The girls changed out of their costumes and returned the hair accessories to their individual shelves before heading for choreography class. The girls kept their hair while the rest who had their hair down tied them up into ponytails or braids. JaeEun and HyeMi led their teams to their respective studios and waited for their choreograhers. MinAh stared enraptured at the door. "Who do you think will be our choreographers?" She turned to look at the members. "I'm pretty sure we'll have HyoYeon, YuRi, SooYoung, and YoonA... but which two will be with us?" YooMi murmured under her breath. "YuRi. I hope YuRi will be with us." Beside her, KyMin froze and JaeEun's eyes darted to her curiously, but refrained from intruding. Before they had the chance to speculate further, the door swung open to reveal... YuRi and YoonA. The trainees cheered as the two idols entered the room. YuRi gave a gasp as she seemed to recognize one of them. "Oh!" She doubled over in laughter and buried her face into YoonA's shoulders. "I seem to have seen her before." She whispered with an embarrassed laugh. "Maja [correct/right]!" She stepped forward and pulled the trainee forward with a bewildered expression on her face. KyMin bowed stiffly, aware of how tightly YuRi was gripping onto her arm. "Maja, maja, maja!" She repeated. "Wae?" YoonA seemed indignant that she had not been let in on the joke that YuRi found so hilarious. "Aniya~ jamkkan-man [give me a moment]... she -" YuRi dissolved into giggles again as she faced the cameras. "Ah - I taught her before..." She wiped tears from her eyes. "She was terrible to teach." The trainees burst into loud laughter as YuRi tried to hold back hers. "Her dancing skills..." YuRi voiced before drunkenly wrapping her arms around the trainee and patting her on the head. "Ah what am I doing? - I'm supposed to protect you!" JaeEun let out a sigh of understanding as she realized that was what must have been bothering KyMin before. YooMi seemed elated, though she had tried to mute her exhilaration, and for that, JaeEun was glad for the trainee. SooJin and MinAh were hyper as usual, while YoonKi, MinHee, SuJin, and EunMi waited patiently for instructions.

In the other room, HyoYeon and SooYoung had introduced themseleves as their choreographers. HyoYeon was encouraging the rowdy atmosphere as SooYoung joined in, intentionally not meeting the eyes of a particular trainee. "Alright, we have to settle positions and learn the dance at the same time, and then you'll have to learn the dance with mics as well, and finally add in the singing, so it's best we get started as soon as possible!" HyoYeon hurried the trainees along. "Neh!" The girls spread out and began with simple warm-ups before they delved into the choregraphy. HyeMi, HyeSun, RuiXian, and HaRu stood at the front as the best dancers in the group while MinJae and JinRa stayed at the back. HyoYeon clapped her hands to get their attention. "So we'll begin the choreography now. SooYoung will give the instructions and then we'll demonstrate, arasso? Try to catch up as quickly as possible." The trainees nodded as they waited for instructions. SooYoung stared at her clipboard, before looking up at the trainees again. "We'll start in a line... in this order, one behind the other... YonNi, HaRu, RuiXian, HyeSun, KyunJi, HyeMi, JinRa, MinJae, and finally, MiYoo. As the music starts and the first verse plays - as the backgraound vocals start, I need you all to twirl and move to the side; to the left and right of the stage respectively, so YonNi to the left, HaRu to the right, two by two, and so on, except the middle girl, and also the first singer, KyunJi. All of you all squat as you diffuse out and then at the last count when everybody is down, KyunJi stands up and turns around, arasso? Then all of you get up again, two by two, from the back, with four beats left to spare before the start of the first line - you can freestyle here." SooYoung gave out detailed instructions as she demonstrated the moves with HyoYeon. SooYoung counted out loud as the girls tried it themselves. 

[KyunJi]Listen to my words
Girl, please let him know

"Aniya~" SooYoung stopped as HyeMi and JinRa moved off to the same side of the stage. "To the right of the stage, JinRa!" SooYoung called out, as the girls fell back into formation again. "Maja... maja... maja... maja... joh-ah!" SooYoung nodded at every correct execution of the choreography. "Now, freestyle! Joh-ah... joh-ah!" MinJae did her agyeo and the two SNSD sunbaes squealed. "Kyeopta!" HyoYeon coughed beween fits of giggles. MiYoo went the girly route with her arm on her hip and her other palm cupping her face. HyeSun, as conservative and shy as she was, flashed a peace sign and YonNi pointed cutely to her temple. "Neh, bigger movements.. they have to be obvious!" SooYoung continued with her instructions. She led KyunJi out of the cluster of girls as her line played and HyoYeon demonstrated the moves. "Your fingers must be spread wide, MinJae!"    

[KyunJi] Girl, jal deureobwa naega haneun mal
Neom gidaryeowatdeon,
I sunganeul wihae

KyunJi bravely attempted to choreograph her own part while she sang, joining in with the main choreography at some parts, and ending with a "buing buing" as she finished her line. The girls at the back tapped their imaginary bracelets and followed the choreography perfectly. "Joh-ah! Remember your routine, KyunJi, it's good!" KyunJi blushed as HyoYeon commended the girl. RuiXian moved forward as she prepared for her line.

[RuiXian] I know why, neoui yhan moseup
Ai gateun sunsuham,
Modu boyeo jullae

She did a discounted y wave as her unnies went through with the whole thing cutely, flashing an a-okay as the girls leaned forward and put their palms in a shape of a V under their chins. They bobbed their heads according to the rhythm before the music cut out. "MinJae-ah, it's supposed to be a V under your chin; your wrists are too far apart!" MinJae corrected herself and the music resumed.  MiYoo was in the center now, and she moved forward flanked by the other girls in a V-formation. 

[MiYoo] Oh No. Malhal ttaen jomdeo keuge
Yes Right. Ttaeroneun sonyeo gatge
Hanahana josimseureopge haengdonghagi...

She gave a shy wave as the girls crossed their arms, shrugging her shoulders one beat before the rest did. They had to pause the track as the girls tried to find their positions. The front row moved to the right of the stage while the back row moved left. The girls brought their arms in and kicked their ankles up accordingly. "JinRa-ah, wrong leg! And you're supposed to kick outwards, not inwards!" SooYoung demonstrated again and JinRa got it right after a couple of tries. "My head is going to explode." She whispered to the trainee beside her and HaRu giggled in response. JinRa rarely spoke and HaRu was delighted that JinRa was breaking out of her shell. Continuing her line, MiYoo waved again and glided her hand across her forehead. The girls at the back followed the choreography as they stuck out their right arm with their index fingers pointing upwards and lifted their left hand towards their heads, or mimed holding the brims of their boaters, if they had one. The next move had KyunJi burst out in laughter as they shook their hips and arms in different directions. "Nan mollayo~" KyunJi tried moving her hips, but ended up with a stiff-looking wiggle. HyoYeon went over to help as the other girls continued practicing their hip-wiggles. "HyeMi, RuiXian, joh-ah!" SooYoung called out, before squinting at another trainee. "JinRa, you're vibrating..." The other girls broke out of their formations as they doubled over in laughter. YonNi wiped tears from her eyes. "Halsu-eopsoyo [I can't]..." JinRa struggled as she redid the choreography again. HyoYeon went over in a bid to correct her technique, and soon enough, JinRa was able to execute the move decently. "[I can do it]~" She reported innocently as she tried the dance move again. HyeMi and YonNi chuckled at her being oblivious to the change in her demeanour. The girls moved back into their cluster as MiYoo's line came to an end. The chorus began and the girls spread out back into a V-formation yet again, sticking their right arms forward with a flick of their wrist, and doing the same as they stuck their arms to their right, rotating their wrists a second time to allow their palms to face upwards in an "I don't know" gesture, then doing the entire routine backwards.     

[All] Wae geureoni neo sir~su tuseongi
Neom eosaekhan haengdonggwa maldeul

The girls bent their knees with their arms by their sides and then lifted their right arms again to make a "hwaiting" gesture, moving according to the beat. HaRu missed a beat and fumbled, giggling and squeezing her eyes shut in embarrassment as she got back on track and continued with the routine. JinRa chortled along, lost in the determination to get the steps down. The girls fanned out and moved to the back as HaRu took to the center of the stage for her line.

[HaRu] Maeryeogiragon mwo,
Jeonhyeo boijil anjanha

HaRu moved forward as the girls crowded around again, and followed the choreography given, albeit facing front. "That works too..." SooYoung nodded. HaRu grinned. It's not so hard after all. HaRu had to sacrifice school for the recording and fitting the day before and that day. She needed to make the practices count. She wouldn't be able to join in some of the later practices due to school and wouldn't be able to be on air as much as the rest. She really needed to do the best she can during these few practices. The girls continued with the point choreography as the chorus played.

[All] Deureobwa. Neoreul boyeojwo sarangseureoun
Neoui aegyowa nunuseum gadeuk,

In addition, this time around, the girls gathered round HyeMi and flashed peace signs. There was sudden disorder as everybody turned to the back. HyoYeon guffawed as looks of confusion crossed the trainees' faces. "Mwoh-ya!" She bounced on the spot. "Who's line is it next?" SooYoung replayed the music. "Who's voice is this?" There was a long silence as the trainees stared at one another. "Ah - " JinRa pushed forward as she finally identified her voice. "It's my line..." She covered her face, embarassed, as she bowed to the rest. HyeMi grabbed her by he neck playfully as JinRa struggled to get away. "Ah, you again!" The girls chuckled as they got back into position, JinRa sending them an apologetic nod.

[JinRa] Uri yeonseuphan geudaero
Puk ppajyeodeureo gage

JinRa merely swayed to the music as she mouthed the words. She wasn't one who knew to express herself much, and she wasn't well-versed in dance either. She was the group's sub-dancer for a reason. JinRa turned, ready to get back into position with the rest, but did a double-take as she heard her voice continue on another part of the song. The rest of the girls looked at each other, flustered as well. "Ah~" SooYoung stopped the player. "I forgot to tell you that the company decided to cut the repeated verse of the song, so it'll go straight to JinRa's transition stanza from here. The vocal recording will still have your original voices in it, but the performance version will be the shorter one, so MinJae, HyeMi, and HyeSun will have to take turns singing the parts but for the graded piece, this will be the arrangement, arasso? It's because the studio is booked for the rest of the week and it'll be easier to make changes here than re-record the entire thing..." She trailed off, sorry for the trainees who had put in so much effort at the recording. "Aniya~ it's okay!" HyeSun brushed it off. "We'll still get the chance to do it anyway, it doesn't matter if it's the graded piece or not." The other trainees nodded along, as SooYoung smiled and started up the player again. JinRa continued from where she left off.

[JinRa] Geuga jeojeodeulmyeon,
Chokchokhan nunbicheul bonaego

She remained poised and had little movements. Nonetheless, on seeing SooYoung and HyoYeon monitoring her, JinRa added a little wave with a wiggle of her fingers at the end. The girls were able to remember the main point of the dance with a few prompts from the two trainers now, the trainees dilligently copying each move as they were shown exactly. KyunJi slid smoothly to the center as she made a show of pointing at the audience.

[KyunJi] Neoui budeureon sonkkeuteul geuege
Saljjak dake hae
[KyunJi] Oh~ Woah~

She brought her hand to her face and curled her fingers inwards as the others orientated themselves around her, moving towards, away, and towards the center again, all pointing towards the front with their outermost arm. KyunJi brought her arm past her forehead and around, as she belted the last few notes, emotionally angling her head slightly upwards as she did so. "She's a natural, eh?" HyoYeon's eyes twinkled as she took in the scene before her. KyunJi may not be a main or lead dancer, but she had the stage pressence, no doubt about that. The chorus played again, and this time, the trainees had most of the steps memorized. HyeSun and HyeMi had the entire routine down flawlessly and MiYoo seemed to be enjoying the process as well, a smile lighting up her face.

[All] Baro geugeoya nogil su inneun
Neom wanbyeokhan haengdonggwa maldeul

The girls stood in a straight line at the front of the room now, repeating the steps from earlier in the song. The emotions were starting to show as the trainees each adopted their own style and danced with less concern for technique than artistry. The trainees moved back into position as YonNi stepped up for her part.

[YonNi] Sarangseulowoon nuh eh maelyuk
Bbajyuh beolil geoya (neuggyeobwa)

She took baby steps from the side to reach the center of the stage, placing her open palm over her heart as she sang, and like KyunJi before her, waved her arm in the air, following the path of a huge circle, before getting back into the initial formation. MinJae took center-stage now as they reiterated the chorus. 

[All] Girl please let him know neoui modeungeol
Jogeumssik cheoncheonhi boyeojwo

Her smile didn't falter when she was told that she wouldn't be able to sing her part on stage, and it definitely didn't falter now. She wasn't a good dancer, but the least she could do now was to put in her best at the parts where she was able to sing with the rest - and how lucky was she that she had the most coveted center-spot for the final chorus? She managed to sneak in a little freestyle as well, as she did a slightly different choreography as the rest facing front, her agyeo showing as she did another "buing buing" with an a-okay sign and kicked up her back heel. "Ah - this girl..." SooYoung chortled to herself, seeing the girl through the mirror's reflection. MinJae gave a satisfied grin beofre moving away and vacating the coveted spot to MiYoo. The latter skipped forward and shyly shot a finger-gun at the mirror. 

[MiYoo] Uri yeonseuphan geudaero
Puk ppajyeodeureo gage
By your side

Seemingly emboldened by the nod of approval from the sunbaes, she leaned forward on her second line and repeated the action more forcefully. Smiling in delight, she took a step back and joined the rest as they came together for their final line of the song. MiYoo remained in the middle as MinJae and YonNi moved forward and knelt down on the last note, flanking the former.

[All] Baro geugeoya

The trainees broke formation and gave gleeful claps as the music ended. They had completed a whole dance choreography in less than a day. Granted, it would take them another few tries to actually rememer every single step, but the fact that they had managed to mark through the entire song without any major mishaps was achievement enough for a rookie group. A rare smile graced HyeMi's lips as she grabbed the nearest two trainees in a bear-hug, patting HaRu on the head as she did so. MiYoo and JinRa both hugged back exuberantly. The trainees had seen a different side of one another that day and it had brought them significantly closer. It was the start of something new. 

author's note:     the girls will debut in chapter 13 & here's a quick popularity poll [please be sure to pick exactly three candidates] which will contribute minimally to the elimination process - there'll be another one in chapter 12 (but just to test the waters first...) I hope you've enjoyed this chapter & thank you for staying with me (who updates erractically orz. I'm sorryyy)