The boy insists and promises to work hard and prove he deserves to be there. “Please, don’t underestimate me.” He asks and she waves a hand dismissively at the male. “Fine, fine, whatever.” 

It seems to be just the start of a tough week as the first run-through doesn’t go well. While they sing in front of the coaches, Sunmi and Son Seungwan exchange horrified glances. “Alright, listen!” Seungwan says as she gets their attention. “I noticed how you’re all just vocalizing as a vocal warm-up before you start practicing. That’s great, but before you even think of making a sound, you also have to prepare the muscles that you’ll be using to make those sounds.” Her words are followed by real instructions and tips on how to do that. “Ah right, it will hurt for some of you… YEWON! CHANGBIN! Come here please.” She picks the rappers for the demonstration. What seemed to be simple throat massages, cause them unbearable pain. CHANGBIN grab at her arm and his face scrunches up. “Help me!” He responds weakly. The scene cuts to minutes later, Seungwan edited with an army uniform and the words ‘Sergeant Son’ appear on the screen as she points out their lack of stability. “Run in laps around the training room as you sing.” It’s clear she’s not joking. Even the most athletic members struggle with the mission and the same happens when they show clips of the group planking, with KENTA losing balance and being scolded by the coaches, then running laps one more time. “A-again?’ SEUNGHUN asks with a pitiful look. “Go, go! You can do it!” Lee Sungyeol encourages them cheerfully. They are shown afterward, everyone dripping in sweat and looking exhausted. “Sunmi! Wendy! What have you done to the children?” Sungyeol asks, looking at them. 

Dance practices are also challenging, CHANGBIN visibly struggling more than others. A montage of different days of practice appears, collecting mistakes and nicely executed moves by the dancers and forming a huge mosaic, Sunmi’s voice in the background giving them some pointers. “What if we slow down a bit? Like… Go over it at 0.75x speed instead of normal until the sequence is perfectly memorized and we make no mistakes?” SEUNGHUN suggests when they are the only ones in the room, and it seems to work for them.  Facing different struggles, the camera shows KENTA looking down when CHANGBIN approaches him. “Is everything okay, hyung? You’ve been – a little quiet. Is it because of what they said?” He asks. “Ah, it’s alright. It’s helpful advice! It’s been a little shocking, but that’s how you get cattle to move faster, right? Zap.” The other boy responds and is encouraged by the rapper. “You’ve been doing well, though. Don’t beat yourself up. I know you’ll show your best onstage, regardless of what others might say.” Despite the pressure and the stress, the group has a good time together. During breaks, YEWON and CHANGBIN are seen rapping to popular songs and JACKSON approaches SEUNGHUN for a friendly battle. “Hey, hey, we should have a proper high note battle, you know, the really high one.” He tugs into the younger's sleeve. Going from ‘do’ to ‘sol’ notes, their voices and crazy facial expressions make both burst into laughter. Sungyeol is responsible for bringing snacks to keep everyone healthy and energetic. 

The closer they get to the live stage, more improvements are made, but the group could use some fine-tuning. Seungwan visits them again to check their vocals and points out some problems. “Was I too much?” SEUNGHUN asks under his breath to JACKSON, looking confused with the feedback received. Looking for some guidance, the vocalist approaches the coach later. “You’re probably so used to singing solo, so you’re probably not sure how you’ll fit in with a team. And all the more, this is a survival competition, so I understand the pressure of needing to stand out all the time, but this is also a team performance, so balance is very important. You don’t have to go so hard at every line you sing. There are some parts where you just have to take it easy. You have to know which parts call for being the entree and when to be the side dish.” She explains and tells him she believes in him. The coach makes sure to encourage the whole team before she leaves. “Team Nova, I’m counting on you.”

The camera returns to the live stage and the group is now ready to start the performance. All lights are off, but once the instrumentals kick in, a spotlight follows KENTA, who slowly approaches the group. The blue light that suddenly covers the stage reveals the other members right when YEWON starts off the hit song. CHANGBIN is the next and his rap portion is delivered powerfully. The beat picks up and welcomes a fast-paced and intense choreography. The main and lead vocalists, JACKSON and SEUNGHUN, take over the center for the chorus and put more strength into their voices to match the intensity of the part, contrasting with the soft vocals from the pre-chorus. After the team’s efforts, they manage to execute the synchronized choreography well.  With good facial expressions and confidence, they show a great stage. KENTA puts emotion in his voice and his movements are expressive. The dreamy atmosphere sets the mood for the moment JACKSON hits the high note perfectly with SEUNGHUN doing the low register. They reach outwards and when they open their hands, petals fall onto the ground. Their performance comes to an end and they get into the ending pose that formed a star with CHANGBIN in the middle. 

“Who did you feel was the weakest link on your team?” They ask her, and YEWON doesn’t have a problem replying. “KENTA was the weakest in our group. I just don’t see what he contributes that we don’t already have. He’s not the best singer, his rapping is non-existent. I personally think he’s gotten fortune to have made it this far in this competition.”

Five new people appear, all moving along to the center. They’re the ones under TRC and they’re CHOI MINHO, HWANG YEJI, KANG HYUNGGU, LEE CHAERYEONG, and SHIN RYUJIN. The latter is the one who starts their introduction. “We’re your,” and then they all shout together. “Antidote!”

Appearing in their practice room, the scene that is shown is of their first meeting. Their coaches include two members from K.ARMA, Doyeon, and Sana, as well as the trainee Jung Jinsoul. The first ones to get there are the coaches and they wait for their contestants to arrive. “We had a lot of fun, huh?” Doyeon asks the trainee and the public is reminded that all three of them had actually made their journey together on the previous season, although each one taking a different path. When the contestants arrive, Doyeon seems surprised. “Oh my-” she chuckles while looking at HYUNGGU. “We trained together when I was in high school.” The boy appears in his interview and comments about their relationship. “I actually know Doyeon from a long time ago. We actually trained together at a smaller company when we were both in high school! It’s funny because I went from being her sunbae to us switching up the roles.”

When they sit down to throw song suggestions, CHAERYEONG doesn’t look too content with what they had settled on. She points out how it was too similar to her last few performances and it’d probably look bad on her for repeating. But her teammates work on hard on convincing her that everything will turn out alright and that enough would be different for it not to be the same. CHAERYEONG goes to Jinsoul for help, later on, asking her things about how she could stand out and do her best. Jinsoul tells her that she just needs to be herself and that that would be enough. “Oh and wait CHAERYEONG do this.” Jinsoul smiles and winks and then watches the other girl copy her. “Perfect! I knew it would suit you!”

YEJI and HYUNGGU are assigned the roles of choreography while the other three, MINHO, CHAERYEONG, and RYUJIN, took care of writing their own rap lyrics. RYUJIN is the one who suggests they increment some sort of dance battle into the choreography, and they all agree with it. It’s that same girl who appears working hard to get things done. It’s YEJI the one who approaches her. “RYUJIN ah, you should rest.” She tells her and makes her sit down. “We can do this, ok?” And the other girl does as told, taking some time to relax before they could get back to practicing.

HYUNGGU is the one who brings energy drinks to help encourage everyone to keep up with the high energy until the end of the week. “Getting in a room full of dancers can be tough sometimes,” MINHO says in his interview. “I wondered what we would do because styles can be similar but don’t flow together. HYUNGGU and YEJI made it work in a way that I didn’t feel that struggle or difference at all. I loved their work and we all got to give our input and it turned into a charismatic stage I think is worthy of TRC.”

The screen wobbles, and then suddenly they’re back on the stage, getting ready to perform. RYUJIN is the one who starts the song, and, in between the lyrics, there’s their team name in it. HYUNGGU and YEJI are the ones who take on the chorus along with a couple of words by the other rappers, MINHO and CHAERYEONG. Following it, MINHO takes on the first rap verse following, using the original lyrics he came up with during the week, all while they all danced. After another chorus, CHAERYEONG and RYUJIN show off their own lyrics as well. It’s when they go past the third chorus and a bridge that YEJI gets to do a high note and then they fall into a dance break. The boys divide from the girls, and they act as if they are in a dance break until it leads to them all getting back together and the end of the song.

“MINHO did really well too. I… quite like him, actually.” DO KYUNGSOO says. “He may not look like it but he’s sort of soft inside and treated me well last week.”

The next group makes their way to the stage. They’re JO YURI, SIA KIM, LEE NAKYUNG, WONG YUKHEI, and ZHOU JIEQIONG representing KT. All together, they each make a small heart-bow before saying their introduction. “Shot through the heart! We’re team Foh!cus!” After each of their individual introductions, the members move to their starting positions but are cut by the editing team to show what they were up to during practice.

LEE NAKYUNG can be seen making her way inside the room and, before long, she lets out an excited “Oh my god!” in English as she jumps around the practice room. “It felt crazy, really.” The girl says in her interview. “That’s my dream company and Eclipse is one of my favorite groups just like ChiChi was to me before. It felt crazy that I’d get to spend time with both Minji and Haseul and Luda, too!” Scenes of the coaches entering the room appear on the screen and of NAKYUNG staring at them. “They were all amazing. It really felt like a dream come true!” In contrast to the first girl, another girl appears in her own interview. “Thank god the CEOs all introduced them,” YURI chuckles. “I… didn’t know who everyone was, honestly. I searched Naver to figure out who my coaches were.” She giggles, covering her mouth. “Whoopsie.”

The three female coaches introduce themselves, and Minji goes ahead first. “I’m Kim Minji, Leader of Eclipse, a recently debuted group under KT with a day and night concept.” Below her face, the text appears one by one as if she’s saying exactly what’s expected of the leader. Haseul goes next. “Hello, I’m Jo Haseul, main vocalist of Eclipse. I know how exciting and stressful this time can be. A lot of people don’t understand how hard it is to put yourself out there. I’m… not the most outgoing person, as I’m sure Ariel would be able to confirm, so I know how difficult it can be.”

The team starts working together to figure out which song they’d like to use. They settle on two by ChiChi and SIA works on putting them together alongside JIEQIONG. With the final mix, JIEQIONG gains a new partner in NAKYUNG to choreograph something together for their performance. “Everyone in the group is easy to work with, but I got to try something new this week with mixing our dance break music with SIA so that was really fun,” JIEQIONG says in her interview. “But it’s hard.” Her lips form into a tiny pout. “NAKYUNG and I also got to choreograph the dance break which I loved! She’s really cute and our ideas went nicely together.”

A team name is a necessity in the rules this time around and, for this team, it rises from YUKHEI’s initiative. “Foh!cs, with an exclamation mark after the Foh.” The others pause a moment to think, but then quickly come to an agreement on his suggestion. “The girls from Eclipse, and Luda, were really lovely.” The boy comments. “They gave us lots of pointers and tips and helped as much as they could, maybe even more than they had to.” This leads to a different scene of SIA and Ariel sat side by side in the practice room. “Can I ask what is your main goal? Do you want to be an idol? A singer? To do musicals? To act maybe?” The coach says to the other and it catches her a bit off guard. “Because to be honest with you, I think you could do all of that, I mean, if you so choose and you don’t have to choose only one. But to be an idol, you will have to dance. You’ll be unstoppable if you improve your dancing if you show you can keep up with the dancers in this group.”

The camera slowly zooms into the contestant’s face but doesn’t play what her answer was. Instead, it changes to her interview. “That day was probably one of the biggest learning experiences on the show. Sometimes, we just need someone to tell us we’re doing a good job and it’s enough to make us want to work harder.” With this, the scene changes once again to a different location. They’re back on the stage and with positions ready. It’s time to show what they got.

The other members kneel around YURI who raises from the center while the first few notes start to play, and then the girl winks to the camera before she starts to sing. YUKHEI is the one who starts the chorus and impresses a few of the audience members when he does the famous leg splitting movement, followed by SIA who brings an end to their brief song. That’s only because the song of a record scratching plays loudly, followed by a new beat. The group performs the dance break that NAKYUNG and JIEQIONG had worked on, which leads to the intro of their second song. YUKHEI is the one who starts them off, followed by NAKYUNG. Following the new choreography, the group moves smoothly to the new setting of their performance. By the end, YURI and SIA are the ones in charge of covering the chorus with ad-libs, leading the song to its end.

“I think,” YUKHEI says, “thanks to us all working so well together we did well. It all comes down to teamwork because if we hadn’t worked so well together and trusted each other, we might not have performed exactly like how we practiced it.” PARK WOOJIN appears after. “It’s a bit of an image change for some of them, but even so, they pulled it off really well. I was surprised, honestly, but I should’ve expected their talent to show.”

The final group makes their way to the stage, the five final people to perform. They are DO KYUNGSOO, JEON HEEJIN, KIM HYOJIN, LEE SUWOONG, and SOHN YOUNGJAE. “We are Youth Over Flowers!” They greet before posing like flowers. It’s enough to show before they show a new practice room.

It starts with KYUNGSOO standing quietly and SUWOONG appearing on view, sneaking up behind him and uses his index fingers to pull the corners of the other’s mouth up into a smile. He pushes them in front of a camera and makes sure to introduce them. “Hello, I’m the grumpy kitty, Do Kyungsoo!” Says SUWOONG beehind said boy. “And I’m Suwoong, the cute and fun kitty!” He says with a brighter voice, throwing up a peace sign. KYUNGSOO, still just as quietly, throws up a peace sign as well.

Their coaches are two members of LUXE, Cheri and Ella, and a contestant from the previous season, Jeon Wonwoo. “I know you might be stricken by us,” Ella flips her hair over her shoulder, “and we can take pictures later after we have a song and a dance.” The three of them introduce themselves before Wonwoo appears in his interview. “Team Royal are great! They’re all quite different, so they’ll be able to shine individually but also come together nicely as a team. I think we’ll see new sides of them, too!”

They’re all hard at practice when SUWOONG decides to say something. “Can I try this part, too?” The one he points out had been originally assigned to KYUNGSOO who looks up at his partner. To settle this, Cheri suggests they fight for it to see who’d win the desired part. KYUNGSOO stands up from when he was sitting and moves to the center of the room. “I would like to keep my part,” he says firmly. “I’ve proven that I can embody the dark, mysterious aura from my past performances and I won’t disappoint the audience with my voice.” SUWOONG seems to disagree. “Ah, but it’s a more enticing gaze. The part is short but powerful. It requires someone who has mystery over the subtleties in their expressions, so they can captivate the audience in just a second.” The original owner of the line does not step down. “Please allow me to demonstrate.” With that, he’s the first one to go, performing his part of only a few seconds. SUWOONG goes next, trying it for his own. After a short reunion, Ella is the one who announces the winner, and the line remains with KYUNGSOO. 

From then on, it appears their practice time only gets more complicated. No one seems to be quite getting their moves right, and it gets to the point of SUWOONG’s fan escaping from his hand and hitting HEEJIN on the back of the head. The girl looks back or, well, stares at the boy behind her before shaking her head. “It’s fine, let’s just keep going.” The girl says. “We had a lot of ups and downs during the week, so at first I wasn’t really sure how well we’d be able to practice,” HEEJIN comments during her interview. “Everything, generally speaking, was alright.” She squints at the camera before pointing a finger at it. “SUWOONG, you know what you did. You’re lucky all I did was a glare.” Her glare, however, turns into a grin once she’s done.

The tension does continue. “Are you taking this seriously, Kyungie?” SUWOONG asks KYUNGSOO in the middle of another practice. The other doesn’t hold back anymore. “I’ve been here since 5am every weekend morning and am always one of the last to leave. Just because I am not yet as good as you doesn’t mean I am not trying!” The boy throws his fan onto the ground and the room turns silent. “You tell me if I am taking this seriously or not. Let’s have a break, please.” He says before walking out of the room. It’s another time when HYOJIN suggests they all sit down and discuss their feelings. YOUNGJAE decides to speak up. “We had to make the choreography simpler because of you and Taeyang hyung didn’t get to shine properly as a dancer.” A quick flashback shows both HYOJIN and YOUNGJAE standing together on stage alongside TAEYANG, the latter being eliminated. “Is that gonna happen again?” HYOJIN replies to him. “Truthfully, it’s been hard keeping it to myself all these days. I didn’t know what to say to make it better, or how to properly apologize and decrease the tension. I had a hard time looking any of you in the eyes, because I spent all of my time when I wasn’t practicing wondering, should Taeyang hyung be here in my place instead? Do I really deserve this?” He licks his lips and tried to look up at YOUNGJAE. “I won’t be a burden this time, I promise.”

After their meeting is over, YOUNGJAE approaches HYOJIN separately. “I’m sorry for everything. It’s just… I really want this. I don’t wanna go home.” With moods getting settled, the image on the screen changes to that of the stage and the five contestants wearing their long, traditional robes.

They all carry serious expressions as the music starts to play and a thin layer of fog covers the stage. Along with the beat, they all open their fans in unison. The lights are dim, but they soon turn brighter when HYOJIN starts to sing. SUWOONG goes next, followed by HEEJIN, and then SUWOONG again. They had worked on modifying the choreography, while not by much, just enough that it wouldn’t be too hard for the vocalists to achieve. YOUNGJAE is in charge of the rap, standing out between the vocalists. KYUNGSOO gets to perform the lines he fought for before, and, with the tease of a smile, the stage becomes darker as they all dance together with their robes flowing. HYOJIN brings an end to the song, as he had started it.

“KYUNGSOO oppa,” HWANG YEJI appears to comment. “He’s started dancing did you see? I was impressed with him as well for finally stepping out of his comfort zone.”

With the end of all five performances, the audience leaves the set and the contestants take over the stage once again. They’re all alined with their own teammates, separated by company. It is now the time that’ll settle it. What’ll come next are the final eliminations and all that’ll be left is proving your worth to get the title of a winner.

To start things off, Tiger JK does the honors of starting the final announcements. “We watched all five of your performances with much attention. As said before, no matter which placing you end up with, all groups will lose one of their members. But these placings are still extremely important to you and I hope you realize that.” The man nods. “Next week will be the grand finale and teams will remain as they are after eliminations. This means you should reflect on your positions this week and figure out what you must better or keep for the next and final round.”

The CEO gives the contestants one more look before looking down. “We’ll start today with the group who finished in fifth place for this week.” He takes a long pause to build up tension before proceeding. “The one in last place today is… Nova Entertainment’s group, Polaris.” His eyes are now on them. “For a semi-finals performance, yours didn’t quite reach our expectations. While we understand that Nova is famous for dancing in particular, not all of you are dancers and you probably focused your song search too much on that. And that’s most of what you did, too. We were expecting some more than what you put out for us today. One of you will be going home today, and that person is… KIM SEUNGHUN. Congratulations on your journey up to here.”

With the first elimination out of the way, comes the next announcement. “The group who finished in fourth place today is… Sphere Entertainment’s group, Hollywood. We believed yours took a step away from what is normally thought of when people think of Sphere. It also felt like there was also some trouble accommodating to each of the members’ skills. Just as the group before, you didn’t give us much more than what already came with the song. One of you will be going home today, and that person is… CHWE HANSOL. We wish you good fortune on what you’ll try next.”

To move on, Tiger JK switched out for Baek Jiyoung, who continues with the next announcement. “The group who finished in third place today is… TRC Entertainment’s group, Antidote. Your performance did manage to show each of the members but it still felt a bit lacking. It wasn’t quite as hard-hitting as we would have expected. It was good that you put your own lyrics and choreography but the song continued on the same wavelength until the very end and there weren’t a lot of moments that people could point out after it was done. One of you will be going home today, and that person is… SHIN RYUJIN. We hope you continue working towards your dream.

The woman changes her stare between the two remaining groups, a slight smile on her lips. “Now we only have two groups left, and only one of you will be the winner of the day. I hope you’re feeling as nervous as you would if this were the finals. There is only a week between today and the real results, so you shouldn’t be taking this lightly.” She chuckles. “I’ll be announcing the first place of the semi-finals now. And that group is… Royal Entertainment’s group, Youth Over Flowers! You put on a wonderful performance. The setting was settled from the start, and we noticed you even simplified movements that’d be too hard for some of the members. It’s a thing to worry about with so many vocalists in the group, but you all did a great job. Sadly one of you must leave us today, as well. That person is… KIM HYOJIN. You’re the only one who’ll get to leave as a winner, so we hope you hold onto that and do even better in the future.”

“As for the second place, we have KT Entertainment’s group, Foh!cus. You managed to show different sides of KT, although they weren’t complete opposites, which would have run away from their concept. The transition between the two didn’t work as smoothly as we would have liked, but that’s about as much as we have to point out. You all did a great job as well and we can’t wait to see what you’ll get to show next time. However, you’ll also have to lose a member today, and that person is… ZHOU JIEQIONG. We also wish you the best of luck in the future.”

Five contestants less make them twenty, and the last number there’ll be. “All of you remaining here are officially our finalists of the fifth season of the Mnet Global Auditions. Next week, only four of you will be able to become the winners, and you’ll have to do that as a group. We expect to see the best that you can show.”

To see all the of this season’s contestants, click here!

And now, let’s see what’s in store for our seventh episode and grand finale!

With the last round of eliminations comes the grand finale! The groups will remain the same, except for the member they lost. All people involved should show at least two of their performance skills, one of them being dancing. This time around, contestants will have to prepare two performances. On the first, just like last week, they’ll have to portray the image of the company they were assigned under, and for the second, that of another company. For these, the judges sorted things randomly. All groups are told to come up with a name of their own. A list of the groups can be found below:

SPHERE ENTERTAINMENT — Coaches: Jinki, Jinwook, Go Hojung #5017 - KANG DANIEL #5033 - MIYAWAKI SAKURA #5035 - NAM JOOHYUK #5038 - PARK WOOJIN SECOND PERFORMANCE CONCEPT: TRC ENTERTAINMENT

NOVA ENTERTAINMENT — Coaches: Lee Sunmi, Son Seungwan, Lee Sungyeol #5004 - CHOI YEWON #5039 - SEO CHANGBIN #5045 - TAKADA KENTA #5046 - WANG JACKSON SECOND PERFORMANCE CONCEPT: KT ENTERTAINMENT

TRC ENTERTAINMENT — Coaches: Doyeon, Sana, Jung Jinsoul #5002 - CHOI MINHO #5011 - HWANG YEJI #5018 - KANG HYUNGGU #5028 - LEE CHAERYEONG SECOND PERFORMANCE CONCEPT: NOVA ENTERTAINMENT

KT ENTERTAINMENT — Coaches: Haseul, Minji, Lee Luda #5014 - JO YURI #5026 - SIA KIM #5030 - LEE NAKYUNG #5047 - WONG YUKHEI SECOND PERFORMANCE CONCEPT: ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT

ROYAL ENTERTAINMENT — Coaches: Cheri, Ella, Jeon Wonwoo #5007 - DO KYUNGSOO #5013 - JEON HEEJIN #5032 - LEE SUWOONG #5042 - SOHN YOUNGJAE SECOND PERFORMANCE CONCEPT: SPHERE ENTERTAINMENT

The public will know the groups will have a second performance, but not which second concept they were given.

By the end of the next episode, one group will be considered the winner of this season.

Just like the previous episode, the contestants will be recorded during their preparation time. The five companies prepared one of their practice rooms with cameras and will allow their group to practice inside with free use of the high-tech equipment available in it. On the first day of training on Friday, the 2nd, the coaches will visit their practice room to help the contestants decide on songs and give them some tips on not only their past experiences in the MGAs but also as performers. Additional meetings may be arranged if needed and if it doesn’t conflict with anyone’s schedules. The only coaches that won’t be attending are the Eclipse members who will be busy with preparations to go to Japan at this time.

All contestants are supposed to make their own way to the recording studio prepared specially for this episode. This time contestants will have to perform a stage in front of a live audience of 3000 people and also air for the world to watch on the 10th of August. This means that contestants will have more time to practice and there will be no pre-recording of the performances, so make sure to do well. To help with this, the episode will be hosted by the MC Hong Jinwoo, the same from the semi-finals. They’ll go to the same set from the previous episode. The bigger stage will allow for bigger props if needed, and these should be checked with the staff beforehand for them to prepare it. This has backup dancers included. The groups will get to prepare themselves backstage and, this time around will have to wait there while the other groups perform. A room with a TV is available for those who’d like to watch the groups performing.

Sitting between the stage and the public with their much more comfortable chairs are the CEOs of each big company. They’ll make sure only the most captivating contestants will receive the big prize to make this the best season yet and continue to represent their companies.

                          Tune in next Saturday, the 10th, for our final episode!

MGA Season 5 episode seven preview: The finalists have been decided and the final mission has been given. It’s all or nothing now. Will the contestants manage to give the public what they want? Will anyone show any hidden skills? Tune-up next week to find out!

[ All of the performances were aired in their entirety. Cuts from the show itself were uploaded to Mnets’s Official Youtube Channel. ]

If you made it this far, either if you were eliminated on this episode or not, you may add +3 POINTS IN A PERFORMANCE SKILL to your points tally. Make sure to link back to this post for verification.

Contestants have until midnight EST at the end of Friday, the 9th, to post their 200+ words solos about the final challenge in front of the CEOs. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga5 and #rkmga5finale. They’ll have less than four minutes to perform each of their chosen performance and prove their worth to make them the big winners (as long as it doesn’t break any laws). Good luck! Song choices should be submitted to the rkevent inbox. Two groups performing the same song will not be allowed and this will be chosen on a first come first serve basis. Any group chats made for plotting should include both Mod Bianca (luvseungjoon on twitter) and Mod Gab (jindeukii on twitter) for monitoring.

Since the final episode will be filmed live, there is no way for the contestants to record their interviews after the performances. Instead, they will be taken by surprise on Thursday, the 8th, to a separate practice room where they’ll record the very last interview of the season. The contestants will be asked a variety of questions and some may be included in the list found below! Feel free to come up with your own questions if you think they can be fitting.

This is the very last interview. How does that make you feel?

What did you think of the results last week?

How was it like working with your group?

How was it like working with the coaches?

How do you think you’ll do?

Are there any performances you’re looking forward to?

What was your own favorite performance this season?

What was your favorite performance of the season apart from your own?

Who do you think will win?

Once they’re done, they’ll be taken back to their usual practice room.

You may also write an extra 200+ words solo about your muse’s interview, as explained above, to also be posted until midnight EST at the end of Friday, the 2nd. For doing so, you may earn +2 CHARISMA OR CREATIVITY POINTS and these can be added to your points tally as soon as it is posted. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga5 and #rkmga5finale. Please link this post as verification.

COACHES! If you write one 200+ words solo about your muse’s time spent interacting with the contestants you may earn +3 CHARISMA OR CREATIVITY POINTS. You’ll also have until midnight EST at the end of Friday, the 9th, to post your solos. These can be added to your points tally as soon as it is posted. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga5 and #rkmga5finale. Please link this post as verification.

For an additional +2 CHARISMA OR CREATIVITY POINTS, you may also write an extra 200+ words solo about your muse’s interview. These would take place after or in between their time spent together on the 2nd. Coaches will be taken to a separate practice room where a mini-interview-set has been prepared for recording. Questions will mostly be about their thoughts on the contestants and how the performance preparations are going, as well as their expectations for final results. Please post this until midnight EST at the end of Friday, the 2nd, to collect points. These can be added to your points tally as soon as it is posted. Please tag all related posts with #rkmga5 and #rkmga5finale. Please link this post as verification.

Five minutes into the practice studio and Kyungsoo felt an incoming migraine. First of all, there were too many people in the room: the contestants and three whole coaches. Most of the contestants were excited about the coaches, with the most notable one being the youngest Eric. The kid was practically over the moon at the fact he was to be aided by his biases - the wonderful Luxe girls. Seolhyun was also supposed to be Kyungsoo’s bias from the bullshit he spewed during the audition when they asked about his music taste. He was aware he should at least try to look excited to see her, but all of the noises and contrasting smells in the room was making him want to throw himself out of the window.

Except they were not on the ground floor and he might actually break his legs. Can’t have that, can we, especially when he had to dance again! Oh joy, just when he thought his dancing days were over, fate laughed into his face and sent him straight back to hell.  

Little known fact about Kyungsoo, he’s always struggled with some social anxiety. Over the years, he’d improved exponentially to the point where it no longer affected his daily lives. In the MGA so far, Kyungsoo managed to glide by social situation without too much trouble, mostly because he had fewer people to work with and viewed the judges/audience as background whenever he was on the stage. This week, however, there was no escape. With eight units of breathing homosapiens in the room, the clamminess of his hands were really setting in.

in his moment of distraction, he did not even notice that Suwoong had come up behind him and was marching him towards one of the cameras. His cousin, using both of his index fingers, was pressing against Kyungsoo’s cheeks and forming his lips manually into a smile. Bewildered, Kyungsoo initially flailed until he heard Suwoong’s voice introducing him. He imitated Suwoong during one of the interviews and now the other was unknowingly returning the favour. To be fair, Kyungsoo thought his imitation of Suwoong was better because at least he tried while Suwoong just sounded like a baby.

Once Suwoong finished his poor mimic of Kyungsoo’s voice, he peeked out from behind him and said “I am Suwoong!” in his regular cheery voice. Forming Vs with his hands, he greeted the camera once again with enthusiasm. Kyungsoo, supposing he should do more than just stand there, offered an awkward smile (this time on his own) and stiffly brought up a ‘V’ finger sign of his own.

On that very first day of practice, Kyungsoo was almost glad for Suwoong’s presence. The other knew him, at the very least, and was able to realize when all of the voices was beginning to overwhelm him when they were making the song selection. Whether or not Suwoong shushed everyone on purpose, Kyungsoo did not know (okay fine, he was pretty sure Suwoong did it for him but a part of him didn’t want to acknowledge it!), but felt a wave of gratefulness nevertheless. Perhaps, he thought innocently at that time, it wouldn’t be so bad having his cousin in the same team. Maybe they could make it work and actually behave like supportive family members instead of rivals, you know, for the first time in their entire life.

It was wishful thinking and the very next day, they had their first argument.

It was Saturday and they had all the parts divided. Suwoong took liking to one of Kyungsoo’s parts, and thought he should be the one to do it. Kyungsoo, who had been mostly silent and focused on learning the choreo, looked up from the ground with a glint of resentment in his eyes. He already had the least amount of lines among the singers and now his cousin wanted to casually rob him of another? The coaches asked Suwoong to try out the part and Kyungsoo must admit, Suwoong looked good doing the movement. His cousin was tall, slender, too pretty for a guy and did ballet. Kyungsoo was a logical person and saw no point in denying his cousin’s visual impact.

Coach Cheri told them to fight for it, to prove to everyone who deserved it more. Kyungsoo, who had been sitting at that time, stood up and gently pushed his way into the centre of the room where Suwoong and Eric were standing. “I would like to keep my part,” he said, his voice not loud but firm. He didn’t need to raise his voice, though, because the room was quiet and people were respectfully giving him the attention. Perhaps a few of them were just shocked by the fact he so readily defended himself, since he barely spoke two sentences to anyone so far.

“I’ve proven that I can embody the dark, mysterious aura from my past performances and I won’t disappoint the audience with my voice.” Why give one of the most beautiful vocal parts to the dancer, just because he was nice to look at? “Please allow me to demonstrate.” With that, he stepped up, waiting for Suwoong to move away so he could take the place that should have been his in the first place. He performed, only those few seconds, keeping his voice clear throughout the line but also making sure that last word mysterious linger.

Coach Cheri directed her gaze towards her fellow Luxe member, Ella, and the latter decided Kyungsoo should keep the line.

He exhaled with relief, not realizing he even held his breath in the first place.

From there, the rift between him and Suwoong only widened. The dance choreo wasn’t impossible, but it was challenging. There was this one set of footwork that was more difficult than the others and Kyungsoo struggled in getting it right. As he had always been his own worst critic, Kyungsoo’s frustration level was already high before he noticed Suwoong’s eyes, watching him through the mirrors.

“Let’s start again from the beginning,” his cousin said, looking away. Kyungsoo knew what that look was for - it was an accusation. A silent why can’t you keep up? Indignation rose in his chest, only to be swiftly pushed down. Kyungsoo knew he wasn’t the best dancer, but to be fair, in this practice room, he was also not the worst. if he had to judge, he would say he was right in the middle - not nearly as good as the dancers but a bit better than the other vocalists. So why was Suwoong so dead set on making him miserable?

It wasn’t like his cousin was direct. No, it was actually quite the opposite. Suwoong was subtle with his critics, and all the while still using that annoyingly sweet nickname Kyungie. To a less observant pair of eyes, Suwoong’s comments may not seem directed at Kyungsoo at all, but they’ve grown up together and he knew how Suwoong thought and what his small behaviour changes meant. From the way coach Ella narrowed her eyes, he’d say she caught on as well.

Move that foot a little, Kyungie. We are not getting it, let’s try again. It looks sloppy, we have to start from the top.

Those seemingly general, yet so very pointed comments, along with his already overflowing frustration with himself eventually built up to an explosion, and it happened on Sunday morning.

Suwoong had made another one of those comments with a barely detectable trace of genuine irritation. Kyungsoo’s fingers clenched around the handle of his fan as all of the anger that he kept pent up erupted in his chest, coating his inside with scorching hot rage. Who the hell died and made Suwoong the boss of him? Who gave him the right to keep nitpicking on him like this even though he was neither the worst dancer nor slacking. He was trying to do it right and had never used the fact he was a better singer against his cousin in anyway. How was this fair?

Kyungsoo couldn’t move, and he couldn’t speak. Anger made him tighten his grip on that fan until he felt its wooden edge pressing into his palm. It actually hurt, but not nearly enough to distract him from Suwoong’s voice. His cousin had noticed that he was no longer moving and asked for them to re-start. Kyungsoo, however, remained stationary.

“Are you not taking this seriously, Kyungie?” Suwoong actually sounded annoyed this time and that nickname of affection never sounded more artificial.

“I’ve been here since 5AM every weekend morning and am always one of the last to leave. Just because I am not yet as good as you doesn’t mean I am not trying!” There were exams coming, so much homework that he needed to take care of. Since the start of this survival show, his grades were taking a hit. Kyungsoo, who had always cared so much about his academics, opted to turn in papers late so he could work to not disappoint those watching him. Dancing, it was really fucking hard. One of the hardest things he had to learn and he had so little time to get it right. As a prideful person who needed control over every aspect of his life, just being in this room and opening himself up for criticism hurt. Sometimes Kyungsoo wanted to shout out the window what am I doing here? Wasn’t it his dream to go into business and become a rich ceo? Their family had wealth and influence, a few cards in the right pocket and he’d be rolling in cash. Business, damn, he was good at that stuff too. So why was he here, doing things he wasn’t good at and was continuing to struggle with?

It was as if somehow, while exploring a whim, he discovered a dream. Possibly the dream. And it was breaking down all of his walls and re-shaping his carefully constructed life. It felt too wonderful to walk away from, but it was also sort of killing him.

Kyungsoo threw his fan - part of its paper surface damp with perspiration - onto the ground. It landed with a soft but also ominous thud. Someone had turned off the music and the other contestants were looking at each other as they took in the severity of the situation. “You tell me if I am taking this seriously or not.” He raised his voice for the first time in...forever. He was never the type to yell, especially in public setting. This was something new, even to himself.

“Let’s have a break, please,” he said, eyes lowered. It was as if yelling took away his anger and left him only with shame. He should be better than this, should have held it in better...what was happening to him? He walked out of the practice room and no one attempted to stop him. Ten minutes of cooling down in the bathroom later, he returned to find the studio mostly empty. Apparently, Suwoong, Heejin and Eric headed out for lunch and Hyojin disappeared off to the convenience store. Kyungsoo didn’t mind and instead, found himself appreciative of the silence.

He picked up his fan from the ground and sat down, his legs too exhausted after an entire morning of practice. Seconds ticked by and the once comforting silent became grating as his outburst earlier returned to haunt him. In an effort to distract himself, Kyungsoo decided to practice some of his arm movements. One of the most difficult parts of this entire choreo was fan control, how they must ensure the fans opened fully on beat. While trying to perfect this, they broke quite a few fans already and that number was only going to increase as the days went by.

He flicked his wrist and the fan opened half way. He tried the same movement except this time harder and the prop nearly flew from his hands. Slightly frustrated, Kyungsoo took a few breaths to calm himself before attempting again. He just needed to figure out exactly how much force he needed to put into his hand and-

There were warm fingertips against his skin and he flinched in response. It was coach Ella, who must have sneaked upon him while he was focused on his fan work. She seemed unfazed by his response and tried once again to help him manoeuvring the fan, telling him about how to position his hand to make things easier. Eventually, they got off of the floor and she started helping him with his other dance parts. Ella was surprisingly patient as he explained what he wanted to achieve - as dance wasn’t his best skill, Kyungsoo was less focused on giving extra flair and more concerned about doing his part perfectly, paying attention to every detail. So the woman gave him advice on how he should stretch out his hand out, point his fingers and not clench his fingers into fists to give that extension. She also coached him on a turn he has to do near the middle of the song, how he should use his long sleeves to his advantage to make himself look longer and more graceful.

They talked about his outburst and while she did reprimand him on the lack of professionalism associated with throwing down his fan, the idol also showed some sympathy with his situation. Upon learning that Suwoong was his cousin, she even shared about her own MGA experience with her family. Their conversation eased away some of Kyungsoo’s discomfort and as they worked, Ella even took a hold of his hands at some point to show him how it should be done properly. Up close, he must admit that she really was an attractive woman. A faint blush eventually swept across his features. Oh, how the Luxe fanboys must be screaming with envy right now.

His smile, though small, became genuine as he tapped into the flow of the dance after the tutorial session. When Hyojin returned to the studio and saw his relaxed expression, the other contestant was decidedly relieved and ran to his side like a happy doggo. Kyungsoo took the sandwich Hyojin bought for the two of them at the local convenience store and petted the other male gently on the shoulder with a ‘thank you’. Hyojin attempted to sooth him and tried to convince him to play nice with Suwoong, to which Kyungsoo responded with a nod.

His mood was improved for the rest of the Sunday afternoon, but the anger returned during his car ride with Suwoong. His cousin decided to call him insufferable and Kyungsoo fired straight back. He ended up having to pull over at the side walk and the two of them really let each other have it. The conversation ended with Suwoong ditching the car and walking out into the night. Kyungsoo, though still livid, recalled the fact his cousin was a dumbass used to being driven around. “Where the hell are you going?” He demanded, rolling down the window and driving along Suwoong, who was stomping away dramatically. “To the trains!” His cousin responded, to which Kyungsoo could only offer some serious eye rolling because the other was going in the wrong direction.

Somehow, this actually eased the tension between them. From their conversation, Kyungsoo had at least gather that Suwoong was more comfortable criticizing him because he was family and at the end of the day, they’d never be able to hate each other. “Get back in the car,” he called out with some gentle reluctance. Suwoong tried to give him the ‘hmph’ at first, but as soon as Kyungsoo actually turned the car around, he hopped straight in. Kyungsoo hated to admit this, but even though his cousin was super annoying, high maintenance and picky, he was also kind of cute.

The two of them made up Sunday night and Suwoong came up with some reputation repairing ideas. They grabbed coffee and doughnuts to bring for the Monday practice and offered their apology to the group. Funny thing was neither he nor Suwoong enjoyed doughnuts but it felt like the right thing to bring. Hyojin sensed this was a good opportunity for a heart-to-heart and everyone made a circle. He talked about the tension, even going back to last week and expressing how he felt about Taeyang being eliminated instead of him. Hyojin was open and honest in a way Kyungsoo would likely never be but those admirable traits likely contributed to his later success collaborating with Eric. It really seemed like the two were working out their differences, just like he did with Suwoong. After that, they were back to practice, full speed ahead.

On Wednesday night, the contestants provided the three coaches each a fan with some written comments and their signatures. It was a cute gift idea. Kyungsoo struggled to find the right words so instead, he just wrote ‘thanks for everything’ along with a little drawing of a camellia flower, which he shall represent on the stage. He had always been a man of fewer words, this was his best effort but hopefully the coaches would understand. They all helped him a lot - Cheri with the vocals, Ella with the dance and Won with his hair. Yes, hair was part of the performance and Kyungsoo wanted his hair to be bouncy and soft so it would react appropriately to the natural wind effect generated by their fans. Coach Won, bless him, sent him a picture of his shampoo bottle straight from his own shower upon Kyungsoo’s request.

The performance day came and the stage was more beautiful than ever. Dressed in their long, traditional robes and equipped with a fan, the group introduced themselves as Youths over Flowers. Each of them introduced themselves then with their real name and their flower representation. Kyungsoo chose for himself Camellia, because one of his lines mentioned a red camellia and he took quite a liking to the vivid imagery it created. “I am Do Kyungsoo, Camellia of Youths over Flowers. Camellia flowers symbolize faithfulness and I promise to always be loyal to my audience. Thank you, I love you.” Ahh, he said it and it was every bit as embarrassing as he expected. Thankfully, Kyungsoo had a fan to hide behind after he delivered the shameful mini speech. His fan, same colour as everyone else, had a camellia flower drawn on it. The same flower was sewn into the bottom of his robe with silver thread by a skilled seamstress they were able to find.

As everyone finished the introductions, ending with Suwoong’s cringy fest, it was finally time to get into position. They hauled Suwoong back towards the centre of the stage, so he could stop talking about how he intended to take everyone’s breath away. Once they were in their starting positions, however, all signs of fun and games were wiped from their expressions. This was semi-finals and they had a show to put on. Kyungsoo had a feeling, that despite their struggles this week, they were going to give the audience a performance they’ll remember for a long time.

Music started and a thin layer of fog covered the surface of the stage. The lights were dimmed, a soft red that was almost romantic. They moved as one, extending their arms and flicking their fans. There was a satisfying sound as their fans collectively turned into half moons, perfectly on beat. It was a seemingly simple movement that took an insane amount of practice to ensure synchronization.

Kyungsoo will admit, when he first realized they’ll be dancing with fans, he thought of geisha dancers and that idea made him slightly uncomfortable. It wasn’t like he did not appreciate the beautiful geisha or looked down upon their career, but it wasn’t a character he could fully embrace. So, he allowed his memories to roll back, recalling a story he once heard about a tyrant king. To dethrone the king and end his reign of terror, a group of skilled assassins were recruited. Knowing the king’s paranoid nature, they disguised themselves as dancers and put on an entrancing performance. Their beauty illuminated the night and the king was so seduced that he did not realize his life was in danger until the dagger was buried deep into his chest.

They hid their faces behind the fans and Kyungsoo did not know what imagery his teammates summoned for characterization but when he pulled back his fan to reveal his eyes, he was out to kill, just...in the sexiest way possible. Rolling onto one knee, Kyungsoo listened to Hyojin as he calmly opened up their song. Suwoong was the next to take centre as the rest of them dropped. Heejin appeared after, her voice clear and sweet, giving perfect entrance for their first and very brief rap part. After that, Kyungsoo got his first chance to be heard. They got into a line with Kyungsoo in front, he swished his fan as he sang, making his movements fluid and dramatic as his teammates did the same with theirs behind him.

낮과 밤이 전부 너야 빈틈 없이 꽉 채워

Eric joined him at the end of that line, boosting the vocal with a brief snippet of rap.

The next part of choreo had more difficult footwork, so Kyungsoo and Suwoong switched their parts from the original song and put Suwoong in the front so he could shine as a dancer.  

His next part came when they formed a straight line across the stage. Kyungsoo turned to face the audience, gently tossing the right corner of his robe as he moved so the fabric swayed in the air.

밤의 안부에 널 닮은 붉은 동백이질투해

The fan, which had been pointed upwards in the air, became a half moon with a single flick of his wrist as it was brought, after a few swirls, to the front of his face. Kyungsoo smiled, but there was no moment to linger as they collectively turned with the exception of Suwoong, who moved towards the centre of the stage from the right, only to give it to Eric as the rap part came. Kyungsoo must say he was very impressed with Eric. They had perhaps only one or two rap lines in this song but were mostly singers or dancers. If their 15-years-old powerhouse didn’t step up, perhaps they would have to crop the parts out and miss out on that beautiful rap-singing contrast. Kyungsoo thought the kid did very well.

As soon as Eric’s part finished, Kyungsoo’s began:

일렁이는 내 맘도 낮과 밤이 전부 너야

This was the part where he had to raise his arms and spin. He practised this with Ella specifically, remember her tips on extending his arms and using the loose fabric of his sleeves to add to the illusion of height. This part was...slightly feminine, but they were at the point of go big or go home, and Kyungsoo practised this part too many times to still feel embarrassed about sliding a hand almost sensually down the side of his face and neck.  

The chorus came once again and same as before, Kyungsoo switched places with Suwoong so his cousin could dance closer to the front of the stage. Hyojin started the chorus and Heejin finished it, giving Suwoong his time to show his vocal capabilities (which had vastly improved over the week) as they took the choreo to the floor. Hyojin went into the centre, raised his hand and sang with passion, which was Kyungsoo’s cue to get back into the centre, where he sang his lines and rested his head against Eric’s shoulder. The fluid movement almost reminded pleasantly him of his dance performance with Hyunggu a while ago.

신비로워 아름답고 따뜻했고

This was the part he fought for and he intended to make the most out of it, especially the half a second of pause he and Eric get at the end of their partially joined line. Kyungsoo looked towards the audience - the actual live audience, full of anticipation. He raised a brow as a corner of his lips tilted in a teasing smile. It was an expression that hopefully said you have no idea what’s coming.

Because they didn’t.

The stage suddenly became darker and the great wafts of fog which had disappeared after their song intro returned with vengeance. The light was blue instead of red, almost giving that day turned to night vibe as they danced. Kyungsoo and Suwoong switched places seamlessly, using the dim lighting to their advantage. Some of them jumped while others still did the full spin and gave the illusion of a jump. Their robes flowed and it was as if Youths Over Flowers were turning into fans themselves in the mysterious indigo light. They brought their hands to their lips, gave a light shh as if warning their potentially shocked audience to hold back those gasps because it wasn’t over.

The dance break itself wasn’t exactly technical, but it was very eye catching.

When the blue light faded and the stage was bright again, Heejin’s high note pierced through the air and each of the singers got a line before the song came to an end.

단 하나 너만 알아 찾아 헤맨 그곳 바로 너야

They posed, again as one to the beat of the final few notes. Then, before the stage darkened, they turned around and once more, flicked their fans out in perfect synchronization. That sound of fans opening, very similar to the one the audience would have heard in the beginning of the song, marked the end of their performance.

They thanked the judges and the live audience. Kyungsoo reached behind his back and tugged discreetly on Suwoong’s sleeve. “Good job,” he mouthed. That was his favourite stage to date and he felt, at least, that it was worth all of his efforts.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀  PAUSE, REWIND ⭯ ››  7월 29일 , I KNOW WHEN THAT HOTLINE BLING 📱

[ TW: MENTION OF INJURY, IMPLIED PANIC ATTACK, *CAPTAIN AMERICA V/O* LANGUAGE ]

“i think you should quit.”

it’s not the first time he’s heard those words coming from his sister’s lips, not the first time she’s said it since he signed up for the mgas again, not the first time he’s sat with his back to the wall in his apartment, the waning moonlight the only source of light in the room as he sighs, head thunking against drywall as he leaves her unanswered. he wishes the time difference was greater, that his sister didn’t work in an industry where she’s awake at the same hours of him, ironically working as late as early morning. usually, it ends the same way. usually, it’s him once again telling her “i don’t know what you want me to say, han.”

an echo because of how empty the room is, because he’s isolated himself for the nth time. because he used to think he was lonely in nova because of the competitiveness but it was also him. a large part of it falls on him, on how he let everything get into his head while giving off the impression there is nothing in his head, no substance to his mind and soul when really he carries it all on his shoulders.

maybe that’s what happened to his shoulder in the past. it wasn’t just because he wasn’t letting himself properly heal for the sake of being signed, for continuing to dance, to live the lifestyle he kept up with. it was because he kept all that tension up there too, gloom in his headspace until it clouded his judgment. that was what turned his vision to black and white.

“are you listening to me?”

a deep sigh. in, out. “yeah.”

“are you sighing at me? you’re lucky i—”

he tunes her out and it’s unlike him. choi minho, who grew up being told that he should listen to every word a woman has to say, every word any person has to say because their opinion is important. it’s theirs, it has merit, it ought’a be heard but this? this? he doesn’t want to hear it again. over and over again, his sister is always right. she can do no wrong.

it’s out of love. he knows that, he knows this, so why is it so hard? his sister who he’s admired for so long even if she thinks that he prefers jake. his sister, who was the first one to show up to one of his dance competitions and scream til she lost her voice so he wouldn’t be sad that his parents couldn’t come, that their father refused to come even though he could, even though he was the only parent in the country at the time. his sister came, holding chris’ hand and insisting he couldn’t let go no matter how embarrassing it is. that’s how she is. headstrong, protective, because he’s not the only one who had to grow up at a young age.

if anyone knows about carrying weight on their shoulders, it’s her.

he realizes, that’s why it’s difficult. he doesn’t know how to tell her that she doesn’t understand when she’s tried the hardest in their whole family to understand him as far back as he could remember.

“—members are coaches and olivia. are you fucking kidding me, mason? you can’t tell me you’re not making goo-goo ga-ga eyes at her like the lovesick fool that you are. i’veseen you.”

hands rubbing over his face, he feels the pressure in his chest, how it rises up his throat and lodges itself right there until he can’t breathe. again, inhale, exhale.

come on, one more time. inhale, exhale.

you can do it, he tells himself, in and out—

shit, fuck.

no, he can’t and the way he struggles sounds like forced chuckling. it feels like it could be if he pulled it off, if he pulled off making it sound like he was just laughing, because it must be a joke. he is the joke and, who knows, maybe that clown wig really foreshadowed the rest of his future on the show.

everything his sister says, he already knows. he thought it, felt it, wanted to run from it for a moment because it was overwhelming.

but why, why, just why does he have to hear this from his sister? his brother’s flight is due in a few hours and he’s going with the guys to pick him up. as soon as chris got the confirmation that he could see the show live, he booked the flight. chris is happy for him, for moving onto the next round, regardless of who showed up on that stage as coaches. actually, part of him thinks chris didn’t realize at first, that he doesn’t care because mason says it’s alright.

it comes with being the youngest, he knows that’s why chris wouldn’t do it but it’s right up hannah’s alley but he just— if he could just breathe.

“stop.” his voice is soft, raw, doesn’t sound like him at all. she asks what and all he hears is her saying “i think you should quit” and the reasons she listed on replay. worse than the it’s a small world song and he thinks he’s seconds away from pulling his hair out.

he couldn’t do it. couldn’t listen to her telling him that he’s being stupid again, that he’s setting himself up to fail, that he’s walking right into their trap, that they keep bringing up convex for this moment, for the moment two convex members come out as coaches and he goes from being in the sphere practice rooms to the trc team.

arguments form in his mind but he can’t get them out, like if they really wanted to fuck with him, he’d be on the nova team with sunmi and wendy, who he trained with before debuting in convex. if they really wanted to fuck with him, if they really knew, if sphere did know who he’s dating, he could find out this way, right? what crueler move than to put him in his girlfriend’s team. but he’s not. he’s not so it can’t be, right? having to ask these questions upset him and he could ignore them, keep them buried or toss them out of his mind because he knows better but hannah makes them stick.

her reasons, his rebuttals, they’re stuck, trapped in his mouth as he tries swallowing his pride to just make it through this call so hannah can say her piece and he can be content with the fact that he tried, that he does what he’s been taught to do, that he listened instead of dismissing her thoughts.

but this doesn’t feel right.

it doesn’t feel right, to feel like this because of a loved one. his sister tells him this because she’s concerned, because she loves him, but fuck he forgot how much love can hurt when he’s been sheltered since the moment mijoo first said she likes him and then when she said she loves him. sheltered until the moment he was asked to give her name and he hurt everyone around him. sheltered because he thought he was safe and he spends every week thinking he’s not despite what others say. other contestants, netizens, his friends. being labeled as a supposed golden boy, as a favorite when he knows a lot of it is probably because his participation alone causes drama and invites competitiveness.

another case of damned if he does, damned if he doesn’t.

every week opens him up to comparison, to judgment, to the possibility of elimination, to the reminder that he’s much older now, that he’s older than… all of the contestants left? probably— it opens him up to someone saying if they can keep up with him, if they can beat him, what kind of idol was he? what was the real reason he’s no longer in convex? it’s an exaggeration, more likely, but he knows it’s there, that some contestants see him as the one to beat and then what? what’s next for both of them? for all of them?

what’s next— that’s what his sister doesn’t touch on and she should. that’s an answer he definitely doesn’t have right now. he just wants to know right now, he wants to know that stage, standing in front of all five ceos again, hearing the audience, knowing he hasmore to him, that he can change, that he can grow again and it could work this time. he might make less mistakes along the way this time.

he hears it again, you should quit, and he has the answer. he’s held onto it for years, kept it to himself like some sacred treasure. it’s validation. when he came to seoul, when he moved his whole life for the chance to be on stage, the mgas gave him validation and he could be too desperate for it after having to leave convex but so what?

she’s seen his performance for the skill battle— the one time he could say it without feeling choked up like he is now.

don’t know why i’m pathetic and don’t have nerve.

he doesn’t want to be like that anymore. he doesn’t care in the end if they’re going to make a fool of him. this is for him. this is for mijoo. this is for everyone who believes in him. everything else is just noise. he wants to keep showing that he’s more than what he’s being called, he want his sister to believe he’s still on the show because ofhis performance.

“please, hannah… i need you to trust that i know what i’m doing.”

he has to grow up sometime, handle his own battles, and she needs to let him.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ PRESS PLAY, BACK TO THE SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING

  ●●●●●●      LAST WEEK, ON THE FOURTH EPISODE OF MGA S5 — 7월 25일      ●●●●●●

those words are weaved with his name again, along with kyul’s and heejin’s, but he doesn’t feel as happy as he wants to be. because top three isn’t the same as number one and he feels guilt settling on his skin the more his feelings unfurl— truthfully, he is happy but he’s happy for nakyung because she won without him, because she proved she is more than her partner, and he feels so fucking relieved when it’s not his burden to bear or he shouldn’t take it on. it is his burden, he thinks, but he shouldn’t let it affect him now, he shouldn’t let it affect his current teammates. because he’s sorry to them, he’s sorry that maybe they thought they’ll get the win because he’s there but they didn’t.

still, he hugs them when they’re told they’re top three, smiles fondly at how kyul and heejin hold hands, and he wants to protect him the same way he wanted to protect nakyung but he can’t. he can’t worry for them at the same time while they’re also each other’s competition and then there’s seunghun. he wants to see seunghun reach the finals too. he wants themall to reach the finals but, even then, there’s a chance none of them could win and he comes to another realization: is he really sorry to them or is he sorry to himself too? is he covering for the fact that he wants to win, wants to stay at number one, but feels ashamed that people think he shouldn’t even be here? he can’t continue to hide his shame or his greed in his fondness for them and so when he talks to both of them after the filming, he apologizes but there’s no welling of his eyes like he’d done when facing seunghun next week.

no, he needs to stay strong, especially after seeing the coaches.

he can’t think about it, he shouldn’t. instead, he places more rules on himself like no looking at his girlfriend even if it’s been months now since he held her, since he got to be with her, since she was this close. she stands closer to jinki and jinwook than to him and he closes his eyes for a second, hears the siren call competing with the background music of convex’s debut song.

he can’t be like this. he can’t. not when he chose this again, to put her through this, to put them through this, he can’t waver when he’s so close. he swears he’ll make it back to standing on the same stage as them again.

standing outside the trc building, he’s unable to take the first few steps closer just like the week before when he was outside sphere. this time, it’s for different reasons. this time, it’s a team he’s working with. this time, they all know at least one person will be eliminated no matter what and he worries he’ll step in there and it’ll be peak competitive hours. what if he walks in and they look at him like he’s poison? he’s choi minho, must be moving onto the finals right? wrong, he wants to tell them all they’re wrong, that he feels the need to fight for his right to be there as much as they do, but that’s not for his team. that’s something he should tell the camera, the audience, something he ought to say to everyone and not just his team who haven’t done anything wrong to him yet.

dinner the night before seemed good. some were shy and some were more outgoing. he’s used to that, feels like he does well in those situations, especially when they’re at the restaurant he used to work at, with his old boss proudly serving them himself and telling stories about how minho was a mess when he started there. he thinks he did a helluva better than his old boss says but he wouldn’t fight with him either, minho adores the old man too much, is fond of him like a genuine uncle, and it makes him more comfortable to be there, to be with his new team for the week. they’re all dancers from what he remembers and while that should be his first hint they’ll be amazing, he knows there’s a chance they could clash over it too.

he’s wrapped up in his thoughts again, standing there at an ungodly hour because he couldn’t sleep and the last thing he expects is for seik and dabin to show up again.

“you guys are like ticks.”

“shit, who peed into your cheerios this morning?”

“it’s barely morning,” seik grimaces, stifling a yawn with his arm before stretching his arms above his head. “when do you sleep?”

“he doesn’t,” dabin says, less jokingly than both minho and seik expect, both looking at him. the youngest shrugs and kicks a stone on the sidewalk. “he did this last week too. it’s like we gotta hold his hand so he goes inside. what would you do without us?” his cheekiness comes back as swiftly as it disappeared for a moment and minho rolls his eyes, reaching out to push dabin away from him.

“i know what i said before,” seik starts off. “but i don’t wanna see you shaking in your boots all the time. you’re making us look bad.”

“yeah, as the official rep of kill.u.strate—”

“woah, woah, woah, who said i’m the official rep?”

“we voted.”

“without me there.”

“same difference.”

he’s laughing and looking up at the sky. the sun’ll rise within the hour, he’s guessing. sunrises and sunsets hit differently now.

“can you go in now since you laughed?”

“we didn’t bring jae so there’s no clown wig in your bag this time.”

“i know it’s there.” there’s a hushed damn from dabin’s direction and minho rolls his eyes once more. “you guys didn’t have to come.”

“you’d do the same.”

“you did the same.”

minho doesn’t look at either of them, knows what they’re referring to and he thinks it’s pointless to bring up now. he made his choice, didn’t go to that starbright audition. yeah, he could’ve maybe signed with nova earlier than he did the first time but who knows if he would’ve made it in anyway? what if it wouldn’t change the outcome and where he is now? who he is now?

all he knows is that he has family and friends who love him and he’d be damned if he doesn’t go in there trying to make more friends despite the competition because he thinks they do or will resent him. it’s not like him. he tells himself this again and decides to go, clapping a hand on both their shoulders before he walks off.

“hyung!” dabin calls out to him and minho knows it like clockwork, turning with a smile and pounding a closed fist against his chest before pointing back. isn’t he letting mnet back into his head every day at this point?

he’d been right about some parts, that there would be a disagreement but it comes down more to their song choice than the choreography or anything else, which is surprising to him. surprising but it feels great too. at least he knows they’re all passionate about it, all have their own opinion, and all want this to work, to work together.

the song is one he thinks of as fun and he enjoys those kind of performances the most. it’s fun but the choreography from the peeks he takes at yeji and hyunggu when they’re working on it while he, ryujin, and chaeryeong work on their raps, reworking and rewriting it to be their own, to be personal, makes him grin because he thinks they might not all have the same styles but they see eye to eye on what the choreography should be for a song like this. that’s all he can ask for, all he wants, and it’s more fun when they work on everything together, the pieces falling in place in a way dancers and choreographers can best communicate: throughmovement.

from icebreakers to shared food to drinks, he thinks little by little they’re becoming more of a team, more of a maybe somewhat dysfunctional family because they’re not all particularly close but he could see it getting there. maybe if they could have more time, maybe if they didn’t have to deal with that looming elimination over their heads despite how well they do.

working with the coaches is different for him and he senses a kind of hesitation or pause when it comes to him. he understands. he’d be the same way at first but he’s also the type to let something go in a second, to brush things off like that, especially the past. minho’s been doing that for so long that he doesn’t think of how it doesn’t necessarily work the same for others so he’s patient, happy when they talk to him without honorifics, without hesitation, and he expresses his appreciation of all of them, as coaches and on the mgas before. age, status, whatever, he thinks he has a chance to learn from anyone at least once in his life.

        ●●●●●●      NEXT ON STAGE, WE ARE YOUR ANTIDOTE,  EP. 5 — 8월 1일      ●●●●●●

their introduction is one he thinks of as cheeky as their performance will be. it’s another dance battle, he realizes, but he hopes the other aspects will make up for it the way they used those differences to help chaeryeong feel comfortable about doing a song by the same artist as her performance the week before.

the set-up is different this week and he has a sense of nostalgia for being able to see everyone in the same room at once, to watch the stage live and mere feet away, when it’s only been a week. it’s like post-concert depression, he’ll call it post-stage depression and chuckle at how he’ll miss filming for the show and it’s not even the last episode yet.

outfits coordinated, choreography perfected, and lyrics memorized, he tries to walk onto the stage last so he can see them all just before they get up there, so he can smile wistfully at how he wishes they had more time: to get to know each other, to work on more songs, to explore all the styles each of them have and learn from each other all over again. he wishes they’ll have another chance to do this again.

nostalgia doesn’t suit the song and after their intros, he changes, he becomes the dancer he was born to be. the performer he’s hoping to continue to be from here on out.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ WHIPLASH ♫ CHOREOGRAPHY IS SELF-CREATED BY HYUNGGU AND YEJI W/ GROUP CONTRIBUTIONS //  ALL RAPS ARE SELF-WRITTEN BY EACH RAPPER // * DENOTES CHANGED LYRICS NOTE: THE GESTURES & EXPRESSIONS IN VIDEO ARE SIMILAR IF NOT WRITTEN !

he takes the first rap verse, the theme of male vs female dance battle hinted at in their formation, in the color of their clothes, in the choreography, and he wouldn’t tell anyone but he thinks the girls’ choreography has the most impact. he’s the more impressed by it, not because the first part isn’t as great, but because of their formation changes and how theylook performing it. he could imagine them promoting as a group and that alone makes him feel like they’re all getting there, like one of them doesn’t have to go home and they can all move on together. it’d be ideal but it’s also more naive than he wants.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ EVERY WEEK, EVERY THURSDAY*

복잡해진 마음, 숨을 내쉰다* I GET MIXED FEELINGS AS I BREATHE OUT

오늘 뭐 실수는 없었었나* DID I MAKE ANY MISTAKES TODAY?

관객들의 표정은 어땠던가* HOW DID THE AUDIENCE SEEM?

그래도 행복해 난 이런 내가 돼서* I’M HAPPY WITH WHO I’VE BECOME

그 때 만약 오지 않았다면 PHONE CALL 형 부모 세게 품에 안고나서 떴지 “아르바*” IT WOULD’VE BEEN DANGEROUS IF NOT FOR THAT PHONE CALL I LEFT MY PART-TIME JOB

어느새 나는 너의 옆 여긴 더 위에서 움직일 공간이 많으니깐 SAID GOODBYE TO MY PARENTS AND MY BROTHER SUDDENLY, I’M NEXT TO YOU

어서 올라와 GIRL SO COME ON GIRL ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

his lyrics cater to the story of his journey on the mgas, for all the contestants who have everything riding on this too. as ryujin joins in with him on certain lines, he feels more adrenaline coursing through his veins.

dancing like this, rapping like this again, it’s different than his previous performances. he’s part of a team again.

▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀ 전진 끝없이 달리네 꿈을 향해* I KEEP RUNNING TOWARDS MY DREAMS

점점 날 비워가네 언제까지 내 것일* I START TO LET MYSELF GO 

순 없어 큰 박수갈채가* THE THUNDERING APPLAUSE, I CAN’T OWN IT FOREVER

이런 내게 말을 해, 뻔뻔히* I TELL MYSELF SHAMELESSLY

니 목소릴 높여 더 멀리* RAISE YOUR VOICE HIGHER

영원한 관객은 없대도* EVEN IF THE ATTENTION ISN’T FOREVER

난 계속 갈거야, 계속 랩 할거야* I’LL KEEP GOING, I’LL KEEP RAPPING

오늘의 나로 영원하고파* I WANT TO STAY THIS WAY FOR LIFE

영원히 예능인이고 싶어 난 AH* I WANT TO BE AN ENTERTAINER FOR LIFE ▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀▀

the girls take over and he can feel the surge of energy on the stage. even as they move into the dance battle, there’s electricity between them. currents running from one person to the next, almost too chaotic until chaeryeong brings them back together, as she did in practice. it’s poetic how they managed to work it in.

SHORTY GIVE ME WHIP-WHIPLASH

this is it. it’s becoming a pattern, how he says this every week. it’s right. this feels right, and he can take that back to his sister the next time she calls.

no, the next time she calls, he’ll make sure there’s no way she could tell him to quit now. this is his journey.  

I WANT TO BE AN ENTERTAINER FOREVER

there were many things that shocked her, the first thing was jinyoung's elimination and in her eyes it was not justified at all. why was she more worthy of staying? why was daniel more worthy? she didn't understand the logic at all-- why bring someone back only to eliminate them the next week. the female didn't approve of it not at all-- she looked over at her cousin and knew that the older male most likely felt horrible. in the end, she hoped that daniel wouldn't blame himself.

one thing she could say that she was excited about-- was her group for this week, they were all dancers and ryujin and her were finally in the same group. yeji felt excited-- she couldn't help but wonder how things would turn out this week, with minho in their group. the golden child of the mgas this season-- either way yeji wanted to put on a better performance this week now that she was with dancers, she couldn't helå but feel a little more relaxed compared to the previous two weeks. it had been fun in hindsight but while the week was going on, yeii had never been more frustrated with anything in her entire life.

when the coaches were announced yeji felt excited-- k.arma members but no kil. then again she liked doyeon and sana as well, jinsoul she remembered from the mgas last year but right now. yeji needed to focus but before that, minho took them out for something to eat which was nice. it was a first usually she would drop by hansol's apartment, things were slowly getting more and more serious. she was in the semis and needed to do well, yeji hoped she would do well.

they were sitting on the floor, contemplating what song they should do and what kind of performance they should present to the live audience and judges. it needed to be a performance that they were proud of and liked if they didn't like it was useless. yeji did find it weird to have 5 dancers in a group-- in a company that wasn't centered around dance. it had puzzled her mind a little but yeji was ready to adjust whatever she needed to adjust.

many songs left their lips, bts's not today, ikon's killing me, monsta x's shoot out and alligator. in the end they settled for whiplash. chaeryeong had expressed her concerns, this would be the third nct song that she performs but they all rallied around her and encouraged her. they would be mixing things up, making their own chores and writing raps-- even if the song was by them it would show a different side of them all.

yeji and hyunggu were responsible for the choreo while the other three worked on their raps-- she found herself intrigued by the creativity the other had. nodding to herself as they shot ideas at each other. having the music on in the background yeji tried out different moves along with hyunggu. minho and ryujin also have their feedback on the dance and came with ideas, ryujin suggested that they have somewhat of a dance battle with the choreo and then they decided to incorporate the fact that chaeryeong had been insecure in the start but now was confident.

during the week, yeji felt ryujin's presence and after last week when she had seen the younger get sick she felt worried about her. yeji didn't want ryujin to go to hard, in case she would get sick again.

"ryujin ah, you should rest," she told the younger and urged her to sit down and take her time. they were on good way and this week, was not half as stressful for either of them, "we can do this ok?" she nodded, smiling at the younger. she reached out her hand and petted the youngers head. yeji and ryujin had gone to the same high school-- yeji was a year older and had graduated before her but in the end and now-- they were finally grouped. yeji was honestly excited but at the same time worried about ryujin's health. so she urged the female to rest multiple times. giving her a water bottle so that she would stay hydrated.

one person yeji was grateful for this week was jinsoul, when the trainee approached yeji she wondered if the older would tell her not to sing but instead, she was encouraged and given advice. jinsoul gave her advice on how to take care of her voice and keep it in good shape, at first yeji was surprised that she would have to take care of it but it made sense. just like a dancer has to take care of their body-- a singer needs to take care of their voice and yeji wanted to be able to sing well, not as well as she danced but she wanted to be able at least carry this group a little vocally.

- day of the performance -

while watching the 1st performance from her seat yeji felt excited, the groups had prepared great stages today and everyone looked like they had gotten extremely used to performing at this point. it lights a fire inside yeji, the competitiveness that she hadn't really felt before today. she wanted to do well-- do better and she wanted her group to do the best. there were plenty of better singers in this competition, better than yeji but she needed to sing with confidence regardless. she had things to give as well and that is what she wanted to show with this performance.

when it was their turn, yeji turned to ryujin. she gave the youngers hand a soft squeeze before walking onto the stage. there they found their spot and ryujin started them off with, "we are your," then they all said in unison, "antidote." it was cheesy and yeji remebered when she had suggested it, she didn't think that they would go with it but in the end... it was like this and she felt a little embarrassed by it.

they got into their positions, gave the sign when they were ready and then when the music started ryujin's voice could be heard before hyunggu's voice rang as he started them off in the chorus. yeji followed up with him before, she sang confidently and comfortably, the chorus wasn't what she was nervous about. they danced smoothly, all while dancing. yeji herself wondered when she had improved as much as she had and she wondered if her improvement had gone completely under the radar for most. maybe-- if she could sing the bridge well later she would be able to show everyone that she had potential.

like that, they danced throughout the song, through rap verses and two more choruses-- then when yeji sang the last line for her chorus she started singing the bridge. it was only her and hyunggu that were moving at this point. yeji remembered how she had asked jinsoul for advice, the original singer had a nice voice and she worried about the last note. would she be able to pull it off? her? jinsoul had given her the advice-- tackle the note head-on. without fear. yeji remembered that whenever she practiced it during the week, she had messed it up a couple of times. not because she couldn't hit it-- she had been able to hit it once, all she needed was the practice to hit it.

the bridge started, back in real time-- she had flashbacks to jinsoul's advice, tackle the note head on. sing with confidence and yeji sang, just like she had done in practice only now it mattered. now she couldn't afford to make a mistake. when the last line started she raised her voice a little, hitting the falsetto and then doing a short run before letting it fade out. confidently-- she had been able to deliver the line without a mistake.

soljikhage malhaejwo (ne mam geudaero) dalkomhan kaendiboda sseun keopi (wonhae) deutgie joeun maldeureun (jamshippun) nal kkaeul jinshimi piryohae nan nega piryohae

yeji was excited but she couldn't show it, instead she continued on with the performance-- the instrumental of the last part of the song played as they had their dance battle. yeji and ryujin vs minho and hyunggu, chaeryeong looking upon them as they danced, it was ironic-- she had been the one that hesitated about their song pick and now chaeryeong was the one to gather them together. it ended with all of them dancing together-- yeji put on a confident smile as the rappers delivered one line each. chaeryeong in the center, they struck the last pose and the music ended shortly after.

it hits her all at once, the overwhelming emotions trapping her before swallowing her whole. she’s going through the motions - watching heejin and minho rise from their seat beside her as their names are called, numbly following them up onstage. kyulkyung isn’t sure she’s breathing air, mouth opening in surprise and eyes widening as her teammates lead the way. perhaps her reaction is a bit dramatic, but oh is it genuine. 

the whole experience was so surreal - to even be considered for the top performance of the week when she had failed to do so the entire show. kyulkyung was tired of being average, of resting on that safe middle ground between being the best and the worst. average. want an ugly word. their names weren’t called when the top performance was announced, but she was too high in the clouds to notice - hand clasped tightly around heejin’s as they awaited the announcement. was it disappointing? maybe a little, but to finally be at the point was certainly an ego boost. 

semi finalist. 

the words were strange to her. the woman who had allowed herself to persuaded into something she once found silly was now officially a semi finalist for the mga’s fifth season. oh, she couldn’t wait to tell her mom. 

her heart was still racing when the trio once again returned to their seats, following throughout the hug minho gave them - adrenaline coursing through every part of her being as the show went on without her. kyulkyung listened, watched more talented performers leave them and she wondered how she had even managed to make it this far. she didn’t doubt her worth or talent, just wondered what happened to suddenly have luck on her side. 

after the disaster that was 2018, the woman entertained the idea of this just being some cruel joke. zhou jieqiong? making it this far on her own? joonho would’ve laughed in her face. but she tried to not think about that.

she’s slapped back into reality when the contestants suddenly awake with life, their bodies moving in shock and excitement rising in hushed tones. moving her eyes from where they stayed fixated on her shoes, they follow the movements of the new appearances on stage

from sphere entertainment, please welcome CONVEX’s very own JINKI and JINWOOK, as well as our star trainee and winner of the last season of the MGAs, GO HOJUNG!

her ears hang tightly onto the world CONVEX, hoping a familiar someone’s name will follow but much to her disappointment, she’s left with unfamiliar faces and dismay. but she perks up, attentive in her seat as she patiently awaits the coaches from TRC to be announced. JINSOUL - kyulkyung can’t help the tiny noise that passes her lips, excitement enveloping her entire form when she lays eyes on her best friend. “hey, that’s my best friend!” she attempts to whisper to minho and heejin - practically shaking in her seat and definitely way too excited.

i can’t believe she didn’t tell me, despite her thoughts, kyulkyung grins anyway. her anticipation only grows as time passes. please let me get onto trc’s team. please. please. please.

and no, not just because that would mean jinsoul gets to coach her.

she’s just a tiny bit disappointment when the TRC group announcement rolls around and her name is passed up. just the tiniest bit. however, this is short lived when her name is revealed under KT. the company is a bit surprising, solely for the fact that she wouldn’t have chosen it for herself. out of everything, she was expecting nova the most. but getting picked to perform in a group for a company run by katie lee, that’s pretty amazing. 

                                                                     ❀

"semi finalist? oh, god i can’t believe.” yea, she can’t either.

kyulkyung laughs at her mother’s enthusiasm over the phone - feeling her cheeks grow hot at the woman’s constant, unrelenting praises. it’s nice to hear the complements and she allows her ego to inflate with each syllable. her mother always complemented her, but it was nice to hear something the woman herself could also feel proud of.

the mgas were different than anything else she had done in life. there was no reliance on anything other than what her talent alone had to offer. there was no behind-the-scenes magic that needed to worked, no amount of bills slipped under the table and secrets to be kept. the fact made her prideful if anything.

after last year, it seemed as if everything wrong she had done had constantly stayed on her back - a quiet monster, the chill that ran down her spine and kept her awake at night. it was hard to put it past her, but somehow she had managed to tuck it away far enough, bury it so deep within that it never even became an afterthought. the process took time and trust, especially with her mother who felt almost as guilty as her.

“you know after last year, i worried about you. i felt like i set a back example.” kyulkyung clenched the phone pressed against her ear tightly in her grasp, fighting back whatever emotions spewed up. biting down on her lip, the woman pushed through whatever words left her mother’s mouth through the phone. perhaps the worst part about the whole situation was that her mother felt responsible, took on her daughter’s worries and that was not okay. 

the woman’s voice is strained through the phone and she fears she’s holding back tears. “but i’m proud of you, for doing something and making it this far. i really hope you make it this week, jie.” me too, mom. she answers, burring herself further beneath the sheets - feeling the dull ache of attachment to the woman who can only speak to her through a phone or stupid screen.

“i wasn’t going to tell you this in case it jinxed you this thursday but chun and i are coming in next week - just in time for the finals. he has a business down there, but i figured i’d tag along just to see my girl.” and lying in her bed that night, phone tucked between her ear and pillow, making it to the finals next week meant so much more to her.

                                                                     ❀

once again,the week goes by rather smoothly with her teammates. except for the fact that they are busy, busy, busy.

the coaches and teammates are alike in the ways that they are helpful to a girl with minimal singing experience. and lucky for kyulkyung, this week she’s in a room full of incredible talents. of course yukhei and her scream over each other their first meeting, having only spoke to the boy over suwoong’s phone a few episodes ago and having got along pretty well. he’s just as fun as the woman expected and paired with talent to combat his upbeat nature. 

the girl known for her singing and musical talents, yuri is just as amazing to work with as she expected. their team is full of power vocals, yuri and sia bringing enough to the table and offering whatever tips they had to ever so curious kyulkyung. “c’mon please... think of me please?” she begs yuri to sing such an iconic song - phantom of the opera being a personal favorite of the woman. she could never get enough of the tragic story that was erik and christine. ugh, it made her cry every time.

“i’d say i’d help sing it, but that’s a disgrace to phantom of the opera. it’s a sin.” kyulkyung pulls a hand to her chest, bowing her head in sadness before shaking her head at the thought. yuri is the only one who could do it justice while she couldn’t bare the embarrassment for herself.

kyulkyung’s delighted witrh yuri’s compliance, elated to hear one of the songs from her favorite musical from personally one of her favorites on the show. before being teamed up together, the woman had always admired her from afar - completely losing herself in her voice and loving every moment of it. just as expected, yuri’s voice complements the song nicely and she can’t help the long drawl she lets out, pressing a hand against her heart and swaying ever so dramatically to the tone of the other’s voice. 

all shenanigans aside, the woman found herself in a situation that left her bewildered. she didn’t mind to help usually, but sia’s call for help left her a bit nervous. kyulkyung didn’t have experience with cutting or mixing music, but the other girl needed help and who was she to refuse? “i don’t care to, but you’ll have to lead the way some.” the woman admitted with a tiny smile, eager to help out in any way that she can. 

the process wasn’t too difficult, but it was a process. creating the choreography with nakyung for the dance break wasn’t nearly as hard as creating the mix, but eventually they got it done ( and kyulkyung was there to offer any extra help whenever someone needed it ). the fact that they had managed to pull it off was extremely exciting for the woman, even going as far as to do a mini celebration dance whenever they finished it. yes, she was embarrassed with herself afterwards but damn was she proud. 

turns out she’ll be heading back to hook & crook after the show with a little bit more than dance and performance tips.

                                                                       ❀

thursday approaches quickly and this time, kyulkyung’s a bit nervous when she climbs onstage. the semi finals held a lot of more meaning than the other performances and after being in the top 3 last week, she’s sure there’s an expectancy for both her and her team. in fact, the entirety of team kt had at least one episode’s worth of top 3 experience under their belt and it makes her wonder if they’ll be watched that much closer. 

her hair, now faded a bit after a few washes, hangs loosely atop her head - the white nature of her top and shorts a contrast to the red bandanna that’s tied around her thigh. she’s standing on stage with her team, head held high and signature smile wide despite the nerves that light up when the judges and eyes of their first live audience lays upon them. “hello! we are FOH!CUS.” the team greets before being met with the thunderous clap of applause.

the noise is enough to brighten her smile and settle whatever negative emotions she felt. kyulkyung did not get stage fright, well not anymore at least. the eyes of an audience was not foreign to her especially after her time with knb. it was all just noise to her, eager eyes there to watch them perform and their entertainment for the night. they’d give them a show worth while, especially with all the pretty faces and power vocals up there. 

in the most arrogant way possible, kyulkyung thought team FOH!CUS was hard to forget. 

“hello! constant #5050, zhou jieqiong here again!” she will never forget that tiny bit of chinese at the beginning of her introduction - not until the very end ( it’s kind of a habit at this point, honestly ).

as the group arranges themselves for the beginning of the performace, yuri finds herself in the center - surrounded by her teammates and introducing the audience to chi chi’s lion heart. the vocals are soft as are their movements, the singer’s tone and charisma alone enough to draw attention and set the mood of their performance. kyulkyung’s sure the audience’s heart fluttered just a little as did hers when she heard yuri sing the song for the first time.

ah 넌 달라진 게 없어 여전해 난 애가 타고 또 타 사냥감 찾아 한눈파는 너

kyulkyung’s voice follow’s the other girl’s smoothly, a nice transition into her sweet tone and flowing nicely with the music. luckily for her, the movements during this part are minimal for her at least - allowing her voice to carry unfaltering and comfortably. singing live was something she worried a lot about, but with tips and a lot of help, her confidence grew little by little. her smile is delicate upon her lips, her legs carrying her into the next series of moments as they draw into the chorus.

chi chi’s choreography isn’t hard to follow, but it’s nice and fun to watch. the song and melody allows for an easy smile from kyulkyung, putting on an image of a girl in love and innocence. their movements and choreography are soft and flows nicely against the music, but that makes it so much better when the shock of their transition settles in.

lion heart suddenly comes to a halt and everyone is moving into new position - a new light overwhelming them as the beat changes entirely. the mix that kyulkyung and sia put together takes over the stage, the group moving in sync with one another in a way contrasting themselves just a few moments prior.

nakyung and kyulkyung were responsible for creating the choreography, transitioning them into the beginning of i got a boy and creating a whole new mood for their stage. the woman’s presence changes drastically, a more coy, cheerful look overtaking her frame as the upbeat tone of the music sounds. personally, she prefers songs like this to lion heart - feeling more like herself with peppy beats and modern lyrics. hahaha! eh let me introduce myself - kyulkyung points to yukhei as speaks,  here comes trouble, whoo! there’s a playful grin on her lips as she moves - raising a hand to motion a ‘come here’ movement with her fingers, 따라해.

어떨 땐 오빠처럼 듬직하지만 애교를 부릴 땐 넘 예뻐 죽겠어

preparing for their performance was once again fun for the woman - this being what she looked forward to most when she joined the competition. and honestly speaking, kyulkyung learned a lot more than she thought she would. working with people was one thing especially on a show like the mgas, the fierce nature of the competition threatening to bring out the worst in people but so far, that hadn’t been the case ( at least for her ).

the way they move alongside one another on stage is exciting - no doubt a visual and talent overload for their audience and she wonders if this what being an idol felt like. and if that’s case, it makes her want that contract even more.

making it this far was exciting, but left her greedy more than ever. there was a lot pending on today’s performance, on her advancement into the competition that she undermined completely. coming in with no expectations and following through with nothing but the highest, that was surely a shock. but not only did she want a contract presented to her in the end, kyulkyung would also love for her mother to at least see her perform once. 

귀 기울여 주는 너 너

her mother’s words drive her confidence, fuel the endless stream of energy that courses through her as they near the end of their performance. kyulkyung didn’t have a lot of lines, but she didn’t asked for many - leaving the singing up to the professionals and taking as many notes as she could. the coaches and her teammates helped equally and she matched their drive with one of her own, practicing up until the very last moment because she didn’t need the embarrassment up on stage.

she’s not as perfect as she’d like to be, but she knew what she had to work with and milked it for its worth. what she lacked in singing she made up with her dancing and countless expressions, enjoying every minute she was up on that stage. 

as the performance neared its end, kyulkyung couldn’t help the bottomless pit of worry that began to sizzle deep within her stomach. no matter how good they did or how much the crowd loved their performance, one of her teammates would be going home. 

        “i don’t understand TAEYANG’s elimination . . . what did they mean by details?  wasn’t he the one who helped HYOJIN out the most, so shouldn’t he know the details?”  he waves a hand in front of his face.  “it’s because of him that hyojin did super well and really shone on stage.  ah, i guess anything can happen.”

        truly, though.  he was surprised their own group had made the bottom half last week.  yes, there were some notable performances that deserved the high praise, but he didn’t think they were that bad!  and for them to send JAEMIN home---he could only wonder what the judges’ criteria were.  surely, there’s much more than it wasn’t energetic enough  ( worded more eloquently, of course ).

        “it’s unfortunate,”  he comments after a moment.  “for the jackpot team, jaemin really stepped out of his comfort zone to give that sort of performance.  it’s a shame that the judges didn’t agree . . . but no matter!  once jaemin sets his mind to something, he’ll stop at nothing to get it!”  he doesn’t actually know if that’s true, but feels a slight inclination to clear his ex-group mate’s name . . . in the off-chance that the judges’ comments may give the audience a negative impression.  “jaemin, fighting!”

HOW WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH YOUR GROUP?

        it was volatile.

        okay, no, he can’t say that -- partially because it sounds really bad, but also because it’s not necessarily true.  sure, they all had tension with each other and the coaches at one point or another, but aside from kyungsoo throwing down his fan, there wasn’t anything particularly dramatic.  ( it’s also a funny thought, seeing that he’s usually the dramatic one of the two. )

        “ah, it’s nice to be around people, isn’t it?  xuxi and jieqiong were both great to talk to, but the practice room always felt too big and empty, since it was just the two of us for both duos performances.  this time, there’s seven---wait, no, eight, including myself.”  math isn’t his strong suit, okay.  

        “ERIC and i actually sat together the first week, so i knew him from there.”  he fondly remembers the ‘loud section’, of which most have been eliminated save him, eric, and a few empty enigma members.  oh, how far they’ve come.  “so naturally, i felt closest to him!” 

        “HEEJIN seemed really distant at first,”  he continues.  “not in a cold way, but it felt like she was . . . kind of avoiding me, and i didn’t know why!  at first, i thought it was because she was intimidated by my looks---that’s a valid reason to avoid someone, right?  right.  but ah, it wasn’t that at all.  turns out, she thought that i didn’t like her, because i kept bumping into her . . . and because i accidentally lost control of my fan once, and it hit her in the head.”  his arms flail out in defense.  “but they’re all accidents, i swear!  heejin, please forgive me!”

        “HYOJIN . . .”  he smiles at the thought of the gentlest of the group.  “he has a personality that makes it super hard to dislike him.  truthfully, i wasn’t very happy with taeyang’s elimination, and though i tried to keep things professional, i think hyojin picked up on it.”  he pauses for a moment to carefully consider his next few words.  he has a good, if not great, relationship with hyojin now, so he needs to tread carefully.  “despite this, hyojin is . . . really understanding and knows himself well.  we ended up talking it out quickly because . . . ah, once you talk to him, you’ll understand.  you really can’t get mad at him, even if you want to!”

        “kyungie---KYUNGSOO---”  he straightens up, his expression bright despite knowing that he’ll have to eventually talk about their fight.  “i feel like they put us together on purpose!  we’re cousins, y’know, but we’re super different from each other, don’t you think?  kyungie’s more of a grumpy kitty -- not that he’s particularly grumpy, but if you just look at his face, it looks grumpy!  so he’s the grumpy one, while i’m the playful and cute one.  not saying that kyungie isn’t cute -- his aegyo is super adorable -- but i’m cuter!  it’s true!  i surveyed one hundred people---”

        he makes some more nonsensical comments before finally bridging the topic he’s certain that kyungsoo would also talk about:  “with this being the semi-finals . . . of course, everyone is stressed, because we all want to do well.”  he pauses.  “admittedly, i wasn’t as constructive with my comments.”  while most of them were thrown out to the general group, there were a handful directed at kyungsoo.  “and because of that, it negatively impacted my relationship with kyungie.  we talked it out in the end, but we shouldn’t have to---we’re family, so we’re supposed to support each other no matter what, right?”  he eases into a soft smile.  “he knows he has my full support now.  kyungie, fighting!”

HOW WAS IT LIKE WORKING WITH THE COACHES?

        finally, this question.

        "i’ve decided on my luxe bias!”  he says brightly.  “it’s the wonderful and sweet CHERI bomb . . . ssi.”  he adds the honorific after remembering seolhyun’s hauntingly delightful it’s coach cheri bomb.  “isn’t she beautiful?  of course, seolhyun-ssi is also beautiful, but everyone has their own preference, and my preference is cheri!”  he says this quite unabashedly, because there’s absolutely no shame in admitting any of that.  “but in all seriousness, i got along with her the best out of the coaches!  we’re similar in many ways, except she’s shorter and has a better singing voice -- but that’s okay!  i wouldn’t want to intimidate her!”  he says the last part jokingly, because cheri?  intimidated?  by him?  ha.

        “coach ELLA . . . she talked about my manners, didn’t she?”  he peers at the interviewer for some signal of confirmation, but she doesn’t give him one.  “at first, i thought she was super cool!  but after our initial interaction . . . ah, she’s really uptight!  i called her seolhyun-ah once, and she snipped at me!  wahh, she’s scary, isn’t she?”  well, she’s not necessarily scary, but he did immediately correct himself every time she stressed the coach title.  “it’s something we don’t see eye-to-eye in.  i’m friendlier with people, even if they’re strangers.  she tends to hold people at a distance.”  oops, is that going against her idol image?  pr time!  “but that aside, she was the most helpful!  we don’t have a lot of strong dancers in our group, so she helped us rework a few parts and was generally super patient.”  even though she gave eric and him a harder time than the rest, but whatever.

        “as for wonnie---sorry, coach WONWOO---truthfully, i think he was a bit nervous to coach, because he didn’t want to hurt our feelings or anything.”  he pauses for a moment, this time longer, to consider his words once more before continuing:  “he played an important role for us.  he was kind of this . . . mood maker.  since these are the semi-finals, and we all struggled at some point or another, there was a lot of tension.  wonnie, coach wonnie, was really helpful in relieving that.”  he tilts his head, his mouth tugging into a smile.  “i hope he debuts soon.  i will be a wonwoo akgae!  . . . just kidding!”  or is he.

WHAT DID YOU THINK OF TEAM ROYAL’S PERFORMANCE?

        “i think we made the right choice with shangri la.  it has the strong vocals that royal entertainment is known for, but also the incredible stage presence that girl groups luxe and h.a.m. embody -- or once embodied.”  he flicks open his fan.  “we spent hours perfecting this move.  it looks easy, but try doing it at the same time as four others!  we broke a lot of fans, actually---nine, ten, maybe?”  thank goodness, someone had the idea of buying cheap practice fans to work with, else their pretty flowery ones would’ve been ruined on day one.

the camera kind of unnerves him all over again, despite the fact he’s spending more and more time around them lately. filming for dream knight is different to this, though — this is him, jeon won is all his shy, strange glory and not wonwoo, a character created to be charismatic and smooth. won fiddles with the bottom of his shirt where dream knight wonwoo would have flashed a million watt smile to the staff taking care of him. 

there’s no chance for him to prepare, no warning before they’re hitting him with the first question, only a loud clear of their throat to even ensure he was alert and listening. his eyes narrow as he listens, a habit from reading without his glasses. he’s not sure what he’s looking at on the wall behind the interviewer, but he doesn’t have time to process anything anyway. 

“so, what do you think of your team so far? what are your first impressions of them as a whole?” 

he blinks, wonders how else he’s supposed to answer this question. he does genuinely like his group so far; they’re all talented, all hard workers and, from what he can tell, want to be here, but if he didn’t, would he really say so? would anyone really damn themselves in such a way? had he gotten lucky? perhaps they even put together groups they thought might clash in an attempt to create something juicy for the edit team; he wouldn’t put it past mnet. after all, just last year, they pit them all against each other for positions and performances, allowing higher ranking members to steal songs and lines from those lower. anything to stir up a little tension so they can reuse that dramatic music. with any luck for mnet, someone will mess up this season so they can use that titanic track they also seem to love. 

“team royal are great!” he gradually grins, a smile that stretches up into his cheeks rather than immediately takes over his entire face in a snap of his fingers. it’s too early to say he adores them or anything like, but he is already more than impressed with their progress and genuinely hopeful for them. “like you said, I don’t know them all so well yet since it’s only been a day, but they’re all incredibly talented and hardworking — that’s my first impression and definitely fact, too. I think they’ll be able to vibe really well together on stage for their final performance, too; as performers, I think they match well.” he isn’t observant enough to notice any clashes in their personalities but he prays there had been nothing for him to neglect to notice. “they’re all quite different, after all, so they’ll be able to shine individually but also come together nicely as a team. I think we’ll see new sides of them, too!” maybe to most these are just stock answers to a basic question, but he believes them wholeheartedly. he wants them to push past their comfort zone a little, learn a dance a little trickier than they’ve done before or a style of song they’re not used to. things like that go a long way in a competition like this, as far as he remembers. ( the more he thinks of his season, the more his brain blocks it out. ) 

the interviewer clears their throat once more. “how do you feel about their progress so far?” 

he nods excitedly. “it’s only been a day but they’re doing really well! no spoilers but the song they picked feels really perfect for royal, in my opinion. they’re definitely going to add their own touch to it, but so far, it’s still early days.” his laugh is soft, airy — fond. “I’ve been trying my best to help with dancing since I think it’s going to push some of them a little harder than they’re used to on that front, but that challenge...” he pauses to find the right words. “that challenge will make their performance even better when it’s ready for the world to see. you’ll all see how hard they’ve worked and root for them, I know it!” 

but he realises a little late that he hasn’t really answered the question but honestly, he’s not sure how. in such early times, how can he say how things are going? or rather, what can he say that he hasn’t already? his bottom lip pops out from between his teeth as his expression turns thoughtful, and before the interviewer can butt in with another question, he beats them to it. “I think they’re progressing well. at the rate they’re going, I think they’ll have plenty of time to iron out any wrinkles in their final product. I have every faith in them to show you, the audience, their best performances yet.” 

checking he’s done, won nods to let the interviewer ask their next question. “what’s the most important thing you’d like to teach your team as a coach?” 

he loves this question. though he doubts any of his interview will air, and certainly not this part, he feels a weight lifting off his shoulders that he gets to answer it at all. 

“to remember to have fun.” that’s the simple answer. of course, won couldn’t leave it at that. it’s too easy to spin in any way mnet desires, in any way anyone desires — too broad, too vague. “this is a competition, and last season when I was a contestant— it was a competition then, too, but what it isn’t is the end of the world. the same goes to those who have been eliminated; don’t worry. this might be the end of the road for your mga journey, or it might feel like it will be each week, but it’s not the end of the world. it’s not the end of your dream.” he sucks in a deep breath. “unfortunately, the nature of any competition means those who don’t win become disheartened, feel inferior, and sometimes, even those who get exactly what they wanted from it,” like me, “feel that way, too. it pits you against people you will consider your friends by the end and you’re always going to be your own worst critic, but if you have fun and remember that everything happens for a reason, even if you’re unfortunately eliminated, at least you will feel like it’d all been worth something. you’ll have enjoyed the time you had rather than dwell on what could have been if you’d gone through to the next round.” he shakes his head. “it’s especially bad this close to the final. I remember feeling like this was it — that each week, I wouldn’t be good enough to get through and waiting to hear your name be called... it really stomps all over your confidence. but everyone here is talented. you have to be to be here. don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. anyway—” his cheeks flush a soft, embarrassed pink. “yeah, the most important thing I’d like to teach them is to enjoy their time here. that’s why we perform, right? because we love it. because we love to entertain and make others happy with our performances.” his grin once more takes over his entire face— entire body as he sits up straight, nods rapidly again. 

“any last words for your team?”