#rkxtae

Come the day of the shooting, Eric could feel his annoyance with the fact that he had to spend a Sunday on this rise. Why couldn’t it have been an ordinary school day so he could have been excused from classes for the day? Probably because of how young the actors in his group seemed to be honestly and the fact that a lot of students would have had to be excused, but the point still stood. If anything he could take joy in the fact that the world hadn’t been unfair enough to let his brother film on another day and that they were in the same situation, as he might have felt very mistreated if Dowoon got to take the day off and not him.

Either way introductions had to get out of the way and to his surprise Eric had found a face that he had been working together with very recently for a dance cover, Chaewon, and a face that he was sure he had seen before, Minhyung, or, as he had introduced himself, Mark. It had taken a while to remember as it was quite far back and the time surrounding it had been very tumult to Eric, but eventually he had placed the other as someone he had been in a group with in the MGAs, and immediately he had felt incredibly stupid for not realising right away the moment he heard the name Mark.

Recognition however also erased all senses of jealousy he might have felt towards one of the people who did actually get picked for lead role, because in an instant he had already forgotten about his feelings on the matter and instead started to hang around the older male like a leech. ‘Mark hyung,’ the name had been repeated several times and countless of questions had been shot the other’s way, as had comments on how cool he was and also a few on how jealous Eric was, as he too wanted to see North America. Of course his fear of planes was a minor issue, but he would deal with that when the time came. If the time came. It had to. One day.

Although every actor in his group was still young, Eric took the crown as the youngest of the lot, and although he had already started high school, he had only had half a month to get used to the ways and workings of being a high school student. Even more so the fact that he had to pretend to be classmates with these hyungs and noonas, some of who were four years older than he was and a noticeably more adult. As much as he would like to believe himself to be more mature than he actually was, both his height and his baby fat singled him out, especially next to people such as Taehyung. Perhaps that too was why he decided to stick so much around Mark who wasn’t that much older than him and definitely not that much taller either.

he sits down slowly, eyeing all the images with an unreadable expression before looking straight ahead at the camera. “you’re going to make me pick, huh?” he flashes a knowing smile, shaking his head and chuckling under his breath. he really... really  does not want to do this. especially considering this is his first week back on the show, he doesn’t really think his opinion has much validation. but this is a broadcasted show, and he supposes that’s exactly what they intend on giving people-- a show. “okay well. ask away.”

best singer

jaewon purses his lips, worrying at his bottom lip with his teeth as his hand hovers over all the photos. he doesn’t know many singers on the show-- in fact, he doesn’t know very many people at all. he suspects this gives him more credibility, in the fact that he’s judging purely on what he’s seen, as if he were a viewer. he picks up two photos, turning them around to show koo junhoe and kang daniel. “these two. their performances are good,” he pauses, “their voices are unique as well.”

best dancer

he stares at the table full of images once more, placing the first two off to the side. he studies the table meticulously until he finds the photo he’s looking for, triumphantly holding up the picture of kim jei. “i think this one is obvious-- even though it’s an opinion still, of course. but i think her talent is apparent. she always puts on a good stage,” he nods. “this one, i’ll be honest, contains a bit of bias,” he admits with a sheepish grin. “but,” he continues, hand reaching out and finding another, holding up kim bora, “in an unbiased opinion, bora is up there in dancing talent too.” he stacks their photos and puts them aside as well, already knowing what’s coming next and reaching out to the photo he’s already spotted.

best rapper

“kim taehyung,” jaewon states, holding the picture up for the camera to see. “i think he’s one to be reckoned with. he’s got a nice tone overall, and i think he’s one to watch out for.” this is the section he’s a little more critical about-- but he picks up another photo and turns it around as well. “and kim hyuna. this one’s a no-brainer, huh?” he gives wry smile, neatly stacking them both and putting them with his other picks, just for organization. he leans back in the chair, hands clasped together as he hums, knowing this part probably won’t be aired but deciding to say it anyway. 

“there are definitely people already eliminated that i would’ve chosen. also, there is an immense amount of talent this season-- and i’m saying this as a contestant. i think anyone has a good chance of winning.”

the interviewer raises an eyebrow at this, and next they ask

“well, you should pick one. who, in your honest opinion, do you think could win it all?”

halfway through this question, jaewon’s hand is already poised at the ready. he picks up one last photo, holding it to him before he turns it around to show the camera to show the face of min yoongi. “as a viewer,” he starts, slowly deliberating each sentence, “i’m always drawn into his performances. his dancing is amazing, of course, and his other skills are on par, in my opinion. also, i don’t think being eliminated once should discredit him either,” he sets the photo down, licking his lips before he stares straight into the camera and offers a small smile. “i think it means he is one to pay attention to even more.”

he finishes like that, standing up to bow at the camera crew, the interviewer, as well as the camera, and takes his leave without another word.

mentioned: 

Let’s rewind back to the event that nearly pushed him to throw in the towel; it was another week where your rank from the previous round determined whether you’d get your pick of song. Before, he’d been lucky. There were few rappers left so he was practically guaranteed to land a spot in the song that he desired most. Now, there were even less rappers since both of his teammates had been eliminated (disregarding the fact that one of them wasn’t even a rapper, he just had very little choice about performing with them). Perhaps it wasn’t his fault, exactly. If it’d been those that had been dropped from the MGAs’ fault that he scored so terribly, then it made little sense to him. It was their fault, but now they’re gone and he has to suffer the consequences? It didn’t seem right. He’d much rather those in charge rank each contestant individually so things like this didn’t happen.

Now, he had the song that he wanted to do in mind, but he had very little hope that he would get it. And then... of course, obviously, he didn’t. MYNAME was one of his absolute ult groups and it would have meant the world to him if he’d had been able to perform it. He’d had the opportunity to learn dancing from Jun.Q when he participated in the NOVA dance classes. Mingyu just imagines how wonderful it would have been to be able to dance onstage to one of his songs, knowing that he was only doing so well because he’d had some help from him— his idol. It would have been an incredible moment, though it wasn’t one he was meant to live out.

Then, later, he found out that Won did manage to secure a place in performing it. After that, all he can imagine is how wonderful it would have been to finally be on stage with him. He’s happy to see his boyfriend doing so well on the show, that’s incredibly clear. He values him way more than he values himself, after all. Still, now he has this feeling in his chest and this voice in his head that is telling him that he would only hold the other back. He wishes he could feel like he was succeeding, too. He doesn’t want to be better than Won; to him, that isn’t even possible. He just desperately wants to feel like he truly deserves to stand next to him and for them to both achieve this dream together.

But, you know, his team wasn’t as bad as he convinced himself they’d be. He was bitter at first and didn’t want to open his eyes and accept his current place, though once he did, he felt rather content. Everyone was friendly enough and they all were able to joke together and bond to an extent. Weirdly enough, despite as long as he’s been on this show, he was meeting new faces every week. Well, they weren’t exactly new since he recognized them well enough, though he’d never actually been given the chance to get to know them up until now.

Mostly, he bonded the best with Taehyung. Very quickly did he warm to the other boy and he stuck to him like glue. He was friendly and bright, which was absolutely something that Mingyu needed to have in his life right now. The two of them even went shopping for coats together, which was a fun experience. Lately, he hasn’t had many chances to be normal and playful like he had been in the past, so it was a breath of fresh air when he was posing in ridiculous and dramatic outfits for pictures snapped by the other boy, laughing cheerfully once he no longer had to hold his position. They were instructed by Soojin to not wear anything that was a fashion crime, though they seemed to have differing opinions about what classified as such.

Practicing wasn’t as intense as he wanted it to be. This, once again, just made him think about how much he would have enjoyed performing ‘Tell Me’. There wasn’t much choreography in a song such as this one so he wasn’t going to be needing to practice much dancing. Rapping was already easy for him, and he wasn’t even tasked with writing his own lines or anything, so there wasn’t a lot for him to do this week. It was a lot more boring than some of his previous weeks, though he supposed he should enjoy this sort of free time. Especially considering he wouldn’t be given as many opportunities such as this one once he was actually signed to a company.

Relaxing wasn’t entirely easy, though. He had too many things on his mind to feel completely calm and he hated being by himself. He would try to cling to Taehyung during these moments, hoping that he would provide him with company and a proper distraction.

The week went by a lot slower than he hoped it would, so he was very happy once Friday rolled around. He was going to be participating in the hi touch after this performance, which both excited and disappointed him. His disappointment wasn’t intense, however. He was just nervous about waiting so long for the eliminations since he was extremely worried and nervous about the results. Just knowing that it would drag out for a while gave him a bit of anxiety, though he tried to push it away. In the end, meeting people who were excited to see him would be a wonderful experience. He didn’t know it just yet, but it was going to free him of many of his worries.

Once finally on stage, Mingyu introduced himself to the crowd and then braced himself for the performance.

난 씩씩하게 말을 걸어 넌 저기 시시한 여자와는 달리 틱틱 거려 칙칙하던 분위기에 한 줄기 빛 설렘 정도가 지나쳐 마치 사춘기

The lines weren’t too challenging, so he managed to complete his first verse with ease. Honestly, at this point, he was counting his blessings. He was thankful for what he was given. It’s never good to be discontent with your life when things aren’t even bad. He felt glad that he was here, performing on stage with the other survivors of the show. Also, he had a lot more lines than he would have if he was given his original choice. This was a good thing, he now thought. He wasn’t getting to perform with Won, but he had faith that he was going to debut with him. Then, they’d always get to perform together. This was just a small sacrifice for a huge win.

에라 모르겠다 에라 모르겠다

He would dance a little, or at least ensure that he didn’t look like as stiff as a statue onstage as the performance went on. He made sure that he was smiling and appearing carefree and confident. When he was onstage, that kind of thing never felt like a lie. After all, this is still where he felt comfortable. The nineteen-year-old always felt like he was in his element here.

뒤처리를 못해 피눈물 없는 로맨스 장단 없는 game 너는 오락가락하고 멜로디가 다른 알토와 소프라노 어차피 우리는 끊어질 거야 딱 잘라 말할게 타락해버린 꿈에 Eldorado

As he executed his second long verse, he made sure that he did so perfectly and effortlessly. Just looking out at the crowd and examining all of the eyes glued to him felt exhilarating. His heart rate picked up as the adrenaline pumped through his veins, eyes sparkling with determination and awe.

에라 모르겠다

The majority of his lines were over but the stage wasn’t finished just yet. He did his best to hype up the rest of his group as they did their lines, continuing to smile and move about in a way that didn’t make him appear as though he was made of stone, though he also didn’t want to look like his limbs were crafted from noodles (despite what Yerim seems to believe).

에라 모르겠다 I Love y’all 에라 모르겠다 에라 모르겠다

With each week spent on the MGAs, the easier this seemed to become. He briefly found himself wondering if this is what it felt like for idols. Did they get used to this kind of attention and schedule over time? Or, did they only get used to it for a while, before it begins to feel draining and tiring? He wouldn’t know until he was in that position... or until he has the opportunity to ask one for himself, though he doesn’t feel like they would answer truthfully either way.

Girl I wanna get down Girl I wanna get down

He was going back and forth with this line as the song began nearing an end. In just a little while he would be touching hands with those that wanted to meet him, then he would find out where he stood tonight. It was an intimidating and scary thought, but he couldn’t let it distract him until after this was completely finished and he was standing offstage somewhere.

에라 모르겠다 I Love y’all

And then, not long after, the music stopped. He stood there, chest once again rising and falling faster than usual, though also not as harshly as it would have been if he’d been exerting more of his energy into dancing. He felt pleased with their performance, hoping that it would be enough to get him to a rank that was higher than he’d placed before. If it didn’t, though, he wouldn’t let it get to him. As long as he survives tonight, he will feel grateful.

As Luda approached TRCs building for the new teams first meeting, her expression said all. Her smile wasn’t present, as her eyes darted over the building with furrowed eyebrows. There was no spring to her step either, though the burning sun was partially at fault. Just like when she’d first met the first team, Luda had brought snacks.

The building itself already had a very different feeling to it. Somehow she thought it was scarier than Nova’s. Just like walking towards the practise room. What if they chose a song way over their or at least her head again? Choosing a song too difficult for her to perfect, she thought, would definitely get her eliminated this time.

Approaching their first meeting, only a few steps away from the door, she could almost hear her heart beating. She was glad at least Kyungri was part of it again. It made her feel calmer and she ended up staying closer to her, asking her for help more often than the others. Looking around the practise room for the first time, she noticed that it was designed way simpler than Nova's.

Yoojung was an incredible dancer and choreographer and they chose Taehyung as the leader. It seemed like he was worried about Kyungri and her and she really appreciated it. He often offered water or assistance and even took them to the side to lift their spirits. Luda wasn’t one to be sad for too long, but sure it still helped. 

At first, she'd thought that their skills were well mixed, but they soon faced the problem of finding a girl group song for two rappers and three singers. The song she'd had in mind since the theme was announced, was “I'm So Sick”, but that obviously wasn't an option considering their two rappers.

They quickly dropped the idea of doing a girl group song as they couldn't find anything with enough rap. It made Luda realise how similar groups and songs could be these days. Their ultimate choice was a song she hadn’t heard before and she didn’t know much about the group either. They had a couple songs she liked and that's all the girl knew. But their criteria was met – a good mix of vocal and rap parts and a nice dance that luckily didn’t seem that difficult.

She hoped this would be a good song choice – she couldn’t imagine having been high up on the judges or any fan's list after this. Regret kept boiling in her stomach but she tried to push it back for the sake of concentrating on the challenge ahead.

Her first impression, “Oh, that dance looks do-able!”, however, was smashed by hard reality. Sure she’d somehow managed to not completely mess up the choreo of “before the dawn”, but this was a new choreo and just because there was no scorpion thing going on, didn’t mean that made it easy in any way.

Somehow Luda managed to get a little bit more sleep over the week. But she still stayed to practise for a crazy amount of hours. This time she balanced dancing and singing a lot better and she really looked forward to her vocal part. Of course, she still practised dancing like a madwoman, but she put a lot more effort and attention on her voice and how to use it. Singing was her way to shine after all.

Just like last time, she spent the small breaks in the practise room trying out different expressions to see what would fit the performance best. After looking at a few live performances of the sing, she decided on aloof-confidence for the most part – however that could be achieved – and a sly smile or wink here and there. The wink wasn't a problem… the other two definitely were. Her first try at a sly smile looked rather hilarious and she had to chuckle at herself. The cool-aloofness wasn’t exactly her strong suit either and she threw a Flynn Rider-esque smolder-face into the mix, purely because it seemed fun.

It seemed like the few added hours of sleep she got worked wonders. Concentrating was easier and she memorised both lyrics and choreography faster. Of course, that didn't mean she instantly had the details down or that she got everything right, but it was progress.

She still had problems with the energy of the dance and to make the moves big enough. The girl tended to be a bit shy when she could see herself dancing, making some moves seem wishy-washy, when they needed to be strong and big. She also tried to get a more masculine feel while dancing, but her feminine side was something she couldn't quite erase – and after a lot of consideration – she didn't want to erase.

The day of the performance seemed to arrive even faster this time. Luda was nervous, being worried that somehow they would get last place again. That she'd be eliminated this time. Or that they would get last and MNET decided to cut the whole team. And there was always the concern that it could be her fault. She did her best to stay calm and having a team around her certainly helped. Luda stuck closer to Kyungri, and they were already joking that the elder had adopted her. It really helped her to stay calmer while waiting. They prepared so much, she did the best she could over the past week and they just had to perform well.

At least not last, at least not being eliminated.

Even though their turn was one team later than last week, the time seemed to have passed faster. She'd made sure to eat and drink enough, to have strength and their stage outfits were coordinated well. She liked the mix of military-style jacket and slightly fitted shirt and added a thin choker. Hair and make-up looked good as well. Nothing should go wrong – she could only give her best to not make any mistakes.

They got up on the stage and introduced themselves. Their team name was “Baby Boss” – she was sure at least one of her friends would be so nice to point out that the “baby” half suited her very well, once the episode aired. Only being 1.57cm tall and all. It wasn't the best name. But in her opinion, the performance itself was a lot more important, than spending hours trying to come up with a better name.

When it was her turn, she bowed.

“I'm falling for you! Hello, I'm Luda! ” the girl introduces herself – albeit furrowing her brows in embarrassment at the introduction she'd come up with – showing hearts with her thumb and index fingers on both hands. Somehow seeing the audience made her arms and legs feel tingly and she couldn't wait to start performing. Thousand people were still a lot, but as she remembered the feeling on stage while singing, while dancing, somehow she looked forward to it now, rather than being afraid.

If she messed up, at least she would do so having fun.

With their introductions out of the way, they got into formation and the lights dimmed. The song started. She aimed for the aloof expression she'd trained in the practise room and at home, focusing on her movements switching between flowing and strong. The flowing ones, she was definitely better at.

She smirked while facing the camera and starting with her part, stepping forward and eyes narrowed a little to make her gaze stronger

Whatever I touch, I take The moment you feel my body heat You’ll fall for me yeah

This was one of the parts where she didn't always get the details of the choreo right, so she remembered to bring her arms fully stretched out over her head, in a circle. After that part, she stepped back again and mentally prepared for the first “leg-wiggle”, after her next, shorter line.

World is ours

Continuing on, she paid attention to make full, energetic movements, to not have her arms bent when they shouldn't be and such. She still wasn't a dancer, so of course her dancing wasn't perfect. But she didn't step out of line or into someone else's space and that was already a win in her opinion. For this performance, she'd left her hair open. The choreography had her shaking her head here and there, causing her to have to run her fingers through her locks every now and then – as far as the fast choreo allowed her to. It made her hair look a bit tousled, which was not a bad look while practising, she found. It surely took away from her soft features which didn't fit the song perfectly. At least it helped a little.

(Draw out an even bigger us yeah) As if everything has been born again, come into my world Like fish in water, everyone sings

She stepped into the middle of the circle, winking at a camera. Her voice was silvery and she carried the notes well. Her focus was singing after all, not her dance and it showed. She put attention to looking at the audience whenever the dance allowed her to, which she'd learned from the hours of watching survival shows like this. She was tempted to gaze at the camera more often but was worried she'd overdo it.  

Now close your eyes Breathe in my world that will spread before your eyes You’re beautiful enough Just as you are

She focused on looking at the camera again and bit her lip before looking to the side, then held the next note. High notes were her thing after all.

Yeah

Luda honestly hadn't been so sure about the song choice at first, wondering if she could pull it off. But while practising, she'd started to really like it. It was fun to sing and fun to dance, even if it was still a difficult dance to her. And most importantly, she had fun on stage – something that now, in retrospective, she couldn't say about the previous team battle. She really liked the former team and she really liked this one as well, but with the extremely difficult dance, she'd been too concentrated and worried to enjoy herself as much as she could now.

So anyone can come inside this circle I wanna send you my song

She would never be a main dancer, but after her last line, Luda gave the rest of the performance – specifically the dance – her all, trying to end the stage well.

After they broke their end pose, she started grinning. At first, she'd tried to keep her facial expression in check – she was sure she'd made mistakes here and there and didn't want to appear overly proud of herself – but she couldn't hold the smile in. She did feel proud, even though she couldn't see the mistakes she had made while dancing. They weren't massive mistakes and she surely danced better than last week, but of course wonders couldn't be expected after only a week.