The logo lingers a bit longer over the screen than usual before it fades out over silence. The Arirang main theatre is empty except for the seventeen nervous contestants standing on the stage, facing the judges and hosts who are sitting in the front row, discussing softly among themselves.

The scene shifts to an interview with Hyunmi.

"It wasn't intentional to keep the contestants waiting for so long, but Hyomin-sunbae had been going through the suggestions box from the last open performance and she had decided to change things very last minute."

Doyeol's voice sounds from behind the camera. "Did that annoy you or the others?"

Hyunmi gives something of an amused smile. "Iseul didn't care much. Inho was a little more annoyed but what can you expect from him? Honestly it was a good suggestion, and I think it will prove quite useful in the long run. And it only shifted the original schedule around by a few hours at most so honestly, all in all it's a good plan."

The scene changes back to the theatre, where the judges and hosts are finishing their discussion, and Gyujin finaly clears his throat and addresses teh contestants.

"Terribly sorry for the wait there girls! But I think you'll find our discussions just now will be quite beneficial for you!" His grin could match any award-winning actor's, and a few of the girls swoon a bit. "But unfortunately we do have to start with the bad news." He adds apologetically.

Hyomin takes over from there. "I'll make this quick. The score was close, but ultimately Group B was voted to be the worst performance of the night. As such you six will be subject to eliminations."

She quickly moves on. "However those will not be occuring right away. All six of you will have the chance to show off your skills to try and impress both the judges and your fellow contestants, who will then decide which contestants will be eliminated."

Jiwon frowns and starts to raise her hand, but Iseul begins speaking before the teen can voice whatever concerns she has. "But first, the three of us are giving lessons! Group lessons mind you, but we'll do our best to work in some personal assistance as well."

The reactions to the announcement are mixed, with some of the contestants, such as Kaerin and Yoonhee, looking quite enthusiastic about the prospect of extra pracitce and assistance, where other girls like Hiroko and Hyojin appear less impressed.

Hyomin continues where Iseul left off. "Lessons begin immediately. Singers go with Iseul, dancers with Hyunmi, and rappers with Inho. For members of Group B, your performances will be due in three days, and you may have access to backup dancers or any other outside assistance you can concieve."

Yoonhee hesitantly raises her hand. "Um, do we have to stay in only one lesson for the entire time, or could we go to more than one?"

Iseul looks pleased with the question. "Feel free to lesson hop as you please. It's always good to want to improve in multiple areas." She replies to Yoonhee, who grins and looks over at Kyungmi, who's standing beside her.

Kyungmi returns the grin and gives her friend a quick shoulder-bump as well.

"Well then, the judges know which rooms they'll be in, so you all should get going, time is wasting." Hyomin's no-nonsense tone has all seventeen girls hurriedly getting off the stage.

The most notable exit comes from Natchaya as she launches herself off of the stage and narrowly misses crashing into the seats when she lands, grinning despite the close call.

Jina laughs excitedly and hops off the stage herself, though she's a touch more cautious than her friend. Most of the remaining contestants deign to take the stairs instead of risking broken limbs, though Olivia looks like she's contemplating it before Hiroko drags her away.

A majority of the girls leave with the three judges, but a notable handful head in different directions.

The scene cuts to interviews with each of them, starting with Hiroko.

"Normally I'd be all for some extra practice, but Iseul has an obvious bias, and with it being a group class it's likely I'd just be ignored, or told things I already know. I figure taking this time to eat and sleep will be better in the long run."

In her interview, Natchaya shrugs. "I didn't really feel like going honestly. I'm skilled enough, and anyway we're supposed to be making our own performances right? Should focus on that instead."

Hyojin's sentiments are similar. "We only have three days to create something to showcase our skills. I've had plenty of practice during my training so I'm going to focus on creating the best performance I can with the time I've been given."

Jina rounds out the group of contestants avoiding the practices. "I mean Natchaya isn't going so I'd rather hang out with her! Plus I'm a really good singer already." She smiles proudly.

The scene cuts to one of the practice rooms. Aerin is sitting outside of it, taking deep, angry breaths.

"Hey, what're you doing out here?" Doyeol's voice sounds from behind the camera, and Aerin glances up at him, surprised.

"Oh, uh, just, going to the practice."

"It started half and hour ago." Doyeol points out dryly and Aerin frowns at him.

"I know that! Get off my case."

"I'm supposed to interview everyone who isn't going to the practices. You seem to be one of those people. Therefore I can't contractually leave until you either give me an interview or go into the practice room." Doyeol's voice is mostly flat, but there's something in his tone that has Aerin standing up defiantly.

"Well I'm going in now, so good bye!" She grumbles.

Doyeol chuckles a bit as the rapper finally opens the door and enters the rap room. He waits a moment to be sure she'll stay inside before he wanders down the cooridor to find his next interviewee.

The camera view shifts to show Aerin entering the room from inside. Olivia, Eugene, and Shisae all glance up as the door opens, and Aerin shifts in annoyed discomfort under their gazes.

For his part Inho looks amused. "I see you've decided to join us then? Sit next to Olivia then, and try to catch up." With that he turns back to the group, not bothering to see if Aerin complies with his order.

She waits a moment, listening to him talking about the different types of flow in rap, before she does join the group, awkwardly sitting next to Olivia, who gives her a bright, encouraging smile that is in no way returned.

The scene shifts to an interivew with Inho.

"Impressed? Why would I be impressed? Showing up for practice is the least any of them should be doing. That said I was surprised to see her. I'm glad she's finally decided to try listening." There's a trace of pride in his eyes, though he quickly clamps down on it.

The scene changes to show Iseul's vocal group, which is much larger than the rap team.

It seems Yeeun has taken to assisting the vocal coach, as the older contestant is running basic warmups with Yoonhee, Kyungmi, and Miyeon while Iseul works with Ahri, Kaerin, and Jakyung on some more advanced techniques.

The room is a cacophony of sounds clashing against each other as everyone works on different things all at once.

After a few fast-forwarded through minutes, Jiwon joins the group, though Yoonhee and Kyungmi leave not long after, leaving the group smaller than it has started, though only slightly.

Groups shift then, and Ahri politely volunteers to help Jiwon warm up while Yeeun and Iseul have some one-on-one practice. Jakyung and Kaerin meanwhile seem to be helping each other with the techniques they'd just been learning.

The scene shifts to an interview with Iseul. "Honestly it was fun. Chaotic, but fun. I have to say I was thankful Yeeun and Ahri helped out like they did, I probably would have yelled at someone otherwise. It's tough working with people who are all on different levels."

"I'm sure you would have managed fine Iseul." Doyeol's voice gives away that he's smiling, and Iseul returns the grin with one of her own, her cheeks coloring slightly.

"Maybe. I'm glad we dont' have to find out though."

The scene cuts away to show Hyunmi's group, clearly at an earlier time than the ending of the vocal lesson's segment as Jiwon is present.

Aside from the quiet teen, only Minah is present. The two girls are diligently following Hyunmi through a series of warmups while the choreographer speaks.

"Warming up before any dance, no matter how simple, is imperitave. Relaxing and stretching your muscles allows them to do more with less strain that could lead to serious damage. Now most of what we'll be doing today wouldn't cause that sort of damage even if done incorrectly, but it's always better safe than sorry."

Both girls nod solemnly in response to the advice.

"Hyebin always said the same!" Minah pipes up after a moment. The other two glance at her and she elaborates. "She was the lead dancer for Various before she left." She frowns sadly. "She had some health issues." She adds for clarification.

Jiwon offers an awkward smile. "Perhaps you'll be able to debut in her place?"

Minah looks startled, and then starts to splutter. "I-I wouldn't want to replace anyone o-or something like that!" She sounds embarrassed rather than indignant, and Jiwon shrugs.

"Alright then, maybe you'll be added to the line up. I apologize for my poor choice of wording."

Minah smiles awkwardly. "Ah, it's okay Jiwon-ah! Just caught me off guard!"

Hyunmi clears . "Alright why don't we start with some basics, alright?"

The scene fast forwards as the two girls work through several routines with Hyunmi. Jiwon struggles more than Minah, though the older contestant does her best to help out where she can.

Kyungmi and Yoonhee join the lesson a while later, and they warm up by themselves while Jiwon bows to both Hyunmi and Minah in thanks before departing for the vocal room.

The scene cuts to a quick interview with Jiwon.

"Why did you start in the dance rehearsal instead of vocal or rap?"

The quiet contestant shrugs. "I'm a horrible dancer. I can generally pull of something passable with singing or even rapping if so needed. Dancing is something I still have a ways to go with so I thought it would be prudent to get some tips from a professional like Hyunmi."

In her interivew, Hyunmi smiles slightly. "Well I am a professional. Thought Jiwon's choice was certainly something I was wondering about as well. Regardless I'm content with how things played out in the practice. All of my students were quite receptive to suggestions and critiques."

The scene then shifts to the outside of the girls' dorms, where the members of Groups A and C are starting to converge since the lessons have finished.

Hiroko leads the group as she pulls a sheet of paper from teh doorway. "What the heck?"

"What's going on Roko?" Olivia nudges her way to the front to peer over her friend's shoulder, and promptly begins reading aloud.

"Dear winning groups - don't think you're off the hook! You girls have the next three days to promote the show in whatever ways you can think up. The dorms will be locked until after the eliminations are over." She makes a face. "Oh boo."

"Is that even legal?" Jiwon sounds more thoughtful than annoyed, though Miyeon, who's standing beside her, seems to be annoyed for them both.

"It's ridiculous is what it is! They can't cut us off from sleep for the next three days, it's inhumane!"

"You've never gone that long without sleep during practices before?" Jakyung looks genuinely curious, even forgetting to attempt a pun in her surprise.

Miyeon glances over at her with equal amounts of confusion. "Um, no? I feel like you should be more upset by this."

Jakyung suddenly lights up. "I'm emotionally consitpated! I haven't given a sh*t in days!" She laughs loudly as the other girls groan.

"Alright then," Miyeon sighs. "Let's get this ridiculous side quest over with. I almost envy Group B, not having to deal with all this."

"I'm actually pretty sure I'm going to scream soon."

Aerin is muttering to herself as she paces back and forth across one of the small, private practice rooms that dot the hallways of the main building. She's holding a sheet of paper in her hands, with several notes scribbled over it in increasingly shaky handwriting.

The rapper suddenly stops and falls into the single chair occupying the room. "How do I not rap like a YG rapper? I learned everything at YG! One measly three hour lesson won't change that!" Her hands fall over her face as she leans back, though the paper doesn't cover her grimace.

"Ugh, someone please majic the answer into my brain, I'm going crazy." Her voice is shaky now, clearly on the verge of tears in her frustration.

There's a knocking on her door, and she jerks up, the chair clanging back again the wall of the room. She quickly swipes at her eyes before pushing open the door.

"Uh, Jiwon? What do you want?"

The other contestant gives a small cough. "I could hear you next door."

Aerin immediately colors, the tears back in her eyes. "Sorry..."

"You had rap training at Simtong too right? Not just YG."

Aerin blinks, her embarrassment momentarily forgotten in favor of confusion. "What?"

Jiwon shrugs in what has become her signature gesture. "You said you learned everything at YG, but didn't you train at Simtong for two years? Didn't they teach you anything?"

Aerin blinks again, clearly taking a moment to process the information. "Um..."

"Just a thought I had. I'll go back to my own practice room now." Jiwon inclines her head politely and takes her leave.

Slowly Aerin closes the door behind her. Then she picks up the sheet of music from where it had dropped after Jiwon's surprise visit. Slowly the rapper smiles.

The scene switches to one of the larger group practice rooms, where Hyojin is conversing with a backup dancer while three others are apparently practicing a choreography.

"I feel like having two instances of twerking may be overkill now that we've run it." The dancer with Hyojin says, frowning.

Hyojin nods. "Like I said. I'm thinking cut the first one and change it into something simpler. The second one is a litle more creative."

The dancer nods and walks over to the other three, who stop and immediately turn to her.

While they discuss, Hyojin starts to practice the dance herself, rapping quietly as she goes. After about thirty seconds she stops, panting slightly and frowning.

"I'm running out of breath too fast at the start. I'm going to try doing smaller version of only a few moves. This is supposed to showcase my rapping anyway." She speaks loud enough for the dancers to hear, though she doesn't check if they've acknowledged it before he starts trying out a revised version of what she'd been doing before.

The dancer she'd been talking with shrugs at the other three and they continue discussing as if the contestant hadn't spoken.

Next door in another large pracitce room, Ahri is also working with backup dancers. While the women work through a sepearte part of the choreo, Ahri nervous addresses the two male dancers with her.

"Sorry again. I'm just nervous." Her voice is soft and her eyes downcast.

One of the guys smiles encouragingly. "I promise I'll be here every time, okay? Just trust me."

She nods nervously, takes in a deep breath, and then stands straight while the other guy gently holds her shoulder from behind.

He guides Ahri in a stationary circle and then leans her towards the other male who braces to catch her against his back. But at the last moment she startles and pulls back onto her feet, looking embarrassed.

"I'm sorry!"

The men share a look. "We'll keep working on it Ahri-ah, okay? Why don't we do some work with the girls for a while instead for now, okay?"

Looking both ashamed and relieved, Ahri nods. "Sorry." She adds.

Both guys roll their eyes. "It's fine Ahri. Stop apologizing, alright?"

She nods again as the women walk over.

"Still having trouble?" One of them asks sympathetically, though Ahri's cheeks burn red in shame at the reminder. The girl pats her shoulder lightly.

"Hey if you want, why don't you do it with us instead? Just to practice? It can be less stressful if it's a girl on the other end." One of the other dancers pipes up thoughtfully. "You know, you're not thinking about how cute the guy you're about to lean on is and stuff since it's a girl."

"girls are cute!" Ahri stutters out, and then seems to realize what she said as her blush gets even darker. "I-I mean...!"

All the dancers laugh.

"We know what you meant Ahri. Do you think it would work?" The guy in charge of being leaned on asks once he's calmed down a bit.

Ahri thinks about it, and then gives a small, uncertain nod.

"Maybe? I want to try, I want to make this work. You guys worked so hard on the choreography and I don't want that to go to waste."

One of the girls gives her a friendly hair ruffle. "Awesome! I volunteer to be leaned on!"

The dancers gather around the increasingly flushed Ahri, though the singer is smiling broadly.

The scene cuts away again, this time to show Shisae. She's sitting in a sound booth, head bent low as she writes something.

The door opens, and Inho steps inside. He doesn't notice Shisae at first, but looks thoughtful when he does spot the contestant.

"Composing something for the challenge?"

His voice brings Shisae out of her zone, and she blinks down at the page for a moment before looking up at the rap judge.

"I thought the best way to showcase myself is with something I'd written myself." She explains.

Inho nods. "It's a good strategy, but do you think you'll be able to finish something in three days? You're already halfway through the second you know."

She nods instead of giving a verbal response, her eyes already tilting back down towards the music she'd been working on.

Inho looks amused. "Well I guess I'll stop interrupting then. Good luck."

The scene shifts to an interview with the rap judge. "I like Shisae honestly. I hope she makes it for the deadline, she's got a sort of maturity and thoughtfullness you don't see often in girls her age and I think that could translate interestingly to her raps. But if she can't get something together, obviously she'll be out."

The scene then changes to show the final two members of Group B. Jina and Natchaya are hanging out in a larger practice room, likely for private lessons as it comfortably houses two people and the piano sitting against the wall, but would likely be overcrowded with any more.

Natchaya is tapping at the piano keys in no clear order, apparently just for her own amusement. Jina is sitting on the chair next to her, looking cheerfully amused.

"So what are you going to do for the challenge?" Jina pipes up after a moment.

Natchaya shrugs. "Probably just my audition piece. Learning something completely new in three days would be ridiculous. Plus, with the number of times I've been critiqued on that song it's gotta be perfect by now."

Jina's nod is perhaps a bit too enthusiaastic for the situation. "I bet! I think I'm going to do an English song! My trainer says I have good pronounciation, so that should be good right?"

Natchaya grins over at the older girls. "You bet! I bet we'll pass through no problem, right partner?"

Jina beams. "Right!"

"Isn't that what people say right beore everything goes to ?"

Jiwon's appearance at the door startles both girls, and Natchcay quickly shoots the other a glare once she's recovered from the surprise.

"Ever heard of knocking?" Natchaya's voice has taken on a condescending tone.

"I did. You didn't seem to hear." Jiwon replies evenly. "Messing around I suppose?"

"We're working." Natchaya snaps back testily. Jina shrinks back from the heavy atmosphere suddenly enveloping the other two contestants.

"Really? Didn't sound like it from out here." Jiwon's tone remains as even as ever, and Natchaya bristles further.

"Is there a reason you're here, or are you just wasting space." Natchaya practically growls in her annoyance, but Jiwon's indifference doesn't waver.

"Not really, just confirming that you two are sitting around doing nothing. As expected I suppose, can't expect much from the bottom of the barrel." With that Jiwon takes her leave, though an outside camera catches her smirking somewhat as she goes.

Natchaya fumes in silence for a long moment before she turns to Jina.

"I'm going to learn a new song for the performance. That little brat won't know what hit her." She hisses.

Jina nods nervously and Natchaya storms out of the room.

Jina sit awkwardly in the center of the room for a moment, looking for all the world like a lost puppy.

Then the scene cuts to an interview with her.

"I just practiced my song after that. I didn't really see Natchaya afterwards, she was working really hard." Jina sounds like she's trying to be positive, but she still seems a bit downtrodden.

Doyeol clears his throat awkwardly. "That's... alright that all. You can leave now."

The next interview is with Jiwon.

Doyeol speaks first. "Why did you spend your time around the building rather than working on your given mission?"

Jiwon gives something of a smile. "I did my job. I just needed to make a phone call after all." She pauses to think, her lips pursed slightly. "As for why... I guess I just want to make sure everyone was doing their best. This wouldn't be very fair otherwise." She shrugs, and then smiles faintly.

The scene cuts to show scenes of each of the six members of Group B as they continue practicing.

Ahri finally gets through the move she'd been struggling with and is promptly attack hugged by several of her backup dancers.

Hyojin goes through a verse while her dancers stand to the side and observe, calling advice and opinions as she goes.

Jina is practicing alone in the same room Natchaya left her in. She seems half-hearted as she checks her lyrics.

Shisae is in a practice room as well, looking a bit annoyed but praciticing what seems to be her own composition based on the fact it's hand written.

Aerin is also in a practice room, looking far more alive and excited than before. She's running her lyrics over and over, her hand gestures changing with each practice.

Then the screen shows Natchaya. She's standing in a hallway, looking annoyed and conflicted all at once. She glances at the pages in her hand, then back at the door in front of her, before blowing out a highly annoyed breath and rapping loudly on the door.

It takes a moment, but finally Iseul appears. She looks at the contestant in front of her in surprise.

"Natchaya? What can I do for you?"

Natchaya looks like she's in pain, but her reply is steady.

"Teach me."

The screen announces that it's the day of the performances.

The members of Groups A and C are gathered in front of the building, with Gyujin standing in front of them like a military seargant, though he looks amused.

"Alright girls, what did you do to drum up some attention for the show? The person who we deem did the most wil be safe from the next eliminations!"

This announcement gets everyone to pay attention.

Miyeon raises her hand. "Um sir? Why weren't we told this before? I feel it would have improved motivation if we had known."

Gyujin smiles. "Well we wanted to see your true love of the show! Working hard to make us better known, out of the goodness of your hearts! It's so romantic!"

"He has a weird definition of romantic." Olivia remarks cheekily to Hiroko, who can't stiffle a giggle at her friend's words.

Gyujin either doesn't hear the comment or chooses to let it slide as he continues speaking.

"So why don't we start at the end of the line? Miyeon, how did you drum up attention?"

Jiwon subtly shifts her place in line so she's standing at the far end of the group while Miyeon begins speaking.

"Actually I teamed up with Kyungmi, Kaerin, Yoonhee, Minah, and Eugene. We did a couple flash mobs in the busier parts of the city." She smiles lightly. "Minah helped up choreograph and Kaerin sang." She smiles over at the two named contestants, who smile back.

Gyujin claps happily. "Wonderful! I'm sure that did a lot to boost popularity!" He looks further down the line until his eyes land on a contestant who hadn't been involved in the flash mob. "Olivia, what about you?"

Olivia perks up, clearly happy to be the center of attention for a moment. "Hiroko and I did some busking up in Itaewon! I did freestyle raps and Hiroko did some singing and some dancing!"

Hiroko nods a quiet confirmation of her involvement in the busking, and Gyujin nods back and moves on to the last few girls.

"We did some busking as well." Yeeun says, gesturing to herself and Jakyung.

"I did stand up comedy! But don't worry, there was no funny business!" Jakyung cracks up while the other girls almost unanimously groan, though Gyujin also looks amused.

"And Jiwon?"

Instead of answering, Jiwon holds up her phone to show a billboard with the information for versus blazoned across the front. She then zooms the photo out to show that it's stationed above one of the busiest intersections in Seoul.

"I thought this would be the best way to have lots of people made aware of the show in as little time possible. Nearly everyone drives don Terheranno at some point during their week."

Gyuin looks genuinely impressed, while the other girls all look annoyed.

"Well then," The co-host smiles brightly. "we'll discuss your contributions and announce the winner of this mini contest later on! For now, it's time to judge your fellow contestants!"

He leads the girls into the main theatre, which houses only the judges and Hyomin.

"No audience?" Eugene speaks up, curiosity apparently overpowering her usual tendency to fade into the background.

Gyujin shakes his head. "Nope. Today's elimination is controlled completely by you and the judges."

The girls talk among themselves as they all settle into their seats. Once everyone has quieted down, Hyomin waves the first performer onto the stage.

Aerin looks calm and confident as she strides out, fixing her gaze straight onto Inho as she begins her performance.

THe contestants applaud politely. Aerin looks at the judges, waiting for her critque, but instead Hyomin waves her off the stage.

"Thank you Aerin."

The rapper looks confused but exits nonetheless.

"No judge comments?" Hiroko frowns, but no one answers her as Natchaya enters.

Iseul gives the contestant a nearly imperceptible thumbs up, but the camera zooms in to be sure the audience sees it.

Natchaya either doesn't see or doesn't acknowldege the encouragment as she launches into her peformance.

Natchaya gives a small bow, and her eyes breifly find Jiwon in the crowd before she exits without prompting.

There's a short break between performances when the scene shifts to an interview with Hyomin.

"The judges won't be making any commentary so as to not influence any of the contestant's votes at the end. Let them make their own decisions as to what is important, and who they want to continue working with."

The scene returns to the show to find Hyojin on the stage with her dancers.

The polite applause the contestants had been giving everyone to that point is notable muted after Hyojin's performance, but she looks confident as she smiles and exits.

There's a brief interview with her. "I'll be fine. I'm willing to say the judge's votes will count for more, and I don't think I'm as disliked as certain contestants might think." She nods confidently.

The next performer is Jina. She waves cheerfully at everyone before she begins.

Yoonhee and Kyungmi both give verbal cheers and wave at Jina as she exits. She excitedly waves back, grinning proudly.

In the front row Iseul begins speaking quietly with Hyomin, who murmurs something back before the two women look back to the stage, waiting for the next performer to enter.

Shisae's high energy performance startles the viewers for a moment, but soon most of them get into the short song, shouting along with the main hook.

Shisae for her part looks like she's genuinely enjoying herself on the stage. Even after she's finished she waits a bit, a faint smile on her face, before finally leaving the stage.

Ahri looks nervous when she enters with her backup dancers.

"I'm not sure why I decided to go last. I mean no one else wanted to so I thought it would be nice, but now I'm worried. Everyone's performances are really good." She says in a short shift to an interview with her.

Back onstage she takes a few deep breaths before nodding for the music to start.

Ahri looks slightly blown away by the subsequent applause she gets, but she recovers after a moment and smiles brightly, waving happily to her fellow contestants before exiting the stage.

The judges take a moment to discuss among themselves before Hyomin calls for the six members of Group B to return to the stage.

"All of you will be voting on who you believe should be eliminated. You have ten minutes to write down your vote and give them to myself or Gyujin."

The contestants all scramble to start writing with the paper and pencils that Gyujin produces when Hyomin sits back down.

"Honestly I wasn't sure who to vote for at first, but then I thought about what Hiroko said during the first eliminations." Miyeon blinks and then laughs a bit. "Kaerin told me about Hiroko's speech." She adds, seemingly directly to Doyeol behind the camera. "So I voted for the person I least wanted to debut with."

In the stage area, slowly all the contestants turn in their sheet.

Kaerin hands hers in nervously. Gyujin flips it open after the singer sits down, only to find it's blank.

Kaerin shrugs in her interview. "I mean. I don't think anyone deserves to be eliminated. So I just didn't vote. It doesn't hurt anything right?"

"Well, unless there's a tie and then multiple people end up eliminated." Doyeol replies.

Kaerin pales slightly.

The scene cuts back to the theatre, where only the contestants remain while the judges and hosts converse elsewhere.

"I'm just glad none of us are up for elimination this time." Minah says, with some guilt edging into her words as she looks around at her group of friends.

Eugene lightly bumps her shoulder and offers the older contestant one of her usual warm-but-sad smiles. "You shouldn't be guilty for thinking that, we're all glad for that."

"She's right." Miyeon adds with a kind eye smile. "I'm really happy for that as well, I'd miss any of you if you were eliminated."

Beside them, Shisae speaks up. "But someone will have to be eventually There are only five girls debuting, but six of you."

Kyungmi frowns and idly grabs Yoonhee's hand, and the other girls squeezes it back.

Miyeon quickly smooths over the sudden nervousness in the group. "Hey, we don't have to think about that yet, alright? For now let's all just stick together. We're stronger that way, right?" She shoots an annoyed glance at Shisae, who has returned to chatting with Jiwon and completely misses it.

Everyone in the group slowly nods at Miyeon's words, and they relax back into a more comfortable conversation about the people they'd met during the flash mob.

A little ways away, Hiroko and Olivia are chatting.

"I'm just saying that there's definitely something up. Jiwon just stayed at the building all day yesterday and now she and Natchaya have some sort of grudge or something." Olivia says.

Hiroko tilts her head curiously. "Really? I hadn't noticed. Wonder what that's about?"

Olivia's eyes shine. "Don't know, but I'll tell you once I find out!"

By the back wall, Jakyung is entertaining Natchaya and Jina with parts of her standup routine from their mini challenge.

"And then I say, 'At least from here it can only get butter!'" She pauses for laughter, which Natchaya happily gives. Jina seems a little more confused but she laughs as well.

"Man I bet you win that little challenge you guys had, no way anyone did better than you!"

"Well Yeeun helped. She would sing between sets to get people to come over." Jakyung glances over at the said contestant, who's sitting by herself a few seats away, watching everyone else carefully.

Jina glances over at Yeeun as well. "I guess that's good. She kind of scares me though. It's like she's hiding something, I don't trust her."

Natchaya shrugs. "I can see that. But hey, as long as she doesn't mess with us, who really cares?"

Ahri chooses then to awkwardly make her way over to Yeeun, who glances up as the other contestant sits beside her.

"Hey. I liked your performance."

Ahri smiles. "Thanks. The dancers were great, whoever is in Group A should actually use them next time."

Yeeun smiles slightly. "Well after that performance I'd guess you might be one of those people. I certainly think you'd deserve it."

Ahri blushes, but she's smiling happily. "You think? I'd love to get to work with you, I think our voices would sound good together."

Yeeun nods thoughtfully. "Yeah, they probably would. Well, we'll see next round, right?"

Ahri nods. "Right."

Hyojin and Aerin are staked out by the doorway, waiting for the staff to return with the results of the voting.

"You know it's either you or me, right?" Aerin's voice is soft.

Hyojin scoffs. "Nah, I bet it's Natchaya. She's annoying and her performance was pretty boring.  We're both at least talented."

Aerin looks genuinely surprised. "Yeah well, Inho might disagree with you there." She mutters.

Hyojin shrugs. "Maybe, maybe not. Have you noticed that you're the only person he's actually given constructive critisism to?"

Aerin opens to reply, but hesitates, thinking about Hyojin's observation.

The older contestant just gives a slight sigh, followed by a begrudging smile. "I think you might be his favorite."

Whatever Aerin would have said to taht is interrupted when the doors open and the judges and hosts return.

Hyomin gestures for everone to assemble at the front, which the contestants quickly do.

"Well we've discussed and your votes have been tallied." Hyomin clears . "Hyojin, I'm afraid today was your last performance."

The rapper stares at the host for a long, shocked moment, before spinning to glare at Hiroko.

The singer rolls her eyes. "Oh don't-"

Hyomin cuts her off. "And the second elimination for today will be Jina. Both of you are dissmissed. The dorms are unlocked so you may collect your things and be on your way. Thank you for being on the show."

Everyone is silent for a long moment, before chaos erupts.

"There were two eliminations?"