Episode One

Part Two

"How was it, Iris? Scary?" Seul asked eagerly. Iris raised a brow as she stared for a moment. Finally, she shrugged and moved back to where she'd been practicing before. Everyone stared, particularly Taeha who wanted to really know what she'd miss and how it'd affect her.

"I think it depends on how scared of people you are, Seul," She replied, "It's your turn anyway."

"Oh...Okay. Wish me luck Unnies!" She waved cheerily and walked out of the door. The cameras followed her and she entered the room she was directed towards, showing a nervous smile as she bowed deeply.

"It's nice to meet you, Seul, I've heard a lot about you," Namjoo admitted, "It's strange, seeing so many people younger than I was when I debuted, well, debuting. I thought I was ready but...Anyway, congrats on making it to here! What will you be doing for your performance?

"I'll be doing a dance cover with two of my Unnies!" Seul said confidently.

"Can you sing?"

"What?"

"Can you sing?" Namjoo repeatedly firmly, "I can assume your a good dancer if you decided to dance. What I need to know is if you really need to improve in one of the two key areas- Singing and dancing. Rapping is only of concern if you're okay at it, and I've already read up on you a bit. In your opinion, can you sing?"

"I..I think I need some work," Seul nodded to herself, "Do you want me to-"

"That would be good," Namjoo laughed. Seul sang a few seconds of a Lovelyz song before Namjoo stopped her. The brunette sat stock-still, feeling the panic of unconfidence, "Calm down, girlie, you did alright. I'll be honest, though, you can't fit a normal vocal position, you would be a sub-vocal. However, I've been told you can dance and I trust that. My advice is to not let the tone of your voice hold you back. You could hit lower notes if you didn't focus on the cute sound your voice naturally has. If you relax your throat and go low, I think the results could be good. Thanks for your time, good luck! Can you send Seoyun in for me? It was nice meeting you!"

This is proof Namjoo Sunbae is nice!

When Seoyun walked in, the whole atmosphere changed. Everything was light and full of energy, and her large smile was infectious. Namjoo motioned for her to sit.

"Hey, Seoyun-ssi. I already know your strength and weaknesses, so our meeting will be pretty short. I hope you don't mind?" At the shake of her head, the brunette continued, "So, first off, you really need to work on your dancing. Vocalists are known for being weaker dancers if they have very strong voices like you. You really need to work on it, you have potential! I'd also like to point out how unbalanced your mixed voice is. Be careful with how much you push resonance! And your vowels, you often make them soundy whiny. Just work on your mixed notes and I think you'll do well in this competition."

"Thank you, Sunbae! I'll definitely take everything you said into account! If there anything I should know, being on camera-wise?" Seoyun asked carefully.

"It's best to just be yourself. You've got a really bright personality, I can tell, and it can get you far. Interact well with your fans, and don't worry about any backlash!" The who vocalists shared a smile before the idol cleared , "Could you send in Suji? You two are the oldest, right?"

"We are! I'll her now, thank you so much for the advice!" Seoyun bowed again and skipped out. Just moments Later Suji made her enter.

"Hello, it's nice to meet you! I'm Suji, the oldest contestant and a rapper," The rapper bowed deeply, long hair falling about her.

"Stand up, no need to be so formal," Namjoo assured, "You're one of the rappers, right? Can you just give me something real quick to work with?" Suji staid standing, rapping in her usual higher tone. Namjoo jotted down a few notes before asking her to take a seat.

"Do you want me to sing for you, too? I'm also a good singer," Suji went ahead at the signal. The triple-threat took a few seconds to give herself time to think before her lips.

"Do you want me to be honest with you, Suji-ssi?" At her eager nod, the younger continued, "You rap with a really young voice. I have a feeling that you like to rap higher, like a rookie girl would. That's not a particularly bad thing, but I'd suggest working on a low rap maybe, because it fits your face and singing better. When we come to singing, you have a lot of potential as a vocalist, but you have trouble controlling notes. You have such a beautiful voice but that means nothing if you have no control. Don't go for, like, airy notes, they don't fit you at all at this point. I don't think they ever will. But you're really talented, Suji-ssi. It would be a shame if you didn't get to show the world this, so do your best, okay? Thank you! I really wish you good luck."

The camera cut to the interview room. Suji was silent for a moment, but spoke with a steady voice.

"I was glad Namjoo-sunbae pointed those things out to me. No one really did before and I think that's where I've been held back. It's pretty shameful, actually. I promise I'll do better in the future!"

It seems that Suji is a sensible thinker.

The girls continued their practicing, feeling the two hours pass by much to quickly. The others were called in one by one, some coming out looking more confident than they had when they enterted, others much more nervous. In the end, Taeha was the only one to reject the help offered. The other girls' time with their sunbae was cut out of the aired episode, time passing with images of the girls practicing. Finally, the time had come. All thirteen girls sat in their seats. The camera panned in on the judges and Minji spoke into her mic.

"It's time to see who prepared the best piece in a short amount of time! Are you guys ready?" The audience cheered and Minji grinned, "We've randomized your names into a list, so the first up is...Nabi! Get up here girl, let's get this started." Once the set was ready, Nabi stood in the middle of the stage. Mics were handed to Suji, Phoenix, Daily, and Iris. The lights went dark for a few moments, and suddenly it began.

The audience cheered loudly, a few screams overpowering the rest. Once everything quieted down, Minji bit her lower lip before. Nabi stood there nervously, waiting.

"Your flow seems good, and you have a very nice speed. While I get it made you for confident to have some girls shouting in the background to make it seem more powerful, it was really a waste of both your and their time. You're a rapper, own up to it Nabi. I'll let my co-judges say more. Thank you Nabi," She smiled and Eunji took her turn.

"While I'm not a rapper, I think you have really great skill as one. Probably better than some of my teammates," She joked, "However, I agree with Minji, you should have gone on your own. Having others in the background of your rap is for variety shows, not the stage. Thanks!"

"I really respect your style," Kyung Il admitted, "I think you have more of an underground feel than an idol though. Girl groups these days don't tend to use the kind of rapper you are. You're good, though, and I'd just keep practicing your rap on the side while improving either your singing or dancing. Thanks for your performance! Minyoung will be up next."

"You rap a little ahead of the beat, don't you?" Minji asked immediately. Minyoung looked shocked for a short moment, and then almost as if thinking back, nodded slowly, "I'm pretty sure that's not ideal. At this point, you've shown a better vocalist than rapper which is strange since I recall your profile reading as a rapper, dancer. Thanks, Minyoung."

"I'd like to concur with Minji, honestly," Kyung Il jumped in, "You need to keep your timing with the beat, otherwise you sound slow when the rap is meant to be faster. If this is how you rapped for us today, you should have just sung instead. I hope you have more to show in the future."

Minyoung held the mic to her lips, "What do you suggest to make my rapping better?"

"I'd say just keep practicing. If you need to, ask Nabi for tips. If you can't keep a beat, you can't be a good rapper. Phoenix, please take the stage."

Eunji was the first to speak this time, immediately going for her praises, "I think the song was a good fit for your voice. It was certainly within your range, however you still strained yourself. You also sound quite nasally, but I think this can be improved with more practice."

"Going off of what Eunji-ssi said, Phoenix, you misuse your techniques a lot. While you're great at showing emotion while singing, you're going to wear out your voice soner or later. Pretty soon your voice will decrease in quality, so be wary, alright?" Kyung Il turned to Minji, who got straight to the point.

"Your voice gains power at the end of the song, don't be afraid to show what you're able to do from the beginning. You can't take thirty secnds to be shy. While Eunji-ssi and Kyung Il-ssi hit a lot of other major points, your falsetto is really airy and your glottal and swallow muscles are too active, you're causing a lot of tension. You should try more throat exercises for control and to help not overuse your voice. Thank you, Phoenix. Our next contestant is Iris!"

"You're a very mature rapper," Kyung Il began, "But you misuse this maturity and try to seem more "cool" than you should. I think you interacted with the crowd far too much, you should have focused on performing. While on Inkigayo, should you be doing that? No."

"I actually disagree with Kyung Il, I loved your ability to engage the audience. That's vital for a KPOP rapper, let's all be honest. Your rap ids really appealing and easy to listen to, so props!"

"Both Kyung Il-ssi and Minji-ssi have their points, Iris. I wish you'd found a good middle-ground instead. Interacting with the crowd is good, but you tried to overload your charisma and it seemed a bit sloppy. I recommend trying to tone it down a bit, but your performance, overall, was enjoyable! Thank you Iris, Seul, Bonnie, and Lily will be up next."

They cut to the black room, and Iris took a few moments to speak, "I got to hear something very important from Namjoo-sunbae. Since I was the first contestant to speak with her, she told me that the first performances don't matter, they just want to introduce us to the public. It was my prize, I guess! So I didn't stress about it at all after. And I got pretty good feedback anyway~"

"None of us are dancers," Eunji nodded at her own words, "But your choice in song was great, and really interesting. Nari, your moved were a little off beat at times, but you made up for it with your energy. You seemed proud of your efforts and it suited you. For you, Seul, I'd like you to cheer up more. You got the easiest solo parts, but you didn't seem happy with your work. However, your dancing was still wonderful. And Bonnie, you seemed a bit too tired. This didn't detract much from your overall performance, though."

"Nari and Bonnie, you two stole the show. You looked natural and like you enjoyed it, you moves were sharp yet fluid and you seemed to actually feel the dance. Good job, you two. I was wondering why you chose to make an introduction as three, but you two both took the opportunity to show your abilities well- Even in the presence of the other," Minji said coldly. The crowd became to murmur and the maknae's expression seemed to harden ever so slightly, "Seul, however, you seem awkward at best. Did you not enjoy it? The dance moves look weird and you seemed like your focus was elsewhere. The dance didn't seem to come from within you at all and you were overshadowed by your peers. You need to step it up to show that you can follow up in the competition. Thank you girls.

The interview room felt a bit colder and Seul spoke, fingers under her eyes as she tried to stop her tears. The PD handed her a tissue and she let out a little sob.

"I tried my best, but when I saw Nari Unnie and Bonnie Unnie doing so well especially during practice, I felt like I was a bad dancer compared to them. When we got on stage I thought that no one would want to look at me compared to them," Seul whimpered a bit, eyes squeezed close, "I wanted to do better but I didn't think I could."

Taeha was up next. The staff took some time to set up her microphone, and Seoyun was crowding Seul, patting her cheeks and offering reassurance. Soon Suji was there as well, seemingly awkward as she kneeled down.

"Hey, Seul-ah, listen, you'll show them later in the competition!" She smiled, "I count on you to make them eat their words, okay?"

"Okay, Unnie..." Seul seemed a bit uncomfortable but nodded, shooing everyone away as the staff began to ask everyone to take their seats. Shortly, Taeha started her performance.

"I'm impressed," Eunji said immediately, "I heard from some of the staff that you weren't the most promising of vocalists, pretty average, but I think in the world of ballads you've proved them quite wrong. You strain your voice once you hit higher notes, however, so be careful."

"Beautiful ballad for an intro. Are you able to sing other other songs? Your voice seems soft but not really fit for different genres. I hope you get the chance to showcase what you're able to do. Thank you!" Minji smiled and sent Taeha back. The next to perform was Suji.

Seoyun went with her, a little to the back holding her own mic. They whispered to each other for a few moments, giggling at their own private conversation. Seoyun hugged Suji and pushed her to center stage while taking her own seat. The two shared a look again and winked at each other. The crowd began to murmur. Minji raised a brow and waited for them to start.

"Your rapping is good, though a bit surprising. It seems to flow well," Minji laughed, clearly a bit clueless on the subject, "I think I'll send the word to Kyung Il-ssi, but I must say, Seoyun was a good choice to back you up in this song. Thank you Suji."

"I was shocked to hear such a young voice come from such a matured face. I've heard you speak, your voice isn't that young, so why do you rap like that?" Kyung Il questioned.

"It was the first style I had, when I first started training. It did me well through the years. In the pst I've tried other styles of rapping, but none seemed to fit. I hope in the future I can show you something different," Suji bowed, looking back up at the judges.

"I don't think your style is particularly bad, it suits you in a way, but overall I'd like you to find another style that fits the current you as well. Time passed and your age, it's time that your rapping did too. Thank you," Kyung Il finished. The two left the stage, whispering to each other as "Oohs" were heard from the crowd. Lily and Stacy took the stage together.

"I think it's strange, actually," Eunji began, "You did pretty alright overall, and I could tell you don't have that strong of a voice. It stuits you, though. What I don't understand it having Lily coming in and rapping, basically making it a duet instead of having help. She stole the stage. I can tell you're not a strong performer, but I think if you work on your charisma that can change."

"Lily did a great job rapping, but where were you, Stacy? Shouldn't you have cut the rap out or done it yourself? I respect your effort but I think you should work harder. I do find the song a good fit for a light lyric soprano, though, so props there," Kyung Il nodded.

"You can sing, and had Lily rap. While I think Lily complimented you well and was able to stay lowkey enough to give you center stage, you still don't stand out. You need more than this to succeed in this industtry. I hope to see an improvement. Thank you, Seoyun will be going next."

(Skip to a minute in)

"I love you song choice, and you voice. It suited you very well, you had almost no nasality while singing despite English not being your native language. Your lower range is supported and lovely. You've earned my respect as a vocalist," Eunji smiled at Seoyun, who smiled back just as widely. Kyung Il passed his turn to speak and Minji spoke up instead.

"I find it impressive that you chose and English song for your intro piece, that's a unique choice. Your voice is soft and beautiful. I hope you get to show other sides of your voice as well. Your mixed voice seems a bit pushed, though, and a little unbalanced. You should look out for that, it could bite you hard. Thank you Seoyun. Sophia will be our next contestant!"

Sophia seemed not the least concerned about Seoyun's great review, instead taking her place and giving the crowd a cute smile. They "Awwd" and she giggled, sitting in her chair. The music began to play.

"I think you tried too hard," Kyung Il admitted, "It seemed like you were shouting, especially in the beginning of the song. Obviously that's not what you want while singing. Let me be honest, your attempt at rapping was horrible, but I think that was more for laughs, no? I could hear the laugh in your own voice. Overall, you have a good range, but the song didn't fit you. Like I said, watch how you present your voice."

"Kyung Il-ssi picked out the thing that bothered me most, actually. You did sound like you were yelling instead of singing, and it made you seem like a newbie instead of a trainee," Eunji made a face, "But considering the flaws it was still a good performance.

"You chose the wrong song for your introduction," Minji said plainly, accompanied by a small scoff, "Your voice doesn't compliment that song. You could have showcased your abilities much better- The most important thing about being a singer is knowing your abilities, and being able to gauge when to step outside of the boundries. This was not the time. You have the potential, I can hear it, but you just didn't show us with this song. Thank you Sophia, our final contestant is Daily!"

The vocalist returned to her seat, covering her eyes to triy and hide the tears. Seul hugged her from the side, holding her close. Daily hesitated but made her way to the stage, accepting her guitar from a staff member.

"Your guitar was amazing. It really complimented your voice, I think your performance impressed me the most out of everyone today. Your pronunciation was really amazing, and the falsetto felt flawless. I'm beyond pleased and hope you can show us something this good again!" Kyung Il clapped, and the audience followed. Minji spoke next, clearing .

"Very soft voice you have, don't you? Very sweet, very childlike in some way. Are you able to step over the boundries and be more than a cute girl singing cute songs?" The blonde stared expectantly.

"Of course, Sunbae. I'll show you a different side of me in the future!" Daily bowed as best she could while sitting.

"I really did find joy in your performance. You project beautifully and I feel like I find your range to be enjoyable as well. I recommend showing the full extent of your ability, though, it felt as though you were holding back. Thank you so much Daily!"

All the girls did so well! We're proud of you, RUSH!

The scene cut, everyone back in their seats and the stage cleaned. Makeup was perfect and everyone seemed to be waiting. Minji held a mic to her lips, finding the camera and speaking.

"I'd like to thank the girls for doing such a great job while having such a short amount of time. We're going to be jumping right into round two. Here's a rundown of what will happen; Two team captains will be chosen by picking rocks- Eleven will be white, two will be blue. The two with blue rocks will each be team captains. They'll come up and pick the name of their teams. Once they do, we'll bring up a group of girls based on what their best skill it. The captains will play rock paper scissors and whoever wins gets to chose who they want. Since all but one round will be with pairs, the loser gets the leftover. In the case of the three girls, the winner will decide whether or not she wants the last contestant. You can't look at your rock unitl you're told. Eunji-ssi, if you could please bring up the bag and have everyone choose? Thank you!" Minji sat on the judges table instead of her chair, waiting.

"No looking!" Eunji warned humorously, grinning at Suji who was the first on the left. She went down the line, Minyoung being the last to have a rock. As soon as she returned to her seat, Kyung Il spoke.

"Please open your hand and show your rock."