And Weaknesses :: BTS
Twenty-One :: A JYP Survival Show
1
"Seriously, you've been off gallivanting with Collin since the first challenge."
At first, Ash is honestly glad that Koda is a choreographer, even if he is something of a handful to deal with. If he wasn't then Ash would be alone with Collin, and that combination is a guaranteed awkward moment waiting to happen.
It isn't that Ash hates Collin or anything so dramatic. Heck, he doesn't even dislike him, he just doesn't really know how to interact with the other trainee. Collin and his friends have always been a rather insular group, and Ash can admit that his own group isn't exactly open either.
Koda's group however has always been something of a bridge between everyone, and Koda himself can always be counted on to do something to break awkward silences.
And he does just that, starting up a dance battle that decreases the awkward tension that had reigned in the room before. And Ash finds himself having fun, even when he has to admit that Koda definitely won the battle.
It ends with all three of them sweaty and laughing, and Ash wondering why he's never really talked with Collin before.
Sure the other has a tendency to be a bit of a tryhard, but at his core Collin seems to be a pretty nice guy.
It's this thought that prompts Ash to sit next to Collin while they're all down water during a choreography break.
"So hey. We don't really talk much huh?"
Collin snorts. "That's a way to put it. You stick with your group and I stuck with mine. Not much overlap there." He shrugs. "Though my group sort of fell apart so I guess I'm looking for new companionships." He adds with an award grin.
Ash grins back. "Well we're always open."
It's the first time they've really spoken, and Ash is surprised to find that Collin is easy to talk to. They have a lot in common, and Koda ends up having to get them back on track when break is over.
They keep gravitating to each other after that, and though Collin spends as much time teasing as he does talking, for once Ash finds he doesn't mind the jabs. Well, doesn't mind as much.
But nonetheless Collin proves himself not only tolerable, but an enjoyable companion. He's less high strung than some of Ash's normal group of friends despite being cockier and it helps Ash to relax a bit as well, something he usually struggles to do.
During their first lunch break filming the second episode, Ash finds himself scanning the area for Collin rather than Danny. He spots the other sitting by himself, carefully positioned away from the cameras, and Ash trots over.
"Hey friend."
"Since when are we friends nerd?" Collin's words have no bite, and he easily shifts over to make room for Ash. "Shouldn't you be sitting with your possy today?"
Ash shrugs as he starts unpacking his lunch. "Eh, I see them all the time."
Collin grins. "Admit it, you would have been bored without me."
Ash just smiles. Because the truth is, he probably would have been.
2
"And there's the sentimental sap I know."
They meet when they're eight years old. Yejun moves in next door and the two boys click despite radically different ideals and upbringings.
Yejun is something of a rebel, while Jihwan never has a reason to be one. Jihwan is a cynic and Yejun believes in the good of people. Jihwan values memories and Yejun likes material reminders. They're an odd pair to be sure, but they work despite that.
Music makes its way into their peripherals when the two hit their teenage years, and it becomes their new religion. Yejun is inspired by RnB while Jihwan takes an interest in the underground scene. As he's the one with the more lenient parents, the boys end up chasing after Jihwan's underground fascination, attending concerts whenever Yejun is able to sneak out.
Though Yejun encourages him to, Jihwan never competes himself, instead studying the competitors and working on his own rapping ability on his own. Yejun works on singing as well by listening to whatever RnB singers he can find.
Then Jihwan turns fifteen and his parents announce that they're moving.
"You can't leave! I can't deal with my parents by myself!" Yejun is a panicky mess and Jihwan has never been very good at dealing with intense emotion like that. So he makes the first suggestion he thinks up.
"Then you can come with us."
Yejun is lucky that Jihwan's parents like him so much.
It only takes a week to convince both families to let Yejun move to Seoul with the Dos, and by the time they've started high school they've settled into their new home in Seoul. Yejun's parents send him a monthly allowance that's surprisingly generous for how strict they've always been, and it's blown entirely on music. The boys are in the heart of music country South Korea and they take full advantage, attending underground concerts weekly and practicing their own skills as best they can without proper lessons.
They start busking that years as well, and Jihwan is almost surprised at how well they do for themselves. Yejun even convinces him to do a few battles with passerbys, and it's fun. Not that Jihwan admits that.
When they're sixteen Yejun gets the idea to be idols. Jihwan, as always, finds himself pulled along. They end up at JYP after it's the only company to accept them both, and though it's not a top pick for either of them, it's better than splitting up.
They don't make many friends during training. Jihwan is too abrasive and Yejun is too much, but they don't really care. The important thing is to stay together.
The one person who does break into their world is Collin. He's loud, argumentative, and a perfect compliment to Jihwan and Yejun's dynamic.
"Okay, no judgement, but are you two dating? Seriously I've never seen anyone as close as you."
Yejun laughs and Jihwan rolls his eyes.
"No Collin, we're just friends. You might understand if you weren't so far up your own-"
Collin cuts Yejun off with a half-laughed retort, and Jihwan smiles faintly as the two quip back and forth.
Maybe Collin is right that they're uncommonly close. But if that's true Jihwan doesn't mind. Being weird is better than not being with Yejun.
3
"In second to last we have TJ"
Doyeon isn't exactly thrilled that he didn't make top ten this time around, especially when Danny takes time to lord it over him, but he's not worried either. He had done well last time, and surely opinion can't change too much in such a short amount of time.
He listens intently as the remaining names are read, and he smiles slightly when he hears Gosaeng's stagename called as safe.
And then it hits him that his name was never called. He looks to Gosaeng, who looks as worried as Doyeon feels.
Doyeon quickly checks himself and shoots his friend a confident grin. He had ranked fine during the last round - there's no way he's fallen into the bottom three so quickly.
No way at all.
But his heart rate has increased, and he can feel it pounding in his throat. He swallows hard once the door closes behind Goseang's retreating form and looks to the CEO. He's not worried. Not at all.
But some of the pressure weighing on his chest does lift when it's Soul who is eliminated first.
Soul. See? Not him. There's no way that it could be.
The singer tries to argue - of course he's arguing none of them want to be cut in the first elimination - but Doyeon doesn't really hear it over the rush of blood sounding in his ears.
One down, two to go. He'll be fine. He'll go join up with the guys and tease Gosaeng for worrying about him because he's awesome and no way will he be out in the first-
"In second to last we have TJ."
The world freezes.
The CEO is still talking, and Doyeon can vaugely make out the other four looking at him, but his mind is swimming too much for him to focus.
He's out?
No. That can't be right. He's missing something. No way did he drop so much, no way that this makes any sense.
He can feel his mind shutting down, a swirl of confusion and denial.
"And since TJ was safe this round, the last elimination will be our eighteenth ranked contestant, G."
Doyeon takes a long moment to process what he's heard. He's safe?
He can feel someone pulling him towards the door and he manages to get his limbs working enough to follow along, but his mind is still a haze of confusion.
What exactly had just happened? He was certain he'd heard JYP say his name.
He realizes after a moment that Noheul is speaking, and he pushes his thoughts to the side to focus on that. You can't be stressed if you're talking to someone, even if that someone is Noheul.
"-lucky you got immunity last round though. Gosaeng would probably be insufferable if you had been cut."
Immunity. That's right, he couldn't have been eliminated - he was safe no matter what.
It's then that they reach the practice room, and Doyeon is quick to ditch Noheul for Goseang and the guys. He's had enough stress for a lifetime, thank you very much. Right now he just wants some mindless fun with his friends.
4
"I'm not dancing. I don't dance."
Momo knows she had a disadvantage in choosing her group members. For one thing, since she's a newer idol she has one of the four-member groups. For another she really doesn't know all the male trainees, so choosing team members is tough.
She does know enough, though, to realize her group is going to be an uphill battle to work with within moments of starting practice.
She's heard rumors about Doc being difficult to work with, and that Koda tends to be overenthusiastic, but she didn't think that they'd actually try to argue with her.
She was surprised when JYP had selected her of all the TWICE girls to be one of the group leaders, but also excited. She'd spent days figuring out the perfect performance for the challenge, looking to some of the most confident males she could think of in the industry.
A girl group dance had seemed like such a great idea when she'd decided on it.
But seeing the negative reactions to it now, maybe she'd messed up? At the same time it wasn't like she could think up something else on the spot, choosing this had been hard enough!
So she puts her foot down, and it apparently startles them all enough to shut up and get to work, which she's thankful for. She isn't sure she could do it again if they'd kept fighting.
However, 'getting to work' and 'getting things done' are two diferent things, as Momo unfortunately learns rather quickly.
Every ten minutes there's a new argument, usually between Koda and Xaris, about how to do certain moves or whether something can be changed to be less "girly."
Doc is no help, taking advantage of the fights to duck out and study for a bit until things get back on track and usually causing the group to lose time when they have to get him back up.
Thank goodness for Danny. He never complains, and sticks up for her whenever the other three get particularly loud with their objections.
Though conversely he's easily the worst dancer in the group, so even with him paying full attention they aren't moving very fast at all.
As the first day drags by she gets more and more impatient. The dance definitely isn't going to turn out the way she wants it to, so she's changed gears from 'make a good performance' to 'make a performance before time is up'.
She can't really tell how effective her new plan is going to be yet, but she finds that if she worries about it the group ends up veering off track all over again while she's distracted.
And so she powers onward, putting up blinders to mistakes and focusing on getting to the end of the dance. Eventually the group stops fighting her and begrudgingly focuses on actually practicing, and Momo internally gives a sigh of relief.
However, it's a short lived reprieve. Once the dance is complete she reveals their costumes for the performance and all hell breaks loose all over again.
5
"Who's ready for some good old-fashioned comedy boot camp?"
Jackson doesn't know all the current trainees, but he knows enough about them to have a good idea of who he wants on his team.
Of course Yeeun takes his first choice just before he can choose him. So he takes Hongsol instead.
As long as the people in his group are the less excitable ones, and there are certainly plenty of them in this bunch, he's happy with whoever.
But when it's time to choose his last teammate everyone left is rather loud. For the first time he has to stop a moment to debate who he'll choose before deciding on Kangjoo.
It's easy to herd his team back to the dorms, and he sends a text to Amber when he notices that she hasn't arrived yet.
When JYP had told him he'd be in charge for this episode it was only natural that he message Amber for assistance. After all, he has quite an ambitious plan to carry out.
He wanted to make the quietest, most awkward contestants variety stars.
Was he likely to succeed in only a few days? No. Was he trying anyway? Of course!
Kangjoo is already pretty chatty, he notes, but he's heard some rumors about the teen being rather disliked around the building which was why he'd selected him over the other remaining contestants during the relay. Hopefully he was lacking socially so Jackson could actually teach him something.
Hongsol isn't exactly quiet either, but he is understated, and though well-liked the other trainee, who Jackson had actually known during his own trainee period, struggled with variety situations and Jackson wanted to try and help. Of everyone on this show, Hongsol probably deserved a debut the most.
Do Sanghyun is pretty quiet, and something of a nervous wreck when under pressure, something that is definitely not going to be very good if he makes the final lineup. Hopefully a little push in the right direction will help. Or, you know, embarrassing himself on live TV.
KimQ is an interesting one. Jackson had chosen him second after Hongsol, but he knows that the contestant isn't exactly awkward or nervous or socially inept like the other three.
No, KimQ purposefully chooses to fade into the background, and that's why Jackson thinks he'll probably be the hardest person to help open up.
He's hoping Amber can help with that.
The first day goes by a bit awkwardly, with Kangjoo making most of the suggestions, none of which are useable. Amber and him run the group through a few improve exercises to try and encourage more participation, but by the end of the day he's feeling a bit put-out at the lack of real progress.
Amber walks with him back to the Got7 dorms.
"You can't beat yourself up over this. We just started, and you picked quite a tough group to work with. All four of them respond to different things, so one exercise won't fix them in a few hours, you know?"
Jackson nods. She's right, he knows she's right.
He spends that night working on a new game plan, and when it's time to meet with the group again he's prepared.
He said he would make them variety stars, and JYP as his witness he would do it, whether his group was ready or not.
6
"We work on language"
Nichkhun watches his group practicing with a critical eye, listening carefully for any major mispronounciations or misinterpretations in the pairs he's set up.
He knew when he selected this challenge that he was giving whoever ended up in his group a disadvantage in the immunity voting, but he isn't sorry for it. These are skills they'll need when they debut, and honestly he enjoys being able to share his knowledge.
No one had taught him how to handle fast-speaking foreigners, or how to read body language. Those was all things he'd had to figure out on his own, and he'd made a lot of dumb mistakes because of it.
He wasn't bitter about it though. He'd grown from it all, and really he had a good life now. And he could help people as well, people like these trainees who are being put through enough as it is. The least Nichkhun can do is give them useful skills for their futures, so they won't make as many mistakes as he did at their ages.
His eyes linger on the corner where Sana is helping Reito with his korean pronounciation. Of all the contestants under his watch for the next few days, Reito was the one who most reminded him of himself. At least in terms of his language skills.
He'd wondered at first how the young contestant had managed to not learn Korean despite having lived in Korea for a few years now, but after working with him he understands a bit better.
Reito speaks Japanese at home, and in school. And even here at JYP there are enough Japanese speakers to help translate things that Reito has never had a real opportunity to improve his speech.
Nichkhun is determined to fix that. He's already talked to Reito about it, and even gave him a few specialized pointers concerning how to tell if something is important enough to warrant asking for a translation. If it isn't, he should try to work it out on his own.
The idea seemed novel to the teen, but he'd been doing pretty well so far, and Jude reported that he hadn't once asked for a translation during lunch, which the group had recently returned from.
Nichkhun is glad that everyone seems to appreciate the skills he's providing them. Even Jihyun, who he'd been worried about when first choosing him, is rather gungho about the whole situation. He's sitting with Ash attempting what are most likely a few Thai words, though Nichkhun winces at his accent.
The least enthused member of the team is sitting with Jude, listening to the elder recite a few Japanese sentences and trying to repeat them back.
Na Sanghyun had been Nichkhun's second choice for a few reasons, primary among them that he was not particularly skilled at languages. Despite a decent trainee time he'd never quite gotten the hang of his lessons, and as a higher ranked contestant Nichkhun feels it might be best to try and give him a different approach.
It's not working wonders, but it does seem to be helping at least slightly, and Jude has been kind enough to help work with Sanghyun while Nichkhun watches the others.
He rounds them up then for their next exercise, smiling lightly. They may not win the challenge, but he's happier giving them life skills instead.
Screw the competition.
A thus I finally put down my pen and release this story as truly complete. Hope you guys enjoyed the BTS and that you'll check out my new apply Princess!
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