The Bland Bell Awards :: BTS
Twenty-One :: A JYP Survival Show
1
"This day is really off to a good start."
Kangjoo isn't really surprised by his elimination.
Disappointed? Of course. But not surprised. He's had sixteen years of people brushing him off or avoiding him. This really isn't anything he hasn't handled before.
However the other person in the room is clearly having a much worse reaction that he is.
Kangjoo can be honest and say that he really hasn't made any friends at JYP in his years training here. He's just not a very social person, he's here to make music after all. However, despite that he does know Byunjae.
Or more specifically, he knows about Byunjae's temper.
Even before the infamous Incident, Byunjae was known to be something of a time bomb. Sure most days he was sweet and cheerful, but one false move and the young trainee would swing 180 with no warning at all.
Kangjoo eyes the furious trainee cautiously as the dorm empties out around them. Byunjae hasn't moved since the eliminations were announced, and Kangjoo is almost scared to say anything and possibly attract the legendary wrath he's heard about.
Almost, but not quite. Because he's Choi Kangjoo and nothing scares him, especially not moody teenagers. And so he speaks as soon as Doc departs.
"You want to pack together Byunjae?"
The lack of a reaction is strange, but not all together unsurprising, so Kangjoo decides to try something different.
"You look like an anime character in an overly dramatic series. Come on we'll have chances to return to the competition, let's just go pack for now so we can get to practicing."
That gets Byunjae moving, though when he shoves Kangjoo almost into the doorframe the teen regrets even bothering to try and engage him.
This is why Kangjoo prefers his own company. People are just too complicated to deal with most days.
Sighing he trudges to his own room, pulls out his suitcase from under his bed, and begins carefully organizing his belongings into it.
He glances momentarily towards his roommate's side of the room and wonders if Jude will even notice that he's gone. The older contestant has always been nice to Kangjoo, which was why he'd chosen to room with Jude in the first place, but they haven't really spoken to each other in the past week.
Of course, Jude is also just a quieter person and Kangjoo isn't really complaining. He likes some quiet time to work on his music before sleeping. But still, for a moment he regrets not taking time to really communicate with his roommate. He knows a lot of the others have become closer thanks to roomming arrangements, and maybe it would have been nice to get to know someone before heading back into the trainee basement.
Byunjae hasn't even started packing when Kangjoo checks in on him thirty minutes later, his own suitcase full.
"Hey. You need help or anything?"
Byunjae scoffs angrily. "From you? No."
And that hurts. More than Kangjoo expected it to.
"Well. Alright. I'm leaving then." And he does. There's no reason to stay.
And he prefers his own company anyway.
2
"We can get through one take without laughing, I believe in us!"
Seongjun is really happy they got to choose their own groups this time around.
Okay so Noheul had ruined it a bit by stealing Sanghyun's spot, but it isn't all bad, and honestly with how utterly ridiculous the script they have is it's almost easy to ignore him. He's been generally pretty quiet so far anyway, so it's actually not too different from Sanghyun being there.
Though he did get to team up with Gosaeng for the dance challenge, he hadn't really gotten to enjoy his friend's company since they were busy dancing. And if there was one thing in the world that could actually make Gosaeng be serious it was dance.
But now they have time to just hang out and have fun, and Seongjun is the happiest he's been since the competition started. It's hard to be stressed out when Doyeon and Gosaeng are having funny face competitions between every break in filming, or when Hongsol breaks character and bursts into giggles during particularly ridiculous lines.
Seongjun honestly loves the idiots he calls friends. He says as much to Doyeon when they're piling back into the van to head to the second shooting location and gets a grin and a hug from both Doyeon and Hongsol, who overheard the comment.
Gosaeng gags at them, and Doyeon retaliates by attacking him with a hug as well.
Seongjun is just laughing as the manager attempts to get some order back in the group, though he's clearly amused as well.
It's so different from his old friend group.
Seongjun doesn't like comparing, since he knows it isn't really fair to, but he can't help it sometimes, and this is definitely one of those times. He doesn't feel like he's walking on glass with Doyeon and his group. He feels accepted, and like he can say whatever stupid things he likes and no one will bite his head off for it.
He can remember just after his switched groups, Danny had caught up with him after a dance lesson.
"You know they're fair weather friends, right? The second you need real support Doyeon will drop you, and you think his group will stick around?" From anyone else it would have been accusatory, but Seongjun could tell Danny was genuinely worried, though there was still a bit of a bitter tinge to the warning.
Seongjun had just shrugged. "Maybe so, but they'll be back when I'm better, and a least they won't be causing the problem."
Maybe he'd been a little mean, after all Danny really had been a good friend, but after what had gone down with Byunjae he felt justified.
And he still does. Maybe it's only been a few months that he's been hanging out with this group, but he can say without hestiation that he wouldn't trade them for anyone. Maybe they weren't perfect, but who was?
They're fun, and they're kind, and they make Seongjun feel safe and happy. He can't ask for more than that.
3
"I guess you can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink."
Noheul's mom had a proverb for everything.
"Don't cry over spilled milk." "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." Noheul must have heard a hundred of them when he was a kid.
He hadn't paid them much mind back then, but since his mother's passing a few years back they'd become more prominent in his daily routine. His little way of keeping her alive.
His other little way was in trying to help people. If it wasn't for his love of music, he likely would have wanted to follow in her footsteps as a psychologist.
And right now, all his instincts are screaming at him in his mother's voice that TJ is not okay.
He's putting up a good front for his friends, but Noheul was there during the eliminations. He saw the look on TJ's face when he thought he'd been eliminated. No one bounces back from something like that. Not this quickly.
But TJ isn't letting Noheul help him and it's getting increasingly frustrating. Noheul is offering his very skilled assistance and TJ is insisting, to his face, that nothing is wrong! Noheul is not an idiot, the exact opposite in fact, and he definitely doesn't appreciate the brush off he's been getting all week.
But he's still going to try. He's nothing if not charitable, like his mom taught him to be. He has a gift, and it's one that should be shared.
But TJ is getting rather infuriating. Noheul has never before dealt with someone so determined to refuse help, but it's not in his nature to ignore someone in need so he continues pressing on, trying to help in whatever ways that TJ does allow him to, not that it's much.
He wants to do more. He doesn't feel like he's helping at all and it's frustrating him to no end. Why does TJ have to be so stubborn? Can't he accept Noheul's help and just be fixed?
With a heavy sigh Noheul catches himself. You can't push it. Good things come to those who wait.
And so he's waiting. He waits through multiple botched takes of their scene. He waits through the others laughing and joking. He waits on the sidelines, watching.
But he's never been very good at waiting. After all, fourtune favors the bold, and the squeaky wheel gets the grease. Sitting and hoping something will change won't get anything productive accomplised.
It's with these thoughts that Noheul confronts TJ during a break in the filming.
It does not go as planned.
"I'm find hyung, and you're being invasive. Just focus on filming and leave me alone, okay?"
Noheul has to admit, he considers going after TJ and pushing him more. But he can take a hint so he stops himself. If TJ doesn't want his help then so be it. He'd offered, it was the other contestant's loss.
He still feels bad that he couldn't do more, but like his mom said. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.
4
"Guys! Guys I got it!"
Na Sanghyun is feeling twitchy.
And not his normal twitchy. No, that kind he knows how to handle. That kind just requires a few pranks or snooping around the JYP building with Byunjae to pick up on gossip. That kind isn't a problem.
This kind makes his gut twist and his head spin. It makes him question things he really doesn't have time to question, not that he really wants to regardless.
Na Sanghyun is a simple person, who believes in simple things. And when those things are thrown into chaos he gets twitchy.
Thankfully no one seems to really notice that he's being quieter than normal as they pass the script around the van and begin reading it over.
Sanghyun doesn't really register words as he scans over the paper, so when Danny asks him what part he wants he doesn't have an answer.
That doesn't stop him from giving one though. That's the next stage of this sort of twitchiness - impulsivity. First he shuts down, then he loses his ability to process forethought for a while. It's an autopilot of sorts and he's happy it exists.
He looks down at the script again, and finds that he's been writing down everyone's parts while his mind has been wandering. He decides to read the script properly this time, and checks parts as he does.
"Hey, Sanghyun, you don't have any lines?" He looks over at the other contestant, frowning. "Won't that deplete your chances at doing well in the votes?"
Do Sanghyun looks surprised at his words, but he shrugs. "I really don't mind. I like performing. Everything else is sort of weird for me."
But you're going to be an idol. Everything else is the important part.
"But you'll need skills like acting and variety! You should do more." He tries to push it, but the other Sanghyun looks away, and Danny shoots him a warning look.
This is stage three. Obsession. He needs a distraction and this is perfect. He'll think up some way of getting the other Sanghyun more screentime for their video!
He does study his lines like he's supposed to of course - thankfully he likes the part he randomly chose - but he also spares regular glances towards the object of his self-assigned quest.
His mind stays happily fixated on the fabricated issue as the ride goes on, trying to work out some sort of solution.
But he hasn't gotten anywhere with his attempts by the time the van pulls up to their shoot site.
He keeps obsessing as he's directed through costume and makeup, often getting so lost in his own head that he has to be given instructions several times before they register.
Due to his distraction he ends up being the last person to finish prep. He makes his way towards the filming site slowly, growing more worried with each step that he really won't be able to solve the problem of other Sanghyun's screentime.
And then he hears one of the coordinators humming the OST and the answer hits him like a ton of bricks.
Next thing he knows he's sprinting to the others, nearly tripping over staff members in his haste.
"Guys! Guys I got it!"
Stage three complete. Now to start all over again.
5
"Alright then, let's get into costume and makeup people, we're on a time limit!"
Ant has never minded crowds. He doesn't interact with them, no, but he doesn't mind them either. They simply exist, just as he exists, and if he happens to find himself in one then so be it.
But even he has to admit that this particular crowd is particularly large. Even by 'backstage at a music show' standards the area is busy, and Ant does find himself feeling just a smidge claustrophobic.
The feeling isn't helped by the fact that several people are specifically focused on him. Despite having chosen a small role with no lines, there's still a lot to do to prepare for his scene.
It takes thirty minutes to find a costume that fits him properly, and another hour in the makeup chair adding small details to his face to make him look younger.
Ant thinks it's a waste of time considering he pretty much is the age he's playing, but he doesn't say anything. These people are working hard to do a good job, and besides they probably know better than he does how all this works.
Ant is not a performer, not really. Yes he loves rapping on stage, but he also loves composing. Some of the best parts of this show happened on the first day, when he got to work with the other trainees on the opening song.
Sure the other challenges haven't been terrible, but they've blurred together in a sense of 'sameness' that he's become numbly accustomed to in his daily training routines.
This is different, and maybe that's why it feels a bit suffocating. Thankfully, once his makeup is done the actual filming doesn't take long at all. He shoots both of his scenes twice, and then heads back to the change rooms to clean off the carefully applied makeup.
He doesn't watch the rest of his group filming, instead deciding to work on some lyrics he has saved in his phone. So when they watch the final product the next day, he's surprised at how professional the video turns out to be.
And when he sees his own face on the screen he can't help a small smile escaping.
6
"Know that your reactions will be filmed so be polite. Or don't."
JYP can admit he'd been hoping for a bit more drama than what he's been getting so far.
It was only the fourth episode, yes, but that also meant the show was almost half way over and nothing too earth-shattering had happened yet. The editors were doing their best but the trainees weren't really giving them much to work with.
Especially Doc. Eliminated in the second round - JYP has never been so dissappointed. Not to mention that nearly all the footage that had been promising had contained his nephew and therefore wasn't anything JYP wanted on the air.
Doc knew that the editing would be in his favor - maybe that could explain his attitude. But JYP knows that isn't really the case, even if he wants it to be. Doc has never put much effort into training, which is too bad because JYP knows he'd love it if he did.
He's just like his uncle after all.
But he'll worry about that later. Doc will be back next episode, but today is about the other trainees.
He turns his attention back outwards to where the latest episode is being edited. From what he can see this is possibly the most functional the groups have been, and discounting Doc's group from the second challenge they'd all been relatively efficient.
He sighs. How can they get good ratings if no drama occurs? People don't want funtion they want competition!
He needs a scapegoat. Someone to be the drama magnet.
He taps the lead editor on the shoulder, and the man spins to face him, tilting his head curiously.
"Sir? Is there something I can help you with?"
"Who would you say is the most imbalanced right now? Of the contestants I mean. We need a bit more drama to shake things up for the show." JYP doesn't mince his words with the editing team, they know same as him that ratings are everything.
The editor leans back in his chair, contemplating for almost a minute before he responds. "Honestly sir, I'd say Byunjae. I know he's out now, but this will almost certainly trigger his temper. You remember what happened last time."
JYP nods slowly. "Yes, I hed to let Yejun go after that. Pity really, he and Jihwan as a team would certainly have been interesting. But I do believe you're right. I'll try to talk to him before the rescure round." He pauses and then speak again. "But in case he fails to return, any other suggestions?"
The editor responds almost immediately this time. "Actually we might be able to use the incident either way. They're doing a decent job of hiding it, but there's been animosity between TJ and Danny since TJ started training. With some probing it shouldn't be too difficult to get that train running again."
JYP is smiling now. "Excellent point." He's feeling much better now, and with a pat to the editor's shoulder he leaves the dark room.
Yes, things would be just fine. He just had to help them out a bit.
A thus I finally put down my pen and release this story as truly complete. Hope you guys enjoyed the BTS and that you'll check out my new apply Princess!
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