Prodigy War

“Hey Batman, black coffee as always?“

The young barista was smiling brightly at Bangwon when she handed him a cup of pitch-black coffee. Her long, wavy hear was carefully plaited, her face pretty as her personality being good-hearted. That was what Bangwon appreciated so much. And also one of the reasons he stopped by at the coffee shop she was working at every morning even though it meant he would be late every time for training at BigHit. But where was the need to get there on time? Bangwon knew that he was better than most of the trainees even without trying. He was born with a talent. And he was using it to get late every day.

“You know me so well… I wonder if it’s because you completely fell for my charms?“, Bangwon asked playfully and laughed, Hyunjoo only shaking her head in amusement about his comment. “What charms are you talking about? Doodling on the tables every morning and making me clean it afterwards again? If that’s charming to you, I’ll stop by BigHit and doodle something on somewhere where you have to clean it, too.“, she replied. Bangwon again laughed and winked at her. “I know somewhere else you can doodle on and what we could clean together afterwards.“

As expected Hyunjoo didn’t take it the wrong way, slapped Bangwon’s shoulder and went back to the coffee machine to prepare another customer’s order. “Keep on dreaming.“

Bangwon delightedly watched her serving the coffee and return to him. He felt as if he was getting all the power for the day just by talking to his female friend. But not today. Because Hyunjoo was about to address something that Bangwon didn’t want to talk about.

“By the way… I saw the video that your entertainment released. I couldn’t find you, though… are you not going to be a part of the BigHit United concert?“, she asked while polishing some of the little spoons in front of her. The young man all of a sudden felt as if a lump was building in his throat. “When I saw that there is a big concert hosted by your company, I immediately bought a ticket… I thought I could see you perform just once. You’ve been a trainee for a while now, shouldn’t you be on stage then, too?“

“It’s not that easy…“, he answered. To be honest, he could have been part of that promotion video. But it would have meant he had to skip his matutinal coffee and that was something he had issues coming to terms with. But hearing that his friend had bought tickets because she wanted to see him perform made him feel a little guilty. The BigHit United tickets were anything but cheap… and seeing her work that hard to spend all that money on a concert he probably wouldn’t even perform at… oh man.

“Are you looking for excuses again?“, she and wanted to say something else but another customer demanded for her, so she had to hurry away again.

Bangwon sighed and quickly emptied his cup of coffee. It wasn’t as if he was running away from this conversation… well, okay, it was.

“So?“, Hyunjoo turned around again to continue where she had to stop earlier but when she was free again, the seat which Bangwon had occupied was left empty.

The aftermath of the latest promotion video regarding the BigHit United concert was haunting the whole company. Not that it had caused bad publicity, in fact just the reverse. Toby had become super popular. So popular that even Bangwon knew about him whereas he had kept himself out of all the BigHit gossip. He was way too busy with his own problems and only wanted to focus on what he came for to do, so why should he even bother getting involved with any of what other trainees were wasting their time on?

However, Toby had become the No 1 topic to talk about. But not because of the video. It was because he was suddenly everywhere. And with everywhere…it meant everywhere.

“I don’t know why but seeing him just standing there and observing us is pressuring me like crazy!“, Evan voiced out everyone’s thoughts during dance rehearsal break time. The intermediate dancers were all gathered in the middle of the room, Bangwon being the only one not joining the circle as he pretended to be busy with his phone. He couldn’t help but listening this time because Toby was even bothering him.

“How about using Tackle on him then, Eevee?“, Hyukjae commented, laughing about his own joke but Evan didn’t look amused at all. His eyebrows started furrowing and he only looked at the jokester with judgmental eyes. Usually the kind-hearted and calm Evan wouldn’t have dared to scowl at one of his fellow trainees like this, but the stress was obviously putting the bite on him. Evan was one of the trainees who originally were from the US, joining the company a long time ago with most of the people wondering why he had never debuted until now. There were some rumors though stating that it was because of his looks. But as bad as it might be, nobody knew for sure as Evan was never showing up with his face not looking like an artwork made by a lot of patience and make-up.



“I know how you feel… it’s creepy.“, David agreed. The youngest among the guys sitting in the circle was sighing and rested his head on his knees. Like Evan he was from the US... just that he came in a way younger age than Evan had come. Joining BigHit at age eight he was the baby among the trainees...and even though it was already eight years ago, he still had that reputation. “Yesterday when he suddenly showed up during the first half of dance training he was watching us with these…these eyes. I don’t even know how to describe it… they were giving me the feeling he was basically thinking ‚What are you doing here? You don’t even manage to catch up with the other intermediate dancers.‘ It was so frustrating…he didn’t even say anything, I just felt like it!“



“Come on, everyone…! Why are you being like this?! You all don’t know Toby, right? You never talked to him, do you? So where’s the point in worrying so much? Don’t leave yourself hanging like this…!“, Hyukjae suddenly tried to cheer everybody up. In moments like this he would usually crack another joke, let it be sarcastic or not. But sensing how frustrated everyone was, he was going the other way, trying to get everyone’s smile back. “Ilsung, you know Toby best, you’ve been in the BTS line-up together with him before they dropped both of you out. Tell them that it’s nothing bad that Toby is…let’s not say stalking… observing us?“

Ilsung’s eyes widened right at the moment Hyukjae was addressing him concerning Toby. He kept silent for a whole moment and then quickly shook his head. “No.“, he said and when the others eyed him with shock in their eyes, he quickly went on explaining. “I don’t know anything about Toby.“, he pretended. “And I don’t want to judge him at all…let’s not talk about this anymore!“, he quickly avoided the topic and got up, rushing out of the room. “JAERIM! WAIT FOR ME!“, he shouted outside on the floor, escaping by following one of the other trainees that passed by the dancing room in that moment.

“…what was that?“, Evan wondered and another sigh ran over his lips. “What does all of this mean?!“

“Hyung!“, David tried to talk to Bangwon, who didn’t feel as if someone was talking to him and ignored the youngster’s first attempt talking to him. “Bangwon-hyung!“ The second time worked and Bangwon looked up from his phone with big eyes, blinking at the others. “Hm?“

“You noticed Toby too, right? Do you know anything about him?“, David asked but Bangwon didn’t give a satisfying answer, either.

“Toby? Naah…if that’s the guy who suddenly showed up everywhere, I just ignore him.“, he told the others and smirked slightly. No, he didn’t ignore him. He just couldn’t. Because for some reason Toby was following Bangwon like a shadow. And the others were right. He was judging them, Bangwon was 100% positive. He was also 100% positive that he didn’t like it. It was no positive judgment after all.

Whenever Toby appeared he was only standing offside the other trainees. He never said anything. Neither did he move. He didn’t even stayed for too long. It was as if he was scanning each and every trainee and after just two minutes of getting a first impression, he left again. Yet, towards Bangwon Toby had developed some especially smugly attitude. The way he was looking at Bangwon was driving him crazy. Rude jerk… He was looking down on him, he could feel it.

As long as Toby was only watching, Bangwon was able to bear with it. But there was something Bangwon would never approve of… criticism. Especially not from someone whose skills he didn’t know and who he hadn’t acknowledged as someone superior even. So Toby was doing a great job pissing him off during the very last class. During Songwriting. Bangwon's speciality besides rapping.

Everyone was working peacefully on their most current work, each of the trainees creating their very own song after the instructor had given them a topic, a base beat and the first line they should work with. For some reason the instructor was especially keen on everyone working pretty quickly today. As if he was preparing them for something.

“If you write a song for a whole group, you have to know about each member’s strengths and weaknesses. If you don’t pay attention to that your song will become a mess in the end. Your song can only shine through the people performing it and vice versa.“

It was just then when Toby suddenly entered with no one being surprised anymore. The trainees had become used to Toby randomly sneaking into their classes. It was pressuring them nonetheless.

“Oh Toby, you’re here.“, the instructor greeted him. He sounded friendlier than usual. Of course… if Hitman Bang was pampering him, the instructors would, too. “Good thing you stopped by. I gave the trainees a task and I’d like you to grade them.“

The temperature in the room dropped in an instant and the slight scent of cold sweat was suddenly itching in Bangwon’s nose. He let his eyes wander through the room to find different reactions.

Yoosung looked like always. Maybe a bit more snappish than usual. Hyukjae’s face was showing his eagerness, to him this must have been a fun challenge with someone grading his work who was not the instructor. Little David looked determined and nervous at the same time while Evan next to him sighed and examined Toby from head to toe. And then there was Ilsung… who had acted all strangely before during their break when they were talking about Toby. He looked devastated, even scared. Ilsung didn’t even bother daring to meet eyes with BigHit’s golden trainee, as if he would cause a fight if he did so. Something was fishy about this… Bangwon didn’t know what and actually he couldn’t care less… but unfortunately he had a feeling of Toby becoming a problem for him.

And Bangwon should be right.

Toby was waiting 15 minutes until he started walking through the rows and verbally ripping apart one work after another. He wasn’t even rude. But he was cruel as he was pointing out each and every mistake without mercy. Not one trainee did pass as Toby’s final words would always be “I’d not buy this work.“

When it was Bangwon’s turn to be examined by that presumptuous guy who shouldn’t act up like this in front of his sunbaes, he could already feel the blood boiling inside of him. He had never been a fan of critics.

“Hm.“ A short sound, nothing more was coming from the tall grown youngster who was overlooking Bangwon’s sheet. It took him longer to finally voice out his result and the others were sending their surprise towards Bangwon with their widened eyes only. 



“You seem to be decent in writing raps.“, Toby said, his face all earnest while he was going through the song over and over again… until he raised his eyes and smirked at Bangwon in a smug manner. “But 85% of the song is consisting of raps, if you’re to write a song for an average group, there wouldn’t be enough rappers to cover most of the parts - and most of them wouldn’t even be compatible for the parts as the level you chose is way too high. Whenever you’d have to write a song for a group that relies on singing more than rapping, your style would fail them. PLUS…“

Bangwon’s hands started twitching randomly with his anger level constantly rising. Toby wasn’t even done yet.

“…look at that poor English. Do you want people to laugh at the musicians who have to sing this?! Tsk… this one didn’t pass, either.“

Okay, this was enough. No matter what that kid was saying, Bangwon was pretty sure that his work was more than satisfying. It was good, it was even better than good. So how on earth could this guy in front of him even dare to criticize him like that? Toby thought Bangwon wasn’t writing proper songs for average groups? His English was lacking? How great could HE be in writing and producing a song to judge and destroy others easily?!



“And you say that because you’re so much better than all of us?“, Bangwon almost barked. He was able to contain himself just a little to not jump up and strangle Toby with his bare hands.

Again all Toby could do was smirking at the older one.

This guy really had guts to show up randomly, spy on other trainees and then act up as a rude jerk. And for some reason that smirk Toby was giving Bangwon was anything else than friendly and respectful.

“Do you want to challenge me?“, Toby asked and even started laughing in amusement. 



“Do you want to die, jerk?!“, Bangwon hissed back and finally got up from his chair, being face to face to Toby now. 



“Shin Bangwon, calm down immediately! Threatening other trainees is a no-go!“, the instructor shouted in between the two guys but once Toby had raised his arm and stopped him by only that little gesture, he kept quiet again, yet looking more than displeased still.



“Don’t waste all your vigor on me now. There’ll be a chance for you to go down fighting just too soon.“, Toby said calmly, a hint of excitement hidden in his voice. “I can’t wait to prove to you… what I’m capable of.“

Acting all fake politely Toby slightly bowed and then left the room again after that little argument. The other trainees where watching him take his leave as if they were watching some overly dramatic soap opera on TV.



Bangwon was still boiling inside. He felt like erupting any moment. This wasn’t over yet. Oh no. Not even the slightest bit.

The next morning Bangwon was still disgruntled, even Hyunjoo noticed it. He was sitting at his regular place, mumbling angry words towards his cup of coffee.



“Do you want to tell me what’s wrong or should I give you two another moment?“, the girl asked with a sigh and crossed her arms when she eyed Bangwon, raising an eyebrow.

“I really don’t want to talk about it…“, Bangwon answered grumpily and turned the cup in his hands another round without even taking a sip. The coffee was already cold. Unfortunately his mind couldn’t cool down the same. The boy was so absorbed by the thought of Toby’s gleeful smirk, he almost missed his phone suddenly ringing. A little reluctantly he grabbed and checked it. It was Ilsung who was calling for him via KakaoTalk.
 


Ilsung wrote:



WHERE ARE U?!?!?!?! GET HERE IMMEDIATELY! EMERGENCY! IT’S ABOUT THE BHUC!

 

“Oh really? But you seem talkative a lot with your little cup over there. How come you’re talking to a mere - “, Hyunjoo was having a go on Bangwon but was interrupted by him suddenly jumping up from his chair and grabbing his jacket. “H-HEY! WHERE ARE YOU GOING?!“







It had never been an issue when he came in too late. Today was completely different and if it hadn’t been for Ilsung, Bangwon would have missed out one of the biggest opportunities he was ever offered. 



When he set step into the building and headed towards the training rooms, all of them were completely empty. All except for the big training hall in which all of the male trainees where gathered.

Once Bangwon was almost passing by and just stopped because he found Ilsung waving at him like a maniac, he stopped and entered, Taehee who was standing in front of all the sitting trainees shortly sending him a displeased scowl. 



“…so you have to decide now. It’s a big opportunity.“, Taehee finished his speech. 



Bangwon was looking at him in complete confusion. Since he came in late he didn’t have a single clue what he was talking about but luckily Ilsung was raising his hand to ask a question.



“Okay, to put it together in short again… we’re offered the chance to participate in a solo stage at the BigHit United concert if we win this competition?“, he asked.

Taehee nodded.

“Yes, the winning team is allowed to perform separately from all the other BigHit artists. But to join in the competition you have to sign this new contract.“, he said and again showed the trainees a sheet of paper. “The winning team will perform solo, but the three teams ranking last will be discharged from BigHit.“



WHAT?! Bangwon was late one day (okay, he was always late…;; ) but on a day like this they decided to come up with something big like that?!



The offer was tempting and of course Bangwon wasn’t doubting that he had great potential to win this competition. What was bothering him more was the person next to Taehee. Toby… that god damn boy. He wasn’t standing there for no reason, right? What if he would decide who would win?



“Sorry… but who are going to be the judges again?“, Bangwon asked and looked especially at Toby who noticed the too- late - comer glaring at him and sending him back a friendly smile. What the heck…?! “It’s not…Toby, is it?“



Toby started chuckling and shook his head. “No, it’s not me.“



“Judges will be BTS' Kim Namjoon, Arora's Kim Ardene, instructor Park Bongyoung, CEO Bang Sihyuk and me.“, Taehee answered Bangwon’s question and cleared his throat. “But mentioning Toby… you should all be very grateful as this opportunity is only given to you because Toby decided to relinquish his solo performance so the wining group can perform instead.“



“He did what?!“, Bangwon heard Yoosung hissing from another corner of the room. When he looked for him, he found the other trainee looking at Toby wide-eyed.



“You have 5 minutes starting now to either sign the contract or leave it be. Decide wisely.“



With those last words Taehee left the room, followed by Toby. A bunch of trainees was already jumping at the contracts to sign them while others were still discussing what to do. So did Bangwon, Ilsung, Yoosung and Jongin.

“This is fishy.“, Yoosung voiced out his concerns. 



“Yeah, I think so, too. Why would any of us trainees say No to a solo stage? Especially if it’s Toby…“, Ilsung agreed. Hearing the one and only trainee who really knew Toby well enough to judge the situation say something like that caused all of the others to feel even more alarmed. And they weren’t the only ones.

“Hey… are you signing this?“, Evan asked, approaching the others. He had David right next to him who was reading the contract over and over again.



“Not sure yet.“, Jongin answered.



“You should, though.“, Hyukjae suddenly joined the conversation. He was accompanied by the two most handsome trainees that BigHit had to offer. Seo Jaekwang and Lee Taehyuk. While Jaekwang was the calmer one of the two, maybe even shy towards those he didn’t know, Taehyuk was the more outgoing trainee. Well… sometimes. Both had one in common - they were bad at singing, dancing and rapping… the two black wholes of BigHit. The pretty boys were considered rather awkward around others, therefore most of the trainees didn’t bother to talk to them if they didn’t have to. Hyukjae on the other hand seemed pretty close to them.



“Didn’t you wonder why Taehee is suddenly like this? I just confirmed it by asking Yoonji and Chaerin. He’s going to be a manager… and you know why they are starting this competition? They’ll kicking out all of the trainees they find not skilled enough to maintain being BigHit trainees. That’s why Hitman Bang is joining the evaluation.“, the jokester explained. It was giving Bangwon the chills to see him all serious. The climate at BigHit had changed drastically ever since the giant concert had been announced. 



“So why should we join this competition then?“, Jongin asked.



“…because they’re going to discharge any of the trainees whose contracts will end soon anyway.“, Yoosung figured and silence grew between the trainees… until Yoosung went for it and grabbed one of the contracts to sign it right away.



“What are you doing?!“, Jongin exclaimed and attempted to stop his friend but it was already too late.



“My contract is going to expire this year!“, Yoosung barked at Jongin and pushed him away. “I’m not going to be dismissed that easily! They want to see me fighting? Then I’ll give them a show they’ll never forget!“



His fierce eyes were showing how determined he was and the others soon joined him. He was right. If they were to be dismissed, they would at least fight to stay. No matter how small the chances were. There was just one thing left bothering Bangwon…



“Hey Ilsung…did Taehee explain what kind of competition this will be?“, he asked.

“No, he did not. That was the condition we had to entrust ourselves…“, Ilsung replied all flustered. He was more than worried about what was going to happen. 



Taehee was back just too soon with his pet Toby and he had seven USBs with him. Whatever it was, Bangwon had the feeling that it had to do with yesterday’s task during songwriting… the USBs were giving him the hint of it.



“As I see… all of you who remained in this room want to participate in the competition…well…let’s start then…“, the manager examined the trainees with a gloomy face and started moving through the room, pressing a little card into each of the boys’ hands. “Let me explain the competition then… each of you has a card on which the team you’ll be sorted in is written on. You’re not allowed to change cards with others. Every team has three days to produce a whole song and choreography to it. The songs have to be party-love songs and they have to be different from what you usually produce. I know that BigHit is going into one direction at the moment with Hip Hop and Rap as the focus but it’s important for you to compose a song that is heavily different from BTS’ songs.“ the last trainee to get a card was Toby which confused the others even more. “You’ll be provided with the main beat of your song only on these USBs. To compose, record and produce your song, you’re free to use the BigHit studios until tomorrow evening.“



“Wait, why is he getting a card, too?“, this time it was David to speak up.

Toby again just chuckled. “Because I’m going to join the competition, too. See it like this… to perform instead of me, you have to beat me first.“

Nosy bastard.

Taehee ignored the exchange between the trainees, put the USBs on the little table where the pile of contracts was placed on and pointed at the clock hanging at the top of the door. “The competition starts…now! Good luck everyone.“

“Well then…“, Bangwon mumbled and turned around his card to see which team he would have to work with. B.

“I got A.“, Jongin said and looked over to Yoosung’s card in hope that they were in the same team.

“C.“, Yoosung had to disappoint his friend.



“Prof, I’m C, too!“, Hyukjae exclaimed and grinned widely, the other trainee rather looking displeased about it.

“Anyone B?“, Ilsung shouted into the room and immediately the other members were gathering. Jaekwang, Evan, David and weirdo newbie Halo started forming a circle around Bangwon who only focused on what was happening somewhere else in the room. Toby’s corner of the room.

Monkey Duo Sian and Kangjoon, as much as Halo’s companion Haejoon were meeting up with him. Jongin just slowly moved towards them, looking back over his shoulder at the other two groups where the trainees he usually was with were starting to discuss the competition. Yet, Toby didn’t stay long. He was gone almost immediately after instructing the others shortly.

“HEY WAIT!“, Kangjoon was shouting after him. BigHit’s prince didn’t stop, though. “Jeez… doesn’t he need to know about our skill level if he wants to write a song for us?“, he asked.

That was it. This was the answer to every trainees’ question from the days before.

“…and the trap snaps shut…“, Ilsung muttered.



“What do you mean?“, Evan asked with furrowed eyebrows.

“…this was planned.“, Ilsung explained. “The reason why Toby was sneaking around our classes… he was checking on our skills. He knew this would happen… and he’s the one with the biggest advantage now. Because he knows all our strengths and weaknesses and eve the style we prefer. And what do we know? Nothing.“

“…we’ll win nonetheless. And now tell me all of you guys immediately. We need to work quickly.“, Bangwon took over the lead. He would win this. He would win over Toby. And he would be on stage and show Hyunjoo what she had bought the ticket for. BigHit United… there was no way for Bangwon to fail this.

To put into words how it was going after Bangwon had declared to win against Toby: Miserable. 
It started right away when Yoosung and Bangwon entered the recording studio even before the other four groups sent their composers. The moment they entered, Toby got up from his seat, giving them a victorious smile and then he disappeared again.

“…we only took 30 minutes and he’s already done with the song?“, Yoosung doubted openly. “Not even my father would be able to do so. His group will flop. There’s no way he composed a proper song within 30 minutes…!!!“ 



As much as Toby was a rival, Bangwonwas reminded that Yoosung was one as well. He kind of felt even more threatened by Yoosung since he knew that Yoosung was extremely skilled and had the advantage of practical experience with a songwriter dad to call his own. Still, Yoosung’s group consisted of only 5 members, the black hole Taehyuk inclusive. Even though Bangwon had to deal with Jaekwang and his incapability that would be even worse than Taehyuk, he had more members to cover up what Jaekwang was lacking in… basically everything.

And that everything showed during recording but even more during the performance rehearsal.



“I’m sorry.“ - “I’m sorry!“ - “I’m so sorry!!!“

The one in charge of the choreography, Halo, was rubbing his chin while thinking of a way how to teach Jaekwang his parts so it would work. But even after 2 hours practicing one and the same part over and over again, Jaekwang wasn’t able to manage any of the moves. And Bangwon step by step grew more impatient with time running out way too fast when he knew that Yoosung and Toby could be one step ahead of him.

His group was too different. Too different on so many levels. Singing had been a challenge thanks to Jaekwang alone but dancing was a challenge thanks to everyone. It was almost sad how Bangwon and Halo were the only ones who were in sync when trying to do the choreography and Halo also got closer to the verge of despair.

He was running his hands through his long hair, ruffling through it and then saying some random Spanish words nobody understood.

Another round of dancing, another round of frustration.

“Qué chingados es eso?!“ Whatever that meant.


“I really wonder if the others are also struggling like we do…“, David worried. Evan quickly patted his shoulder, being all caring for the youngest of the group. “They definitely do, so don’t worry.“



While those two were acting like mother and child, Ilsung was watching how Halo was still trying to explain the different steps to Jaekwang. Just as Bangwon he was watching them with mixed feelings. Mixed, negative feelings. “

At least he looks fashionable as heck. Must be nice to be a fashionista. To not care about anything else as long as you look like you just came back from a catwalk.“, he commented on the way Jaekwang was dressed even during rehearsal. “Must be nice to be that handsome… even though I wish he would care more about his dancing than his looks…“



Yeah. Looks didn’t save them from being discharged if they failed this. And Bangwon worried more and more with every second passing.

5 minutes were separating Team B from finally performing. Okay, that was a lie… but the competition would officially start in 5 minutes. Evan was already checking the schedule that was pinned at the walls everywhere, stating which group would start to perform.

Team F first, followed by E, G, C, A and then finally B.

“I wish we could have been first. I just wanna get it over with…“, Ilsung said and sighed. “Even if we manage to do the whole thing together now, we’re still not in sync completely… and being last will pressure us so much. We’ll see all of the other groups even before we get to perform…what if one of the groups is really good?“, he even worried.

“We’ll win.“, Bangwon responded. He had never been the kind to comfort others. He didn’t even know how to do it properly. So there was nothing left than the words he kept telling himself the whole time. They would win. Because their song was good. Their choreography was good. “Anyway… Jaekwang hasn’t arrived yet?“, he asked.

“He’s on his way back from the shooting… ah seriously… How can BigHit let us participate in a competition like this but doesn’t cut off our other schedules? That’s cruel…!“, David complained.

It was simple. Because idols weren’t given a break either. They had to do exactly the same. Just that they usually didn’t produce their own songs and choreographies.

“HAAAALOOOOOO!“

Haejoon’s voice was booming through the whole floor with most of the trainees either wincing or turning their heads towards the guy who was running to his friend and falling into his arms as if they were a drama couple.

“KILL ME PLEASE!“, he whined. Bangwon couldn’t help but look at him twice. Was Toby’s group completely dressed like this?! 

Haejoon was wearing black jeans, a white shirt covered by a black jacket and Timberlands. He looked as if he was about to really perform on a giant stage. He was wearing make-up and his hair looked more than perfect!



“TOBY IS THE DEVIL, I SWEAR!“, he went on complaining.

“What? What are you talking about?“, Halo asked and started laughing a bit. “Did he start spitting fire or threatened to roast you?“

“WORSE! He kept us training the whole night! After we recorded the song he suddenly disappeared for the complete next day! I was working so hard on the choreography and when he suddenly appeared again yesterday in the evening he was changing so much, forcing us to train even more - he didn’t let us sleep the whole night, Halo! And I just ate a bowl of rice, that’s it! I didn’t have time for anything!“

Toby had just joined in the last few hours? Hmmm. A hint of a smile was spreading on Bangwon’s lips. If Toby changed so much on the choreography… then they wouldn’t be that perfect. Maybe Toby was able to learn within seconds as the rumors had spread after the promotion video BUT the others couldn’t be geniuses like him. That was impossible.

The door to the training hall was finally opened with Taehee allowing the trainees to enter. “You can sit at the ground close to the walls, don’t take too much space though, the groups need enough to perform well.“

The judges were already sitting at a long table, Hitman Bang in the middle of it. He was talking to Ardene and Namjoon who were both seated to his left and right, Bangwon hearing some of the trainees envying the two artists to be that close with the CEO.

Last minute Jaekwang rushed into the room, looking for the other members of his group. And surprising the others by not being dressed as they had decided beforehand. Instead of wearing completely black, he was still wearing a white shirt, standing out compared to the others. The guys had decided to only dress Bangwon in an outstanding varsity jacket and Halo in his blue jacket so the judges would automatically look at them only. But like this, Jaekwang was catching their eyes almost the most. Bangwon couldn’t help but facepalm over it.

“…“ Hopefully the other groups as much as them.



Team B was pretty lucky. Until now Team D to G were all a little worse than them, the only ones remaining being Yoosung’s and Toby’s teams. And when it was Yoosung’s group’s turn, Bangwon felt a little nervous watching them.

Their song was good. Pretty good, even. It was a typical party song, yet they managed to get the love vibe through the lyrics. With Yoosung covering the main vocal parts and Hyukjae the remaining main parts, the song was pleasant to listen to. They even managed to have a great solution for their black hole Taehyuk. Yoosung had decided to use masses of autotune on his voice, it even fit in the song. Their choreography was easy but perfect for the group. They all were totally in sync. Their choreographer had done a great job even though the trainee in charge and the other one in their line-up didn’t shine a lot since the others were grabbing much of the viewers attention because of Yoosung’s and Hyukjae’s outstanding voices and Taehyuk’s flawless looks.

There was still hope, though. Team C was great but Team B’s choreography was better by far. And Bangwon was still hoping for the judges to like his song better.

“Are you ready to be blown?!“, Kangjoon was shouting through the room as soon as the applause for Team C was over.

“DROP THE BEAT!“, Sian was joining Kangjoon’s enthusiasm with an even louder and a lot more high-pitched voice. To top it all he randomly jumped at Kangjoon’s back who almost stumbled by the small boy jumping at him but he played along and just carried him around like a donkey.

The two guys were rushing to the middle where Team C had performed just recently and high-fived each other. The CEO was watching those two in amusement, a lot of other trainees finding their behavior just plainly unnecessary. Jongin and Haejoon soon joined them with only Toby remaining missing as he quickly rushed over towards the door and checked something outside. What on earth was about to happen…?

Once Toby was back again, everyone was watching the group in anticipation. It looked just like everyone was expecting it to be. Toby in the center. Of course. The trainees should have placed bets on it.

The first beats started playing and the group started performing. In sync. With power. And a hell of a good choreography. Against any expectations Toby’s part in the beginning was rather short and he was soon replaced by Sian taking over the focus with his solo part… and their special guest. The door of the hall suddenly opened and none other than Arora’s Chaerin was walking inside - right into the performance. Sian was dancing around her, looking a little ridiculous since he was slightly smaller than her thanks to her heels. She soon moved further, Jongin taking over the spotlight and then back again to Sian. Chaerin disappeared again, sitting down next to the trainees leaning against the wall.

Damn it. Toby had managed to distribute the parts of the songs equally enough to get each of the members to shine.

When the chorus started Bangwon noticed how some of the other trainees started moving along to the song, even copying the key moves of Team A’s choreography and humming along.

Bangwon thought it couldn’t look worse for Team B after even Toby’s and Haejoon’s raps being on point. Team A was pretty much looking like a group that was ready to debut the very next day. They all were charismatic. They all had great potential. And then they defeated each of the other groups performances with something no one else had thought of.

A dance break.

! Why didn’t Bangwon think of that?! And how did Toby manage to get a group of talented dancers only?! There was no one lacking in anything… or did he just manage to make it look like it?!

Chaerin was soon back in the middle of the performance with Kangjoon interacting with her in a cute but the same time funny way. Bangwon tried to read the judges expressions but besides Bongyoung everyone seemed amazed.

“Well… I guess this means bye bye chance to perform at BigHit United…“, Ilsung mumbled.

Of course Team A won.

Team B didn’t even manage to get second as Team C had taken over that spot. Frustratedly Bangwon was sitting in one of the training rooms. The others had left a while ago but the young rapper couldn’t believe what had just happened. He couldn’t believe he had lost not only to Toby but also to Yoosung. This wasn’t what he had imagined the final result to come out like. There was still so much to improve… so much to consider…



“…“ Another loss he had to get over with. And then such a loss… pathetic.

“Shin Bangwon?“ A sudden female voice was interrupting his self-pity. Kim Ardene entered the room, looking at him irritatedly. “What are you doing here? We were looking for you.“ Looking for him? Did they plan to kick him out even though his group made third place? The lowest ranked trainees were already dismissed with lots of them feeling betrayed and angry about what had happened. But this was life.

“Why?“, he asked and looked up at Arora’s lead rapper. “Did I do anything wrong?“

Ardene shook her head. “No. It’s not that.“, she answered. “Namjoon-oppa and I were judging you guys for a certain reason. We had to chose the trainees we wanted to collaborate with. And we’d be glad to have you joins us.“, she explained.

“Are you kidding me now?“, Bangwon asked her. “Isn’t it a bit cruel stomping on someone who’s already on the ground? You should know… I’m not a bug.“

“I mean it.“, Ardene contradicted and just reacted to his words with an even more irritated expression. “We were looking for rappers. And we thought that you would match with us pretty well.“

“Wait…who’s going to be to other trainees? You said trainees not just trainee.“, Bangwon said and already had a pretty bad feeling.

“Oh, that you mean. Well, we decided to also ask the two rappers of Team A.“

Toby and Haejoon.

Toby… huh…

…

…that would be some fun.

author notes

IT'S BLACK DRAGON DAY!
... that's what I should have written yesterday...;; I'm so sorry it took me a little longer to update but this chap is also a little longer than the last one ^^' So please forgive me!
Sooo, here we go with Bangwon, the indifferent one who is now conflicted with being in the lead position of the group he had to bring through the competition to survive and not ending up being kicked out of BigHit.
Again not all of the trainees could be portrayed entirely but don't worry the next two chaps will include the remaining ones who still didn't get to shine properly. The final line-up will also be revealed in the following 2-3 chapters, so stay tuned for that! I'm also sorry that there's so much Toby in every chapter... it's going to change after the BHUC, so don't worry you won’t have to stand him too long!! ^^;

To anyone who's interested in the performances, here you go:

TEAM A:

TEAM B:

TEAM C:

“ attitude is a little thing that makes big difference ”