ePISODE fIVE

Part one

"Team Vanilla."

Those were the only words Phoenix needed to hear before she grabbed onto Daily, and the other wasted no time in hugging her. Lily joined in gladly, while Suji and Seoyun had a mini-celebration of their own, Seul joining in. Minyoung clapped and held a polite smile for the other team, but Taeha was less reserved with her emotions. She stomped her feet, turning away from the winners pettily.

Seul was happy for the other team, she was, but...

Q. How hard is it to lose a team battle in Rush?

"It's a pretty bad feeling, knowing that there's always someone nearby that's better than you. It's even worse when they prove it!" The 99'er spoke humorously, but her eyes told a different story.

Bonnie raised a brow at the younger. She really needed to keep herself in check in front of a crowd- Not doing so was a horrible trait for an idol, but perhaps she was overdoing it for the purpose of the show- But looked up at the judges intently. The elimination. At the dancer's action, the other contestants quickly followed her lead. This was the part Stacy hated the most-

Whether you were feeling the euphoria of a win or the failture of a defeat, you'd be hit by the harsh realization that either way, it could be time for you to go.

Minyoung felt weak at the knees. Minji really seemed to hate her, what if the viewers did, too? She wanted to win. She wanted to debut. Rapping was her passion.

Soyeon tapped at her mic, assuring all attention was on her.

"Iris is eliminated."

Cries of protest, shock, and maybe some approval broke out of the audience, but for Iris' part, she sayed calm. Suji awkwardly handed her a mic, giving her a reassuring nod the younger didn't seem to appreciate. Iris bowed to the judges.

"Thank you for your advice through my stay here. It is very valuable and I'll be sure ot use it in the road ahead," She then turned towards the remaining eleven, a smirk playing on her lips, You'll be seeing more of me in the future, just wait."

Q. What do you plan to do now that you're eliminated, Minji?

"You'll have to wait and see."

Q. What is it like to be voted out?

"Honestly? Sitting in that room, there's one much less talented rapper than me, so it's pretty harsh. However, I don't intend on giving up just yet."

In the performance room, things had gotten quiet. Minji cleared and threw a careless smile towards the girls.

"Tonight you'll all be sleeping in the LOEN trainee dorms. Good night!"

Q. How do you feel about Iris getting voted out?

"It's nerve-wracking," Minyoung sighed, "Two rappers in a row...Am I next?"

Q. Is there something you're looking forward to at the eleven-contestant mark?

Minyoung took her time before answering carefully, "I'm looking forward to a different type of competition each time." The camera switched to Seoyun, whow as making weird faces in the bathroom mirror as she took off her makeup at the LOEN bathrooms. The girls were all exhausted, filming and getting back to the dorms had taken until three a.m., and they had to be up to film again at six. The joy. Lily walked in silently, clearly exhausted as she held her pajamas. She locked herself in a stall and Seoyun awkwardly washed her hands before sitting on the counter, hoping to talk to the younger. When Lily walked out, she immediately pounced on the opporunity to start a conversation.

"This show is tough, right? I mean, little sleep, harder-than-normal-training, and wow, aren't some people just plain mean sometimes? I guess we're all tired though! That must be it, right, Lily?" She spoke at a rapid-fire pace, and the dancer looked extremely uncomfortable.

"Uh, yeah, I guess so," She drew her eyebrows together, heading towards the door, "Make sure to get some sleep." As she left in a very awkward, hurried manner, Stacy made her way in, muttering to herself about how some people just didn't know how fashion worked. She seemed surprised to find her fellow vocalist sitting so casually cross-legged on the sink. Seoyun waved a cheerful hello.

"Stacy! It's good to see you, we don't talk enough. Now what was that about fashion?" She childishly poked Stacy in the side, and the younger offered a lopsided grin, stepping back to avoid another attack.

"Ah, I was just arguing with my friend about how bad her fashion is, that's all," The vocalist began to wash off her face before applying a quick-dying facemask, "She pairs leopard print- Which is bad enough- With stripes and it acutally hurts my eyes. It's so ugly! Who does that? Someone will totally go blind!" Stacy quickly became more animated, discussing how horrible the patterns were together, and Seoyun felt her smile grow more genuine. She loved when Stacy came out of her deep-thinking shell, she became so lively and happy. The vocalist only hoped that bringing her out more often would be enough to keep her in the show for longer.

"That sounds pretty bad," Seoyun agreed, and she meant it. Jeez, leopard and stripes.

"Also, these diets are getting worse and worse- I'm not even allowed to eat oranges every day! Oranges! This is clearly a crime against humanity," She pouted, washing off the mask. Her skin sparkled with the water, and she smiled lightly at her reflection in the mirror. She grabbed her favorite moisturizer and began applying.

"I might have to fight your personal trainer. Oranges are delicious and good for you! Vitamin C kid," Seoyun stuck her tongue out in distaste before holding her hand out to Stacy, "Let's head to bed."

The following morning, the eleven girls stood side to side, in front of the LOEN building. A rap trainer, Min Sunkyung, stood in front of them with a mission card in his hands. Mission cards always made Daily nervous. She liked being told straight-out what was going to happen, not getting teased before being told what kind of challenge she'd be put through this time. Suji was nervous too, she could feel the eldest fidgeting beside her. She snuck a look but the rapper's expression was a pleasant passiveness. She seriously needed to learn that kind of skill, no matter how deceitful it was. Being an idol required deceit, Suji had said, and by then Daily knew it to be true.

"Attention!" Sunkyung called, startling a few of the girls. Suji snickered and nudged Minyoung who was next to her and had indeed jumped the most. Her fellow rapper's cheeks burned bright red but she motioned for the trainer to continueat, "Today you'll be split in a very specific way, however the way you'll be split is up to you." That's when the murmurs began.

"Guys, hush," Suji scolded, earning quite a few glares.

"Today, one representative you choose will spin a lovely wheel with five options on it- Solo, LOEN vs. Plan A, Rappers vs. Vocalists, Four vs. Three vs. Four, and Five vs. Six. There are twenty-five options on the wheel. Pick who you want to spin," He nodded and signaled for them. They had five minutes to pick, and camera closed in on the eleven as they closed in a circle.