After the dance lesson was over, Seyun booked it back to Chanyeon as quickly as she could, “That was the most nerve wracking thing I have ever done.”

Chanyeon was singing a different tune, “That was so cool, BoA noticed you, remembered you, and asked you to help! You're definitely going to do great in the first ranking!” She grinned, “Now, you have to help me with this because I want to move up too.”

“Uh, can I join the class too?” The two turned to see another trainee approaching them. They recognized her as the trainee who sang IU. She gave them a sheepish grin, “I still don't get it very well.”

“Of course you can!” Chanyeon answered before Seyun could. “I’m Chanyeon, and you probably already know that this adorable child is Seyun.”

“I’m not a little kid anymore,” Seyun whined. “I’m graduating next spring.”

“From middle school,” Chanyeon clarified with a snort. “You’re one of the youngest people here.” She patted the younger girl’s head, “Our Seyunnie is just a baby.”

“You’re what, sixteen?” Jonghae asked with wide eyes “Your dancing is already so amazing, I guess some people are just born with it,” she laughed in reply, “My name is Jonghae, by the way.”

“Right, you’re the individual trainee who nailed IU,” Chanyeon nodded. “It was one of the cleanest covers I’ve ever heard.”

Jonghae smiled, “Thanks. I really need to work on this choreography though,” she looked to Seyun, giving the younger girl a wink, “Wanna help this eonnie out?” 

“Sure, but… would you mind helping me with the singing?” Seyun asked. She made a face, “I’m not that good, and I don’t want to drop even lower.”

“Of course,” Jonghae smiled brightly at the other. “Even though we’re in a competition, we still have to help each other out,” she nodded. “This is the first time anyone is ever going to see us, so we have to make a good first impression, right?”

“… Right,” Seyun nodded, giving a small smile. “Thanks.”

“Okay, so the arm thing? Yeah, I still don’t get that,” Jonghae admitted. “Well, I get it, but I can’t do it, you know?”

“I understand that concern all too well,” Chanyeon nodded solemnly.

 

☆

 

“What are you even doing in B?” Junmae asked Lu Huan as the two sat against the wall during their break. Without Jongmi by her side, Junmae had gravitated towards the Chinese girl because she knew the other was also alone. As a Crown trainee, a lot of the trainees in B had either looked down on her for not being in A or avoided her, figuring she would be arrogant. Lu Huan had been kinder, asking the other girl if she would practice with her before Junmae had the chance to do so herself.

The Chinese girl shook her head in reply, “No, what are they doing in B?” She pointed to the two SPY trainees, who were practicing the song in front of the mirrors together, a few feet away from them. They had been able to grasp the choreography despite others struggling, and their lines were clean. “My pronunciation still slips sometimes, so I know why they put me in B. Those two? They’re solid.” Lu Huan would shamelessly admit her Korean wasn’t perfect. While her accent wasn’t strong, she hadn’t been in the country long enough to have fluent pronunciation. “I’m friends with Yixiu, the other girl in their company. She sends me their practice videos sometimes, and they’re seriously amazing.”

The two stopped, and one whispered something to the other. They turned around, zeroing in on Lu Huan and Junmae. The taller of the two winked, “Thanks for the compliment.”

Junmae was properly flustered, but Lu Huan grinned. “You’re welcome~” she chimed. “I’m Lu Huan, and this is Junmae,” she gestured to the other girl.

“I’m Minseon, and this is Kyungsoon,” she positioned the shorter girl in front of her. “Small and squishy, but she’s got powerful vocals.” Kyungsoon gave the two a shy smile.

“Yixiu always tells me how talented you two are, I’d believe that in a heartbeat,” Lu Huan nodded with a smile.

“And your company evaluation was the best one all day,” Junmae said earnestly. “I guarantee they’ll try to pit our companies against each other when they edit all the performances, but I know they won’t be able to hide how talented you guys are.”

“Thanks,” Minseon smiled. “I guess they’re going to continue it considering our dancers are both in A together. I hope they’re getting along well enough.”

“Jongmi better be taking care of herself,” Junmae sighed. “She’s always trying to push her limits. I’m worried she’ll go too far one of these days.”

“She’s injured, isn’t she?” Kyungsoon spoke up. She frowned. “When we were on standby for the evaluations, her waist was trembling even though she hadn’t gone on yet.”

“That’s why you gave her the heat patches?” She nodded in reply, and Junmae sighed, “Thank you for that. Jongmi threw out her lower back a while ago, and she never really let herself heal, so it always creeps up again, no matter how careful she is.”

“… What is she doing on the show then?” Lu Huan frowned in concern, “We all had to go through health examinations, and I heard that one girl already went home because she got sick.”

“I have absolutely no idea how Jongmi passed her examination,” Junmae shook her head. “We both thought she would fail, and she was scared they wouldn’t let her onto the show because she might be a liability. When she passed, she wouldn’t listen to anyone who told her it was a bad idea… including me,” she sighed. “The only thing I can do is nag her to do all of her stretches and put on gels and heat patches. She’ll only leave the show if they carry her out on a stretcher.” She took in their reactions to her words and snorted, “It’s nice that you think I might be joking, but I’m dead serious.”

 

☆

 

“Er, that’s not quite it,” Jonghae said gently. “You’ve got the key right, but you’re kind of tripping over the lyrics.”

Seyun gave a quiet groan and focused on the lyrics in her hand, mouthing out he pronunciation of each word carefully. She frowned, “Why are there so many difficult sounds in this song?”

Chanyeon had gone to retrieve her guitar a few hours earlier, and she had joined Jonghae in coaching Seyun through the lyrics of the song. She strummed the song on her guitar, humming the notes Seyun was supposed to hit. She looked at the girl in concern, “Don’t stress about it too much, Seyunnie.”

“Yeah, you don’t sound bad or anything,” Jonghae nodded. “It’s only small things, and your lisp isn’t even as strong as it was during our singing lesson.”

“It gets worse when I’m nervous,” Seyun frowned. “I start to hit my braces more, and it just turns into this giant mess, and I suddenly can’t talk to save my life.”

“You have braces?” Jonghae asked in surprise. She had never really stared at the other girl’s mouth up close, but she was sure that there weren’t a bunch of metal brackets adorning her teeth.

“Yeah, they’re the inside out kind, on the backside of my teeth,” Seyun opened to show them to the other girl. “I used to have a really bad under bite, but it’s getting better. The braces can make my lisp worse though,” she made a face, “I used to have a lisp without them, but it wasn’t usually this bad.”

“Oh… that ,” Jonghae frowned. “I know you can beat this though,” she gave a determined nod. "We just have to make sure you’re confident enough that you don’t get nervous when you record your video for the evaluation.”

She stood up, “Come on, let’s do it with the choreo.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Seyun asked, but she stood up all the same. “I still don’t have the lyrics down.”

“Yes, you do, you just think you don’t,” Jonghae replied. “We’ll do it one line at a time, slowly, okay?” At the younger girl’s reluctant nod, she grinned triumphantly. “Great, then let’s get to it.”

Chanyeon began to play the song, and they did the opening choreography, but before they could get to the singing, Seyun had already stopped.

Jonghae looked at her in confusion, “What’s wrong?”

“You got the choreography wrong, you started on the opposite foot,” Seyun told her. “Aren’t I supposed to be helping you too, Jonghae-eonnie? Shouldn’t I tell you if you make a mistake?” Chanyeon snorted as Jonghae turned pink in embarrassment, but Seyun wasn’t done. “And Chanyeon-eonnie, don’t you think you should practice too? I don’t want either of us to be sorted lower,” she frowned.

Chanyeon froze, “Ah, y-yeah…” The tips of her ears turned red as she put her guitar to the side. “I should probably practice some more, I don’t have Jonghae’s amazing vocals to balance out my dancing.”

Jonghae laughed, “I can’t do much about it if my dancing absolutely . It’s thanks to Seyunnie here that I’m able to stay afloat. Eonnie is grateful for all your help~”

 

☆

 

[Newsen] ‘Nation’s Nine’ grading isn’t fair?

I still don’t understand why Jonghae didn’t move up to B…

       +She said it herself, her dance is lacking

       +She nailed the choreography for Pink Me, must’ve practiced hard TT-TT

If you put the Genius girls together, they’d be the perfect idol

       +What about high notes? They’re not in C without reason kekeke

I’m glad at least Kyungsoon moved up, but all of the SPY trainees deserve to be in A TT-TT

What are you all talking about kekeke Jongmi deserves to be in A, she’s the best dancer

       +Yixiu is a better dancer and singer, what are you talking about?

       ++They’re both doing just fine in A, you two should shut up

LuHuan-eonnie stayed in B TT-TT She’s so talented, I hope she does well

Jonghae and Seyun were so cute helping each other this episode, I hope they both debut even if they’re stuck in C

Jongmi seriously nailed that dance break

Kyungsoon and Minseon were obviously overshadowed by Yixiu during their first evaluations

Why isn’t anyone talking about Junmae staying in B? She’s can sing and dance well, and she’s also pretty

       +But LuHuan stayed in B, it would have made no sense for her to move up to A

Baehee is putting a lot of the lower grade trainees and their companies in an awkward position because she hasn’t had any training and is doing so well on the show kekeke

 

☆

 

Baehee was a woman on a mission, and she wasn’t about to let people get in her way. When Dojung sounded off, she had easily bolted ahead of all the other girls, never feeling more grateful for all of the conditioning she’d done for the past nine years. That was rather sad considering all of the competitions she had placed in, but as she claimed the debut song of her idols, Girls' Generation, she had been incredibly proud of herself. Almost immediately after Dojung had announced their first live performance would be debut songs, the individual trainee had already started to create her perfect lineup, and coming first in the race would ensure no one could ruin that for her.

As their mentor had announced that she would be picking her team members firs, Baehee scanned the group of girls carefully, looking for a specific trainee. “Genius Entertainment, Oh Seyun.” She met eyes with the girl and flashed her a grin. When the girl stood next to her, Baehee winked, "Don't look so nervous, I picked you for a reason, Seyunnie."

Her words did nothing to calm the other, “… Are you sure that was a good reason?”

Baehee snorted, “Of course I am." She looked back to the crowd, running the possible lineups in her mind before nodding to herself, "Genius Entertainment, Park Chanyeon."

The tall girl came down and gave Baehee a look, “… are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"Seyun asked me the same thing, but yes, I'm sure." Baehee laughed, "I need your harmonies." She looked back to the crowd, "Big Hit Entertainment… Kim Taehee."

"Um, I don't want to doubt your judgement, but do you know what you're doing?" Taehee asked when she joined the group. She pointed to herself, "Hip hop trainee.” She then pointed to the cardboard flag designating their team, “Girls’ Generation debut song.”

“You're a vocal,” Baehee snorted. “And yes, for the last time, I know what I'm doing,” she rolled her eyes. “Seriously, have faith in my eye for talent. We’re going to get the benefit points.” She looked back to the crowd, meeting eyes with Jonghae briefly. The other individual trainee had asked not to be picked, and while Baehee hadn’t originally planned on doing all of the high notes by herself, she figured Jonghae had her reasons. Baehee had other lineup options though, “Velvet Entertainment, Kang Seulgi.”

 

☆

 

MAMAMOO’s debut song had never been an easy song to sing, and all the trainees on the show knew that. The harmonies would have to be done live, and that obviously scared some of them. However, Yixiu had been excited when she saw the song option, her mind already working through the trainees she had seen thus far and creating possible member lineups. When the song selection had begun, Yixiu had easily claimed the song and watched in amusement as two trainees fought to avoid it. Whoever ended up with it would probably also end up with the trainees that had yet to be chosen when every other A-ranked trainee had chosen their teams.

When she sat down by the cardboard flag designating her song choice, Yixiu had been all too relaxed. She had hoped the two trainees took all the time in the world deciding who would have to take MAMAMOO’s debut song.

It would only make things easier for her.

 

☆

 

“Do you think we should change the center?” Kyungsoon asked the rest of her team. Looking down at the part distribution sheet, she frowned. How was her name next to the main vocal position, the leader position, and the center position? It seemed to be stacked towards her, and while she would do her best, she didn’t think it was fair to the rest of the team.

“Even if we wanted to, we can’t,” one of the girls snorted in reply. “You have to be the center because you were the ‘Pick Me’ center.”

Kyungsoon resisted the urge to shrink. A few weeks earlier, she had been proud that the rest of the trainees had voted her to be center, but now? She was hyperaware of all the eyes on her in the competition, and it made her uncomfortable. The SPY trainee knew that she had won the vote for center fair and square, but there was still a fair amount of girls that hadn’t agreed with her appointment. When articles started to pour in about her, Minseon and Yixiu had tried to convince that all the attention was a good thing, but she had wanted to hide even more.

“Even if we could change the center, I don’t think we should,” Junmae gave the girl a careful look. Jealousy was an ugly disease. While the team Kyungsoon had chosen was talented and fit their song choice, Junmae soon realized they were also hungry for attention. “Kyungsoonnie is the youngest, and APink’s debut suits her the most.” She looked to the SPY trainee, “Don’t worry about being center, I’m sure you’ll do a great job.” The Crown trainee then looked to the rest of her team, taking on a firm tone, “We should be focusing on making the parts we have perfect, not focusing on how to change them just because we don’t like them. Kyungsoon won more than half the votes for center, she deserves the spot.”

Junmae was unfortunately used to dealing with trainees who thought they deserved more. Crown was full of people who thought they deserved to debut before their peers. When she and Jongmi had been chosen to be on the show, there had been protests from a lot of the other trainees, but she blocked them out. They were just jealous. “I think the fact that the trainer’s all agreed with her being center is a sign that she should be center. Don’t get me wrong, you’ve all got cute visuals, and you’re all talented vocals. There’s a reason why Kyungsoon picked you to be in this team, her team. We’re all going to contribute to the win. And if you’re worried about screen time, it’s not like the cameramen are going to straight up avoid you when we’re on stage.”

Their teammates were visibly displeased by Junmae’s words, but they didn’t protest. Kyungsoon sent Junmae a grateful smile, and she shrugged in reply. There was no reason why they should be wasting their time on such childish disputes when they had to prepare for a stage.

“I think we should change one thing though,” Kyungsoon said slowly, erasing her name from one of the boxes before looking to Junmae, “Do you want to be the leader?”

 

☆

 

[enter-talk] ‘Nation’s Nine’ Do Kyungsoon, would you accept her confession?

Oppa would accept in a heartbeat, Kyungsoon TT-TT

       +Eonnie would too TTATT

I watched her eye-contact version, and her lips seriously turn into a heart when she smiles. She’s so cute, definitely a stan attractor.

What is she doing on this show? She could have already debuted but SPY keeps their trainees locked up as usual… Her eonnies are also talented, it’s a shame

Do Kyungsoon needs to always be the center, I hope she can overtake Baehee

Her voice had an R&B style during her evaluation but she’s so cute here, she can do more than one concept

She’s so small and cute, she fits the song perfectly.

Her teammates were jealous of her, but she was the reason they got the extra points kekeke Even if she didn’t win overall, she proved that she deserved to be center

 

☆

 

“Let’s go over it one more time,” Jongmi said. “I don’t think our transition to the floor is clean enough yet.”

Lu Huan glanced at the rest of their team, taking in the way their expressions were begging her to save them. “Uh… let’s take a break first.” She gave Jongmi a cheeky wink when Crown trainee gave her a look, “You might be the center, but you voted me leader, Jongmimi~ As leader, I say we deserve a ten-minute break.”

“Ten minutes?” Jongmi frowned.

“I can make it twenty if you want me to,” Lu Huan chimed, and Jongmi’s frown morphed into a pout. The Chinese girl laughed in reply, “Not everyone can keep going as long as you can. We want to make it to the stage with our bodies intact.”

Jongmi sighed, “Fine, I guess we can take a break.”

Lu Huan chuckled, “The rest of the team already started their break.” Once she had declared they deserved a break, the other girls had bolted from their designated practice space. Lu Huan offered a water bottle to Jongmi, “Are you sure you’re not pushing yourself too hard?”

“Do you think I am?” Jongmi asked, accepting the water bottle with a pointed look.

“Well, you’re kind of scaring our teammates away,” Lu Huan pointed out.

Jongmi visibly drooped, her voice becoming small, “Oh.” She looked at the other girl earnestly, “I’m not trying to, I just want us to do our best.”

“I know you do,” Lu Huan nodded in understanding. “You’re just being a little bit too intense. You picked us to be in your team because you knew we could do Miss A justice, and we’re going to do them justice.” She guided the girl over to the wall to sit down, “So take a break, you deserve one. I’ll even give your waist a massage, Yixiu said I’m really good at them.”

“…You talked to Junmae-eonnie, didn’t you?”

Lu Huan shrugged, “I didn’t need to talk to her to notice that you hit the ground awkwardly during our last transition.” Lifting up the bottom of Jongmi’s pink sweatshirt, she continued, “Talking to Junmae did help me realize why you looked like it hurt so much.” Her fingers massaged the Crown trainee’s lower back gently. “I understand why you’re so stubborn about working through your injury. You want to debut, and you think that taking a break to heal is going to hold you back. You don’t want to miss your chance, and you have no idea when that chance is going to come.”

“I… I got injured right before the last Crown girl group was chosen,” Jongmi said quietly. “I was too young to debut with them, but I’m old enough to debut with the next one. I can’t let an injury stop me from standing on the stage. As long as I can keep dancing, I’m going to.” She felt Lu Huan’s fingers still on her waist and her arms wrap around her into a hug.

Lu Huan rested her chin on Jongmi’s shoulder, sighing quietly as she thought back to Junmae’s earlier words. “I really hope you get to debut in this group, Jongmi.”

 

☆

 

[Nate] ‘Nation’s Nine’ Bad Girl Jongmi or Good Girl Lu Huan?

Jongmi has more views on her eye contact video, and Lu Huan got more votes during the show. They’re obviously really talented and popular, don’t compare them

Miracle of China, Lu Huan. I hope she makes it into the final lineup.

Why not both kekekeke Their eye contact videos both have a lot of views even though it’s only been a few hours since they were uploaded

Does this journalist even remember the lyrics to this song kekekekeke

Lu Huan and Jongmi both nailed the concept, and their teamwork was really good this week. They’ll definitely make it past the eliminations

When they got on the floor… amazing, seriously amazing…

Lu Huan got a lot of criticism because she’s Chinese, but she still does well, and she even had the most votes on her team tonight.

 

☆

 

“I heard the other group mention the ballad version of ‘Into the New World,’ and that might scare a weaker woman, but I already know that we’re going to one up them with the acapella intro,” Baehee told her group, typing a search into her tablet. After bringing up the video, she continued, “Girls’ Generation performed the iconic rendition at in their 2013 concert, and it’s still a fan favorite.” She paused briefly, “Okay, it’s my favorite, but I’m a fan, so that still counts.”

“Of course it does, Eonnie,” Seulgi was amused by her enthusiasm. “How do you picture our tribute to South Korea’s top girl group?”

“You, me, and Chanyeon are going to cover the harmonies and adlibs in the acapella,” Baehee nodded solemnly. “We’re the main and lead vocals. Taehee and Seyun will cover the melody. Since Taehee has a thicker voice and Seyunnie has a softer voice, they’re going to complement each other and it’s going to sound really full.” When they nodded in understanding, Baehee wrote it down on part distribution sheet.

“Taehee will be the center because she’s beautiful and a strong dancer, and Seyunnie will do the dance break because she’s as flexible as a noodle and incredibly talented,” Baehee continued. “Even if you don’t have a lot of lines, you’ll be sure to get lots of screen time when we perform,” she nodded to herself. Most people considered Taeyeon and Jessica’s high notes to be the highlight of the performance, but Baehee knew better. The combination of a sweet song and hard choreography was one of the reasons the debut song was so iconic. They needed a strong dance line just as much as they needed a strong vocal line if they wanted to win.

Chanyeon was visibly impressed, “You seriously came up with all of this already?”

“I do covers and collabs all the time,” Baehee reminded the girl with a smile, “I like bringing people together and making something incredible. We just need to play up our strengths and cover up our weaknesses.” She made more notes on the part distribution, “So, uh, don’t be offended when I say you need to pull a Tiffany and get to the back during the chorus.”

Seyun’s mouth dropped open in shock.

Chanyeon let out a loud laugh, “I was waiting for you to say that.”

 

☆

 

[Nate] ‘Nation’s Nine’ A fangirl’s careful planning pays off! Team Baehee dominates 

Byun Baehee’s high note raised my grades, cleared my skin, and got me into a fansign after only buying one album

Amazing… Baehee’s high notes were just amazing…

When she gave her team their assignments, I couldn’t even call her bossy because she made sure each member got their spotlight. I had no idea Chanyeon could harmonize like that

Those high notes… the harmonies at the beginning… that dance break… Team Baehee was the best for sure. I

f she’s not first next week, it’s rigged against individual trainees for sure…

She’s used to working with other people she’s only ever seen on a screen before, of course Baehee would have a good eye for talent keke

Kekekeke people are upset Baehee took all the high notes at the end, but in the beginning she took the least adlibs and let Seulgi do most of them.

Byun Baehee’s class kekekeke She could easily be a producer, I never would have put the Genius trainees or the Big Hit trainee in a group covering Girl’s Generation, but she knew she needed them and picked them without hesitating

☆

“I think MAMAMOO’s song is cursed,” Minseon all too seriously. She gave Yixiu a look, “Why did you pick me to be on your team? I could be practicing with Kyungsoon right now.”

“You hate innocent concepts, we both know that,” Yixiu rolled her eyes. “And the song isn’t cursed. No one could have known that we’d lose a trainee.”

Jonghae snorted, “You make it sound like she’s dead, Eonnie. She’s just… in the hospital,” the words sunk in. “Never mind, that’s almost as bad.”

Yerin, the final member of their group, sighed, “I hope she’s okay even if she can’t perform with us…”

“It’s good that she’s leaving now though,” Yixiu said nodded. “This way, she can get the help she needs, and even though she can’t debut on the show, she might be able to debut with her company.”

“I don’t understand why someone would come on the show if they’re sick,” Jonghae frowned. “We all had a medical exam, didn’t we? I know that it’s been a few weeks since then, but she looked really sick when they took her away.”

“I guess it comes and goes with some people,” Minseon shrugged.

 

☆

 

[Nate] ‘Nation’s Nine’ MAMAMOO’s ‘Piano Man’ better as four or five? 

Four, hands down. The difference in votes was hilarious kekekekeke

The only thing the groups had in common was the song, the Chinese girl’s team was on a different level

I didn’t know Yixiu’s team could harmonize like that… Minseon was seriously amazing

It’s a pity one of the girls had to leave the show, but the group of four had the better stage. They looked like they could have been a real group.

The team of five had the members nobody wanted because the leader tried to avoid MAMAMOO kekeke Yixiu actually wanted the song, so she got to pick her team really early, and it paid off

Team Yixiu had the best ‘Piano Man’ live I’ve ever heard kekekeke

Their harmonies… Yixiu knows how to pick good voices, Minseon did the high harmonies so well.

Jonghae’s high note wasn’t as high as Baehee’s, but it was just as strong

MAMAMOO debuted as four, the line distribution is obviously better suited for four members

 

☆

 

[Naver] ‘Nation’s Nine’ trainees take on iconic girl groups, Byun Baehee and Kim Jonghae compete for the final win 

Can anyone match Byun Baehee’s talent in this show? kekeke

How many companies are waiting for the show to end so they can contact Byun Baehee kekeke

       + All of them

Byun Baehee’s class kekekeke She totally led her team to victory this week

I’m becoming a fan of Jonghae, she’s always nice to the other trainees, and she works hard. Her dancing isn’t as good as Baehee’s, but I think her voice is better

Jonghae’s team had less members, but Baehee still beat her kekeke

Kyungsoon would have been up there with them if she hadn’t been with a Crown trainee kekeke

For a foreigner, Yixiu is really talented…

Jonghae’s dance skills are slowly getting better

Both Baehee and Jonghae are doing so well TT TT

Eliminations are next week, I’m nervous

Why is no one talking about the miracle of China, Lu Huan? If she hadn’t been in Jongmi’s group she would have ranked higher

 

☆

 

The girls filed onto the set, greeting the nation’s producers (read: the camera) with low bows. As they sat down in long rows before the pyramid, now dwindled down from 99 seats to 51, only one thought was on their minds: Will I get to sit there? No matter how safe the trainees knew they were supposed to be, there was always a lingering doubt that the ranks had been upset, and they were suddenly on the bottom.

“Who do you think is going to be first?” Junmae asked.

“Byun Baehee,” Jongmi’s reply was automatic. “She was first when they showed the rankings after the first episode, and she’s only gotten more popular since then.”

“Kyungsoon is doing amazing right now though,” the two turned to see Baehee behind them, sitting with Jonghae and Lu Huan. She continued on, “Since she was the center for ‘Pick Me,’ she probably has a lot of public recognition, and she’s also really talented and really cute,” Baehee nodded, sure of herself. “I think I’m falling in the rankings a bit, but Kyungsoon’s definitely been rising. She was fifth at the end of the first episode, but there’s no way that’s true now.”

“I want the center effect,” Jongmi whined. She pouted at Junmae, “Do you think I can be center at least once before the show ends?” Lu Huan eyed her, “Weren’t you the center for our team last week?”

“Yeah, but you were there,” the younger girl replied purposefully. “We were basically co-centers.”

Lu Huan stuck her tongue out, “You picked me to be on your team, so you don’t get to complain. You did it to yourself, Jongmimi~”

 

☆

 

“From ninety-nine to nine, vote for your favorite girl,” Dojung began. “I’m the nation’s representative producer, Kim Dojung.” After the girls applauded him, he continued, “I didn’t think this day would come so soon, but here we are. The results of the first round of voting, decided by the nation’s producers, will be revealed today.”

“I’m so nervous,” Seyun whispered, clutching Chanyeon’s hand tightly.

“Like you already know, only ranks one through fifty-one will survive,” Dojung continued. “Trainees ranked fifty-two to ninety-seven will be eliminated,” he looked out into the sea of girls dramatically. “The trainee to receive first place, from now until the next ranking announcement, will be the center for ‘Nation’s Nine.’ The ranking for the first center chosen by the nation’s producers,” he smirked slightly, “it was a close call, so let’s look forward to that.”

The screens changed before them, and dramatic music began to play. “Let’s begin with the first ranking.”

“I take it back, I can afford to wait and debut at twenty-five,” Minseon said, looking at the flashing screen. “Let’s go home, I don’t want to know my rank.”

“Right behind you,” Kyungsoon replied.

“Instead of beginning with fifty-one, we’ll be beginning with fifty,” Dojung read. “Why begin with fifty instead of fifty-one? Fifty-one and fifty-two were on the same team for debut songs,” he explained. “Fifty-two was the only member of her team to be eliminated.”

“It’s been nice knowing you,” Chanyeon sighed. “Last until the end for both of us, Seyunnie.”

Seyun clutched the other girl’s hand even more tightly than before, “Don’t even think about joking about something like that.”

 

☆

 

[TV Daily] ‘Nation’s Nine’ From domination to elimination, the shocking ranks of Big Hit and Genius 

Beating the other team doesn’t matter if one member is obviously more popular. Voters will just look to her and ignore everyone else.

Seyunnie’s crying face made me realize that she's just a baby TT-TT

I can’t believe Baehee’s high note turned into a team kill…

Since when do people talk about that Big Hit trainee? Sure she’s pretty, but so are a lot of the trainees. The hip-hop trend in Korea is fading, so no one cared until she was up for elimination

I never expected this to happen, I thought they were all safe…

Taehee was a really pretty center, but she didn’t get the ending shot because she was overshadowed by Baehee’s high notes… Chanyeon’s harmonies were good and her dance was better than usual, but she was overshadowed by Baehee’s high notes… Seyun’s dance break was really clean and her lisp wasn’t that obvious, but she was overshadowed by Baehee’s high notes…

Seyun’s crying face is being passed around, but she wasn’t eliminated keke She was crying for her eonnie, not for herself. She ranked 34th~ Her lisp is cute and her visuals are like a young Slytherin, she’s a total stan attractor

There are girls who are less talented that managed to stay, but one of these talented trainees had to go home… this show is a joke

 

☆

 

“I bet everyone is wondering who the top three are,” Dojung said. “First place will be the center until the next ranking, but how many members will be in the final group?”

“Nine members,” the girls all chorused back, some sitting in their pyramid ranking, others watching from their seats. “Exactly, nine members will be in the final group,” Dojung nodded. “For a group with nine members, choreography is easily broken up into smaller groups of three. Members ranked second and third will be secondary centers.”

“Um, I’ve never heard of a secondary center before,” Lu Huan whispered to Baehee. “Is that the norm in the Korean idol industry and I just so happened to miss that memo?”

“No clue,” Baehee snorted quietly in reply. “I bet they just made it up.”

“Third place trainee,” Dojung began as the screen changed. “I would say she had an evaluation that was the most shocking to the public due to not only her performance, but also the country she calls her home.” He glanced at the cue card, “With three hundred eighty-two thousand, nine hundred seventy-five votes… Ringleader Entertainment’s Lu Huan.”

“… Hah?” Lu Huan blinked owlishly.

 

☆

 

[enter-talk] ‘Nation’s Nine’ Friends from Day 1, Byun Baehee and Lu Huan claim 2nd and 3rd place in the rankings. 

I expected Baehee to be first…

Lu Huan’s this popular? I guess Chinese fans are coming out to vote for her

It’s good that Baehee is 2nd, she needs to stay humble 

Lu Huan did really good in the girl group debut battle. Even if she wasn’t center, my eyes were drawn to her.

It’s cute that they met on the top of the pyramid when they first met and they got to have similar rankings.

Baehee’s ranked so much higher than the rest of her team members. The next one is Kang Seulgi, and she’s only 25th What kind of gap is that kekeke

Byun Baehee’s class kekeke she’s an individual trainee, but she’s above almost everyone

Lu Huan really is a miracle of China… Yixiu’s stuck in the 30s, but Lu Huan is 3rd

 

☆

 

“I have never been so happy to wear gray before,” Baehee whispered to Kyungsoon as the two walked into the auditorium. Gone were the color-coded sweatshirts, and she couldn’t be any more pleased. “I’m not even lying, I felt like a piece of raw meat in that thing.”

Kyungsoon smiled at the joke, “I’m sure a lot of people would have killed to feel like raw meat if it meant getting more screen time.” Kyungsoon had no problem with wearing gray, and she preferred to wear mute colors if she was being honest, but if she was being even more honest, she would admit that she had cried when she had received her pink sweatshirt after moving up to A. She didn’t even like pink, but she had never been so happy to wear that pepto-bismol colored piece of fabric. It made her feel like all the time she had spent training at her company had been validated.

Lu Huan coughed, “Like me. Let me feel like raw meat, I’ll do it shamelessly.”

“I’m sure your time will come, Eonnie,” Baehee laughed.

 

☆

 

[TV Daily] ‘Nation’s Nine’ 48 trainees are eliminated and the nation’s first nine are revealed 

I want Kyungsoon to stay center the entire show! She’s so cute >o<

LuHuan and Yixiu are both doing well in the ranking, what if foreigners end up in the group? 

       + That’s not going to stop me from voting for them

              ++ But it’s supposed to be a group representing Korea

                      +++ Then the Koreans need to try harder

Kyungsoon is the SPY maknae, but she’s doing so well on the show TToTT

Baehee probably has SONEs blindly supporting her after last week

       + Do you know how many subscribers she has on YouTube?

       + Did your favorite girl get eliminated? kekeke

I’ll miss you, Taehee TTATT

Kyungsoon’s rank is so high because she’s center, but I hope people recognize her voice too!

The ranking of the Crown girls is surprising, I expected them to be in the top 9…

I for sure thought Chanyeon’s rank would be higher, her voice is so pretty… I guess being on Baehee’s team is a blessing and a curse

Please vote for the Genius trainees TT-TT

LuHuan is seriously amazing, I hope she debuts in the final group!

 

 

☆

 

“Our remaining fifty-one trainees, I don’t have the slightest doubt that you will all continue to work hard to move up before the next ranking,” Dojung spoke to the trainees. “Our fifty-first trainee, Park Chanyeon, and our thirty-fourth trainee, Oh Seyun, have more than one thing in common. The first thing is that they’re from the same company,” he wore an amused smile, “Now that you’re all standing by rank, I’ve never seen them so far away from each other.”

“While Chanyeon narrowly survived the first ranking, Oh Seyun will be in a similar situation during the second ranking if her rank stays the same.” He looked to the young girl, “Do you know where the similarities end, Seyunnie?” His gaze turned serious, “While Chanyeon made it through the first ranking, you won’t make it through the second if you remain thirty-fourth.”

“… Oh,” Seyun replied quietly. She had been incredibly proud of ranking in the middle of the pack, but the good feelings quickly faded. “I… I’ll do my best to move up in the rankings.”

“I’m sure you will,” Dojung nodded. “You can all increase your rankings during the next evaluation. With a benefit of one hundred thousand points, your next evaluation will be a position evaluation. SPY Entertainment’s Do Kyungsoon,” he addressed the SPY trainee, “the positions are vocal, dance, and rap. As the first place trainee, you will have the first pick.”

Kyungsoon chose her song, ‘Day by Day,’ easily. There was no reason for here to go anywhere out of the vocal position, but she briefly wondered where the rest of the strong vocals would go, specifically the only girl to consistently pull high notes out of her .

When Baehee stepped up after Kyungsoon, she looked over the song choices carefully, all the way from vocal to rap. Most assumed she would just pick a different vocal song than the song Kyungsoon had chosen, but the individual trainee was taking her good, sweet time to look over all of her options. With a thoughtful frown, she turned away from the songs in the vocal section and focused on the dance songs. “I pick… ‘Bang Bang’ from Dance.”

Dojung gave her a side glance, “… Are you sure?”

She smiled cheekily in reply before going to stand by her song choice, “Of course.” There seemed to be a sigh of relief from other vocals in the room, but the dancers suddenly became a little bit more tense. Baehee might not have been ranked first, but she had a large fan base that continuously came out to support her, and that fan base had only grown since their last live performance.

“I see,” Dojung nodded. “I guess we can look forward to a different side of you this week.”

 

☆

 

“I just realized that there’s a very slim chance either of us are going to win the benefit,” Minseon said. She made a face, “I was actually hoping that I’d have a chance to get into the top nine during the ranking.”

“Explain, I’m not following you,” Lu Huan replied, taking a sip of her water.

“The two of us are singing ‘Monster’ with four other girls,” Minseon said. “Kyungsoon is singing ‘Day by Day’ with four other girls whose ranks aren’t anywhere near hers, and Jonghae and Junmae are singing ‘Yanghwa Bridge’ with only two other girls. Whoever wins in each team is going to go up against the other winners when all is said and done,” she looked to the Chinese girl, “How easy do you think it’s going to be for Kyungsoon and Jonghae to collect votes, especially with the size of their teams?”

“…I never considered that,” Lu Huan made a face. She had been ranked third, she could have picked just about any song she had wanted to yet she chose one of the songs with the most members… “And we’ll probably cancel each other out in the voting… wow.”

“Congratulations, you played yourself,” Minseon clapped the other girl on the shoulder. “In my defense, you played yourself just as much as I did,” Lu Huan clapped her on the shoulder right back.

“You’re also the native speaker, you should have known better.”

“I am but an old woman who wants to feel young again,” Minseon deadpanned. “Let me go through my mid-life crisis in peace.”

 

☆

 

“So, why didn’t you pick Vocal?” Jongmi asked. Despite the threat of Baehee’s popularity, Jongmi had chosen the same song, unwilling to be threatened. She knew she was a good dancer, and she was confident she could get the extra point benefit. Despite that, she was curious. Baehee was obviously a vocal, yet there she was, competing to be the top dancer.

“Why didn’t you pick Vocal?” Baehee asked in return.

Jongmi could only blink in reply. “… I’m a dancer,” she deadpanned.

“With a bad waist,” Baehee snorted in reply. “If I were you, I would have chosen Vocal and given my waist the week off.” She made a face, “That’s why I said Yixiu should be the center instead of you when we were dividing the parts.” Never mind that the motion had failed pathetically, and Baehee had been made center against her own will. Apparently, it was one of the ‘perks’ she got for being a secondary center, whatever that was. She had tried to avoid any parts that would draw attention to herself, but that hadn't worked out in the slightest. “I noticed it during the company evaluations, and I saw it again during the debut song battle.”

Jongmi was speechless, “How… could you have possibly noticed that?”

“You aren’t as good at hiding it as you think you are,” the individual trainee shrugged in reply. “There’s also the fact that LuHuan-eonnie told me you like to push yourself too hard when I asked her about you.” At the look the younger girl gave her, Baehee fired one right back, “What? You’re one of the best dancers here, I need to know your weaknesses are if I want to have a shot at beating you.”

“Jongmi, Junmae sent over some heat patches~” Yixiu chimed as she walked over to the two girls. “Huan-jie also said that you need to take it easy.”

“How many people know that I hurt my waist?” Jongmi asked with a groan. She turned around though, lifting up her grey sweatshirt to give the Chinese girl access to her lower back.

Their team's leader applied the heat patches carefully, gently smoothing them down, “Not many… Junmae just has the habit of asking people to watch after you.”

“I just turned eighteen, when is she going to let me grow up?” Jongmi made a face.

Baehee snorted, “You’re a part of the early two thousand line, aren’t you? You’d only be seventeen if our country wasn’t so weird about ages.”

“If we were in China, people wouldn’t make a big deal about your age difference with Seyun,” Yixiu brought up the Genius trainee. “You’re just as much as a baby as she is in my eyes.”

“I resent that,” Jongmi huffed. “Seyun is an actual fetus.”

 

☆

 

“I’m sure Jongmi will take it easy, Eonnie,” Jonghae tried to console the other trainee. They had just finished practicing ‘Yanghwa Bridge’ with the rest of their team, but Junmae had stayed behind, waiting until the Bang Bang team were on a break to corner Yixiu and send heat patches to her fellow Crown trainee.

“I’m sure she won’t.” Junmae shook her head in reply. “It’s honestly her only flaw. She tends to forget that she’s not an actual dance machine, so there’s always the worry in the back of my mind that she’s going to end up doing serious damage to herself.”

“Is that like, a Crown thing or a Jongmi thing?” Jonghae asked carefully. “I know you guys have a lot of expectations to live up to because of your company, but you and Jongmi don’t handle the pressure in the same way at all.”

“Jongmi is pretty bad about it, but it’s honestly a Crown thing.” Jonghae could tell just by looking at the older girl that she was uncomfortable admitting it. “I’ve been at the company longer than Jongmi has, and it , but she’s not the worst one I’ve seen like that. There are a lot of trainees and even idols in our company who work through injuries when they really shouldn’t. Staff members do step in when it gets to a certain point, and our CEO will even call you into his office and threaten to terminate your contract if you don’t start taking care of yourself. He doesn’t want to represent people who don’t know their limits.”

Jonghae made an observation, “You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing.”

“It’s just… it can get kind of messy that way,” Junmae said with a sigh. “We know we’re not supposed to push ourselves past our limits, but we also want to be the best. Everyone’s replaceable in Crown, so we keep trying to be the best version of ourselves… even if that means we have to keep going when we shouldn’t.”

“If the staff find out that you hurt yourself by going too hard, you’ll get in trouble, so you hide it and act like you know your limits.” Jonghae understood what she was getting at. “But when you hide it, you only hurt yourself even more by not getting help when you need it.”

“If you keep it up, you’re only proving that you don’t know your limits.” Junmae nodded. “When you finally get caught, they’ll send you to see a doctor, but they’ll tell you not to come back to the company once you’re.”

“That’s why Jongmi’s hiding it.” Junmae shrugged helplessly. “They’re going to drop her if they find out.”

  ☆

 

[Naver] ‘Nation’s 9’ Kim Jonghae vs Do Kyungsoon for best vocal 

Jonghae’s finally getting recognition for her voice TTATT

Kyungsoon really picked a good song for her voice, her vocals are so smooth

They’re different types of vocals, don’t be mean and pit them against each other

Jonghae’s emotion was seriously on another level today

I don’t doubt the skill of the winner, but the votes are totally unfair to groups with more members like LuHuan’s group.

       +Go vote for you “miracle of China” then

Baehee gave the biggest shock today

LuHuan did really well, but her team had a lot of members, it’s a pity

People can complain all they want, but Jonghae and Kyungsoon were the top vocals today

I’m going to vote like crazy, don’t worry Minseon

Did anyone else expect to see the Genius girl in the vocal section? Her harmonies are so good in the performances TT-TT

       +Apparently she joined rap because it was the only spot left… I’m worried for her

Junmae was overshadowed by Jonghae today, but her voice is really sweet

 

☆

 

“No offense, but have you ever rapped before?”

Chanyeon pushed up her glasses, blinking owlishly, “Um, yes, actually I have.”

The other members of her team were blatantly skeptical, but Chanyeon didn’t blame them. Since she had ranked last, she hadn’t been able to pick the position she wanted to be evaluated on, and so she’d been ‘stuck’ with rap. Chanyeon was looking forward to it though, she hadn’t had the chance to showcase her rapping on the show yet. However, her fellow team members weren’t exactly eager to give her the chance she was hoping for.

“Well, there are singing parts, so you can just do those,” one of the girls said.

“Don’t I have to rap, at least a little bit?” she asked in reply. “How else am I supposed to be evaluated?”

The two other girls shared a glance with each other before the girl who had proclaimed herself leader spoke up, “You can have half a verse.”

“I’ll get started on my lyrics,” Chanyeon gave the two a bright grin. Maybe she could kill them with kindness.

If that didn’t work, maybe she could blind them with her smile.

 

☆

 

Seyun… Seyun was confident.

Actually, confident was definitely pushing it, but Seyun felt good about her team’s ‘Say My Name’ stage. She had absolutely no intentions to win the position evaluation, but the Genius trainee knew that she would make it through the stage in one piece. She and Seulgi had made the choreography together, and she hadn’t been too scared to accept Seulgi’s nomination to make her the center. She had been incredibly nervous when Seulgi had written her name down in ink and she realized the decision was a permanent one, but overall, Seyun felt good.

Their team was on next, and they were watching the ‘Bang Bang’ stage with wide eyes. It was more than amazing, and Seyun had no idea how she was supposed to describe the way Jongmi, Yixiu, and Baehee moved. They were so connected to the song that the Genius trainee could only stare in awe.

“… Wait,” she said quietly, zeroing in on Jongmi’s movements. Suddenly, there was something very wrong with the way the girl was dancing. She was still hitting every beat with a smile on her face, but there was something that screamed ‘pain’ about how she did it. Seyun watched in both fear and fascination as Jongmi’s face would only break momentarily, when she was sure there was no way the camera would catch her. It was brief, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was there.

Focused on Jongmi, she watched the rest of the stage, trying to figure out what exactly was wrong with the girl. She’d always seen Junmae mother the other girl, but the same could be said for how Chanyeon acted around her. It was just their combined with how long they had known each other. Besides, Seyun reasoned with herself, they had all gone through a medical examination, and they were halfway through the competition. If someone was sick or injured, they would have already gone home, wouldn’t they?