EPISODE 8

The logo of Do or Die flashes onto the screen before segueing into a replay of the performances of the previous night. Then the camera pans over the stage, where Yeonhee, the judges, and contestants are waiting for yet another elimination.

Yeonhee gives a warm smile to the camera. "Hello and welcome back once again to Do or Die. The audience have cast their votes and gone home, and it is time for us to find out how they voted."

The camera pans over the contestants, group together with their teams. 

The team consisting of Yoonshik, James, and Hanjin is noticeably stiff. they stand a little apart and try to acknowledge each other as little as possible. 

The team consisting of Halli, Seowoo, Hugo, Ted, and Haneul isn't much more united, and it's obvious they have not accepted the show's newest member into their ranks yet. 

The only team who stands united is the one with Inho, Jeongha, Changui, Daebak, Jaemin, Hyuk, and Yeonin. They all look like a team. Inho has a supportive hand on Jeongha's shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. Jeongha smiles up at him, but the smile comes off anxious and forced, and his face falls as soon as he breaks eyecontact. Jaemin stares intently at his feet, his fear and nerves easy to read on his face. Yeonin looks over with worry but doesn't reach out to him.

"No point in drawing it out any longer," Yeonhee says. "Let's see who, of each team, garnered the least amount of votes."

"Was I nervous?" Seowoo asked in his interview. "Of course I was nervous, what kind of question is that?! I've barely escaped elimination so often, I know there will come a point where I'll not be so lucky."

"The one with the least amount of votes in team Yoonshik is," Yeonhee started, and looked at the cue card. "Hanjin. Please step forward."

Hanjin looks totally shocked, he was obviously not expecting this. Then he gathres himself and steps forward. 

"I really was not expecting that," Hanjin says in his interview. "But I suppose I've been lucky not to be in line for elimination so far. It was humbling."

"From team Halli, the one with the least amount of votes." Yeonhee says, drawing it out a little for added tension. "Is Haneul."

Seowoo actually takes a step forward, totally expecting to be the one who's called, and Halli is the one to grab his elbow to stop him. Meanwhile Haneul is as shocked as Hanjin was with the development. He still looks astonished as he steps up to take his place in the elimination lineup.

"And lastly," Yeonhee continues. "The one with the least amount of votes in team Inho is Jaemin. Please take your place with the others."

Nothing short of terror crosses Jaemin's face as his name is called. He looks terrified as he steps up to take his place in the lineup. He glances at both Hanjin and Haneul, and seeing who he's up against does nothing to alleviate his fears.

"Of course we also asked the audience to vote for their favourite performance of the night," Yeonhee continues. "And the team with the msot votes will be immune from elimination."

"Hold up," Cipher interrupts, and everyone turns to him. "How about a little bet?"

"What are you proposing, Cipher?" Carver asks. He doesn't look too happy with the interruption.

"The leaders of the teams were each the best vocalist, dancer, and rapper, right?" Cipher says. "How about the one of us whose representative team wins gets to decide on a song for next week's opening? And the losers each have to supply one contestant to perform? And the losers have to participate as well."

"I'm in," Kangho says immediately. "I think Halli's team has a decent chance of winning"

Cipher and Kangho look at Carver expectantly. Carver sighs. "Alright, if both want to do it then who am I to spoil the fun. I'm in."

"Nice!" Cipher punches the air in excitement.

Seona clears . "Can we get on with the matter at hand now?" This shuts cipher down quickly and the attention is back on Yeonhee. 

"I shan't make you wait longer then," Yeonhee says. "Let's find out which team earned their immunity this time." She opens the envelope. "The team with immunity is team Inho! Jaemin you may rejoin your group."

"YES!" Cipher jumps up and cheers before being pulled back down by Kangho before Seona murders him.

Jaemin lets out a breath of relief as he joins his team, and Inho is the first to give him a reassuring pat on the back.

"That leaves Haneul and Hanjin," Yeonhee says, and the two contestants exchange an uncertain look. "Unfortunately one of you will be leaving us tonight."

Yeonhee opens her other envelope and reads what it says. She blinks, astonished, before raising her microphone. "I'm sorry Haneul, you will be leaving us."

Haneul doesn't look that surprised this time, and just nods at the news. The camera pans over the other contestants who do seem speechless at the development.

Haneul bows towards the judges and the contestants. "It's been a great experience being here," he says. "I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

"And we were honoured to have you with us," Yeonhee says. "Now please exit he stage."

Haneul leaves without tears or fuss. He waves at the camera in the bittersweet way just before retreating backstage.

"I was surprised to be call initially," Haneul says in his interview segment. "But as I stood there with Jaemin and Hanjin I knew that of the three of us, it should be me. Ted was right, my being here wasn't fair towards the other contestants, and it's not something I even realized. It was too stupid and dense to figure out how they must feel to train with me, knowing I have an establish fanbase to draw on. Honestly, I'm not sad I got eliminated. Each of them deserves to be here and I will be their biggest fan when they debut." He raises his fist. "Do or Die fighting!"

Back on the stage Yeonhee addresses the contestants. "And so we conclude the evening. I won't hold you any longer, go back to the dorm and get a good night's rest. Tomorrow morning we will start your next challenge."

 

       
  The show returns once again to the familiar scene of the contestants sitting in the practice room, devoid of rankin pins as the time stamp shows it is early morning on the first day. 

There is still a noticeable divide between Halli and the rest of the guys. He sits a little apart from them despite his attempt to engage. Jeongha is actually sitting with Inho and Hanjin for once, and he seems content enough to chat with Inho though his usual energy is still missing. Hanjin hasn't joined the conversation, instead he looks troubled and deep in his own thoughts. 

Yoonshik seems to be discussing indie bands with Yeonin and Hugo while Jaemin sits off by himself staring at his feet. Changui tries to reach out to him but Jaemin brushes him off. Meanwhile Hyuk casts worried looks at Changui while talking with Daebak and Seowoo. James is off by himself too, minding his own business. Ted is leaning against the wall, arms crossed and looking at the door, waiting for the judges to come in. And then the door opens.

Carver, Kangho, and Cipher come in as always. Cipher looks in a perticularly good mood, he's grinning and there's a skip in his step. 

"Good morning contestants," Carver says. "It's time for your ranking. Jaemin, for your inability to learn and adapt your voice I am giving you the loswet rank. You almost got eliminated this week. Take from that that you need to work on your problems." 

Jaemin bows deeply as he accepts the pin from Carver, and then stares at the #5 he holds in his hands with a frown. He slumps as h e sits down but doesn't talke his eyes off of the pin. He looks like he could burst into tears at any second.

"#4 is for Yoonshik this week. Your performance was sub-par, and I expected something better from a team of you, Hanjin, and James. All three of you are highly skilled performers, and what we saw last week did not reflect that. I was mistaken to give you top rank, you obviously could not handle leadership."

Yoonshik hadn't minded the pin until Carver mentioned his failure as a leader. As he takes the pin he looks unhappy too, but pins the ranking to his shirt anyway. 

"Changui, you receive #3 this week. You actually sang this time, and while the lines seemed a bit too difficult for you and you weren't the most stable, I appreciate the effort and improvement." Changui accepts the pin nonchalangly, but as he gets back to his place on the floor there's a proud smile on his face. Hyuk leans over and high fives which makes Changui grin evern more.

"Seowoo, you have earned your second rank this week by being an integral part of your team's performance, and a stable one too." Seowoo also looks very pleased with himself with his ranking. He's all but gloating when he pins the #2 to his shirt.

"First I wasn't up for elimination, and now I got the highest ranking I've ever had," Seowoo says in his interview segment. "This is the start of a very good week."

"Lastly, Yeonin, you have earned your to ranking again this week. You did an excellent job with your lines and I know you managed the vocal aspect of your team's performance. Keep up the good work." Yeonin also accepts his ranking with a respectful bow and pins the rank on his shirt.

Kangho is next. As always he hands the #5 and the #4 to Hugo and Hyuk respectively. "The #3 goes to Daebak this time. I lost you a little in your performance of I Know, and the fact that you used the original choreography was very respectful to the original, but it still means that James and Halli impressed me more this week."

Daebak doesn't seem too bothered with his ranking as he pins it to his shirt, and he exchanges a proud grin with Hyuk.

"Next up is James with the #2. While you made your own choreography, it wasn't to the standard that I'm used to when it comes to your creations. I don't know if it was the dynamic of the group that held you abck or if you were simply having an off day, but I expected better from you."

"I won't disappoint you this week," James says as he receives the pin. 

"So top rank goes to our newcomer, Halli," Kangho says. "You created a very good choreography that fit the tone of the song, and worked well with your group to put the performance down even though you're new. I'm impressed, Halli." 

"Thank you," Halli says as he receives the pin, and he's glowing with pride. Behind him James scowls as he pins hiw own #2 to his shirt.

Next Cipher steps up. "Catch!" he says and throws a pin at Hyuk, who only barely manages to catch the pin before it hits Changui in the face. "Welcome to the rap team Hyuk you did good. You're #5."

"Cipher..." Kangho sighs. He doesn't even look surpried. 

"Jeongha, you're up next," Cipher throws him the pin. "You weren't as bad as you were before but that doesn't mean you did good either. What's gotten into you dude? You used to be filled with energy but now you're as fun to watch as Kangho's knitting circle."

"Hey! You promised you wouldn't tell anyone!" Kangho joked.

Jeongha simply pinned the rank to his rhit and didn't reply. Inho cast him a worried look.

"Ted, my man, you get #3 once again. That mediocre middle group. I don't know what's worse honestly, at least I remember Jeongha for being bad."

Ted looks pissed with the ranking but wordlessly pins the #3. 

"And then we're back to the usual suspects," Cipher jokes and tosses a pin at Hanjin. "You get #2 again this week, better work hard to catch up Hanjin, Inho's kicking your ."

Then he throws the last pin at Inho. "You, keep up the good work. You showed me last week that you can do a chill introspective rap, and this week you showed me that you can do an embarrassing 90s rap. Keep this up and I might actually start to like you."

When everyone is done pinning their pins and processing what just happens, Cipher claps his hands with a eating grin. "Now I'm sure you all remember we made a nice little bet last night and Inho, I'm not saying you earned your rank by helping me win that bet but it certainly didn't hurt either." 

Inho just shrugs.

"Just get on with it Cipher,"  Carver says, already done with his colleague's antics.

"Alright, if you say so. For the opening number you'll have to choose one contestant from each of your teams and-"   
            "Welcome back to Do or Die," Yeonhee says, showing her winning smile for yet another live show. 
  The camera pans over the audience and catches the various signs dotted around the audience. There are even a few for Halli, though they are still in the vast minority compared to most of the original contestants. As the camera pans over the judges table both Kangho and Carver are noticeably absent. 

"I'm told we have a very special opening number for you tonight," Yeonhee says, and even she can't suppress a grin at the thought. "So without further ado I present to you, the opening of the night!"      

Halli (Jo Kwon / the fabulous one) ; Changui (Seulong / the  big buff one) 

 

Halli and Changui come on decked out in glitted as the song starts. Halli, in particular, is giving it his absolute all and nailing it. The crowd screams, including Yeonhee and Cipher both, when Kangho and Carver join on stage for the last chorus. Kangho is fabulous in his red boa and working it while Carver very much looks like he'd rather be anywhere but here.

As the song ends the camera shows Cipher at the judges table who is dying. He's laughing so hard he can hardly breathe, and it takes him a while to regain his ability to function. "That was amazing," he says. "That was just a magical performance."

"They've certainly cast a spell on my heart," Yeonhee says with a grin and the two exchange a high five.

"Changui that has got to be the best rapping I've seen you do so far," Cipher continues. 

"Why thank you," Changui grins. 

"And Halli, your hips don't lie."

"I'm not the top ranked dancer for nothing," Halli says with a laugh before showing off the key dance for Abracadabra to the delight of the audience.

Carver and Kangho both climb down from the stage, still wearing their glitzy costumes, and take a seat at the judges table.

"I feel so out-classed right now," Cipher says, coming dangerous close to giggling.

Kangho takes off his boa and drapes it around Cipher. "There. Now you're no longer out-classed."

"And on that note," Yeonhee quickly takes back the reigns of the show. "Let's find out how our first team fared this week shall we? With such an opening this week's performances out to be quite something!"

         

Back in the practice room the judges are about to announce the selection of the teams. 

"The next challenge exists to test your leadership and how you work in your groups," Carver tells the contestants. "As such there will be no prompts or requirements."

"The leaders who will be tested this week," Kangho says. "Are Inho, Yeonin, and Halli. Each of you are #1 in your respective field, and we expect great things to come out of your performances."

"Each of you will get to pick the entirety of their team, in an order determined by who got the most votes yesterday." Carver takes over again. "You may choose whomever you want, aside from the other leders, and you may decide how many people you want in your team as well. The final leader will have to make do with what was left over."

As the leaders move to stand in front, Yeonin taps Inho's shoulder and takes him aside for a moment. He talks to him in too soft a voice to hear for just a minute before Inho nods and they take their place up front.

"The leader with the most votes," Carver says. "Is Inho. Congratulations. You may pick the team you want to work with."

"Jeongha," Inho says immediately, causing Hanjin to frown. Jeongha just nods and joins Inho. "Yoonshik hyung," Inho continues. "Hugo. Hyuk. Changui."

"I picked my team by who I know works well together," Inho explains in his interview segment. "I've worked with all of them before and I enjoyed working with them. I'm sure we'll create a fantastic performance."

"Why didn't you pick Hanjin?" the interviewer asks him.

Inho looks serious and it takes him a moment to consider his answer. "I promised Jeongha I would help him create a performance he would be proud of," Inho says. "But if Hanjin were in the group I think that wouldn't be possible. Their styles are too different, and Hanjin isn't very good at compromising." 

"Do you think you're choosing Jeongha above Hanjin?"

Inho frowns and shakes his head. "No. I've chosen Hanjin before. This time I'm helping Jeongha. Why should they be mutually exclusive?"

"You didn't pick Hanjin for your team, so there must be some exclusivity to it."

"I've already explained myself," Inho says. "I don't appreciate what you're trying to do with this."

In their practice room the team has already started going over their options.

"So what should we do?" Yoonshik asks. "A cover? Rearrange a song? Focus on dance or rap? We've got no prompt so what's our angle this time?"

"We're going to do an original song," Inho says.

Yoonshik raised his eyebrows. "Are we now? And who's going to make this original song?"

"Jeongha will," Inho says, to the obvious surprise of the Jeongha in question. "And I will help him. Yoonshik, you can help out creating the dance. I know Dash was partly your creation and that performance was fantastic. I know you'll do well with this."

"Not fantastic enough to win," Yoonshik points out. Then he lets out a sigh. "But admittedly Comfortable was better. Alright. I'm in. But you two had better create something excellent."

"We will," Inho says. Next to him a look of uncertainty crosses Jeongha's face before he can replace it with the usual smile. 

Inho and Jeongha make their way to production booth. "So," Inho starts. "What do you want to do?"

Jeongha looks surprised. "Me?"

"Of course you," Inho says. "I told you we were going to fix this. If we want to get your joy in performing back then we'll have to do something you're passionate about. I'm just hoping very hard righ now that it's not disgustingly cheesy love songs."

Jeongha laughs. "I won't do that to you don't worry." Then his face falls as he mulls it over, expression gradually getting more troubled.

"Okay," Inho said. "That might not have been the best way to put it. How about instead think about something you feel like doing? What do you usually like to do? You mentioned last week how even if your song cheered only one person up, it would be worthwhile right? So what is something you want to tell at least one viewer?"

"Well-" 

"What the song is about?" Jeongha repeats the question in his interview segment. He grins. "Be Happy!"

Much later, well after midnight, Inho and Jeongha rejoin their team in the practice room. The remaining team had dispersed into doing their own thing. Hugo is busy on his laptop with big headphones on, Yoonshik is sleeping on one of the benches, and Changui and Hyuk are chatting in English. 

"Gather around children!" Jeongha says excitedly as he all but skips to the stereo and plugs in the pendrive. Meanwhile Inho goes around and hands out the lyrics sheets, gently nudging Yoonshik awake. 

"You finished the song already?" Hyuk says, awe in his voice.

"Yep!" Jeongha says. "We're just that awesome aren't we hyung?" 

Inho smiles. "It's a little unpolished but, honestly, I like it that way. It fits."

Jeongha grins with pride as the song with his shaky but sincere guide vocals fills the room. Yoonshik's eyebrows all but dissappear behind his fringe when the chorus starts, he looks highly sceptical of the whole thing. Changui is jamming along, while Hyuk nods his head to beat with a smile. Hugo just looks at Jeongha knowingly, smiling, which makes Jeongha look away and rub his neck awkwardly. 

"What do you think?" He asks when the song is done, a hint of vulnerability in his voice. Inho puts a hand on his shoulder and squeezes.

"I like it!" Changui says immediately. "It's fun!"

Hyuk nods. "Yeah it's great. You guys did really good in such a short time."

Hugo actually laughs. "It took you long enough," he says to Jeongha who just looks confused and shakes his head, too used to not understanding what Hugo is going on about.

Lastly all eyes fall on Yoonshik. "It's definitely unpolished," he says immediately, and Jeongha's face falls a bit. "But it's a good song when you consider you wrote it in a day."

Jeongha grins more and throw up his arms. "That's as close to a compliment as I'm ever going to get from you, hyung, I'll take it."

"I will say that the song is absolutely ridiculous," Yoonshik is quick to follow up. "But from you I shouldn't expect anything different."

"You really should've stopped at the first bit," Jeongha says, still grinning. "It was a lot nicer." 

Yoonshik just snorts and grabs a highlighter. "So. Parts, shall we?"

"I still can't believe they made that song in a day," Hyuk says in his interview, admiration clea