The versus logo shatters onto pitch blackness. The sound of hurried footsteps fills the air, followed by the sound of someone tripping and falling over.

"Sh*t! I can't see a thing!" Aerin swears, desperation edged into her voice.

"Oh quit whining and get up. I'm in front of you and I"m doing fine." Natchaya's voice snaps back, clearly aggravated.

"I know things look dark now, but I bet we can find a bright side!" Jakyung pipes up, though even she sounds tired, her puns much weaker than usual.

"Um, I've been trying to map our progress in my head." Ahri pipes up, sounding nervous. "I think there might be a door to the right pretty soon. Maybe that will let some light in?"

There's the sound of fumbling, and then a door swings open, blinding light pouring into the camera, turning the black completely white, and words appear over the screen.

8 hours earlier...

The Arirang main theatre comes into focus, where the girls of groups A and B are waiting nervously while the hosts tally the votes. Finally Hyomin looks up.

"Well, we have a very clear winner." She announces, and then takes a slight pause, leaving the girls to fidget for a moment longer. "Group B, I'm afraid one of you is going home today."

The four members of Group A relax and follow Iseul and Hyunmi out of the room, leaving just Group B to eye each other nervously.

Hiroko especially seems tense, her eyes following Group A until they're out of sight, her posture stiff and worried.

Hyomin looks right at Hiroko for a moment, some amusement on her features, before she speaks again.

"I know you're all trying to think of who you'd like to eliminate, but we're on a time constraint today, so the judges were kind enough to choose the eliminated contestant for you this round."

Hiroko still looks nervous as the girls wait to hear who's being eliminated.

Inho clears his throat slightly, and all six pairs of eyes turn to him.

"Eugene, today was your last performance. As I said, I wish you'd done more this round."

Eugene frowns slightly, but otherwise seems unaffected.

The screen cuts to an interview with her.

"Well only five people will get to debut anyway, right? What were the chances I'd actually make it?" She attempts a smile, but it doesn't reach her eyes.

The scene switches back to show the remaining five members of Group B entering the dining area to join the rest of the contestants.

Minah looks up as Yoonhee, Kyungmi, and Kaerin all walk over, looking nervous. The cheerleader's eyes scan the three, and then looks past them, searching.

"Where's Eugene?" She sounds almost chipper, and the three girls share a nervous look.

"Um, she... she was eliminated." Kyungmi vetures.

Minah looks at the three, her eyes almost blank, as if trying to erase what they'd said. "No, we're going to debut together. We promised on the first night." She replies cheerfully.

Yoonhee and Kyungmi exchange awkward looks, and Kaerin quickly wanders away from the table to instead talk with Natchaya and Jakyung, who are sitting nearby the group of friends.

Miyeon reaches out a comforting hand. "Hey. You okay?" She looks at the other girls, and gestures with her eyes for them to follow Kaerin, while she switches seats to be next to Minah.

Yoonhee and Kyungmi willingly follow the vocalist over to the neighboring table and settle down beside their friend, quickly joining the conversation.

The scene cuts to an interview with Kyungmi.

"I mean, I'm sad Eugene is gone now, but..." She hesitates, and then blurts out the rest of her sentence in a rush. "I mean she seemed nice but she was really more Minah-unnie's friend than mine? I dunno she gave me weird vibes. I'm sadder that Minah-unnie is sad than Eugene actually being gone." The moment she finishes the rushed thought she stares at her feet, her face twisted into an unreadable emotion. "Does that make me a bad person?"

The scene changes back to show Hiroko walking over to Olivia.

"Hey, you made it! Gotta admit I was worried." Olivia smiles brightly at her friend as Hiroko sits down next to her.

Hiroko smiles wryly back. "Honestly, me too." She responds. "Eugene was eliminated instead."

Olivia nods. "That makes sense. She didn't talk very much. Probably to avoid accidentally mentioning Ladies Code. Or maybe it has to do with her background? Something happened with her that I was trying to figure out. Oh well. I bet Minah knows, I can probably find out from her!"

Hiroko laughs lightly. "Sometimes I think you're too curious for your own good."

"Maybe, but you love it." Olivia teases. "Where else would you get your gossip from if I wasn't around?"

Hiroko laughs. "Fair enough."

"And anyway this show needs me. Everyone else here is such a typical girl, they need someone cool like me!"

Hiroko just rolls her eyes, still amused.

"Could you be ist somewhere I can't hear you?" Aerin snaps. The rapper is sitting at the table next to the pair, along with Yeeun, Ahri, Jiwon, and Shisae. Yeeun hums agreement.

Olivia rolls her eyes. "I'm not being ist."

"Implying that being a 'typical girl', as you put it, is something to be ashamed of is, in fact, a form of ism against women. It implies that things that are supposedly more 'female' are somehow inferior to those considered more 'male'." Jiwon's reply is calmly laid out. "Thus your constant bragging that you're not like other girls inherently says that you yourself are ist against your own gender." The girl tilts her head lightly, something lighting up in her eyes. "Unless you don't identify female?"

The table jerks a few inches forward as Olivia physically reacts to Jiwon's words. "I do! And I'm not ist!"

Aerin rolls her eyes, but none of the girls at the neighboring table bother responding as they go back to their own conversation.

Olivia is fuming. "I hate her so much."

Hiroko pats her friend's shoulder consolingly. "Me too Liv."

Back with Minah and Miyeon, the latter notices the small spat occuring between Olivia and Jiwon. She has one hand resting consolingly on a tearful Minah's shoulder, the other lying awkwardly in her lap.

Minah glances up as well to see what Miyeon is looking at, and she attempts a watery smile. "Well, some things don't change." She offers weakly. "Sorry for crying like this I just-"

"I know. No one blames you." Miyeon gives her a reassuring smile, and Minah lets out a heavy breath. "Why don't we go see what everyone else is talking about, okay? Maybe we can save them from Jakyung's terrible humor."

Minah laughs at that and the two take the last empty seats at the table beside them.

Kyungmi reaches over and gives Minah's shoulder a squeeze. Yoonhee, who's sitting next to the cheerleader, gives her a hug which Minah attempts to return, though her arms are pinned.

"So what are we talking about over here?" Miyeon offers brightly.

Natchaya rolls her eyes. "Betting on who will be kicked out first, Olivia or Jiwon."

"Only you were doing that." Jakyung points out cheerfully. Natchaya pointedly pulls a face.

"Okay well, why don't we talk about something less... aggressive?" Miyeon suggests, glancing pointedly over at Minah.

Natchaya either misses the implied message or purposfully ignores it. "Saying that Jiwon is a know-it-all who's way too cocky isn't aggressive, it's facts. And I bet she doesn't make the next cut."

"I think she's nice." Minah says nervously.

Miyeon puts her foot down. "So what do you think the next challenge will be? We've gotten some weird ones in the past couple weeks!" She speaks cheerfully, but here eyes are sharp.

Yoonhee is quick to jump on board the new topic. "Right? I mean how do they even think up these themes?"

"They use their brains." Jakyung offers cheerfully.

Miyeon makes a face. "That was sad."

Jakyung shrugs apologetically. "Best I could come up with. I'm sleepy."

"I think we all are. When was the last time any of you slept?" Jiwon's voice startles the group, but Natchaya recovers quickly and shoots the other contestant a glare.

"Why are you over here Jiwon?" She snaps.

Jiwon ignores the Thai contestant and instead focuses on Miyeon, her eyes serious. "Can we talk?"

Miyeon frowns and glances quickly at her friends before nodding. "Sure."

Jiwon gestures to a table a few feet away and the two leave the group.

"Wonder what that's about?" Back at Hiroko and Olivia's table, the former eyes Miyeon and Jiwon as they sit down.

Olivia frowns. "Nothing good, that's for sure. Those two cooperating would be a force to fear."

"Well, they've never really gotten along so I wouldn't worry too much." Hiroko states, eyes already looking or something else to focus on. "You said yourself that Miyeon doesn't like people she can't control, and Jiwon is the definition of dominant. Even if Jiwon is up to something nothing will come of it."

Olivia frowns. "Yeah, I guess that's true." She admits. "Still, it's unnerving seeming them talking without one of them being obviously irritated."

At the nearest table, Ahri has a similar thought. "You know, Jiwon and Miyeon tried to avoid each other when we were all in Group C together. I wonder if they've worked things out since then?"

"They have been in the same group since the start, exculding the first week. It's definitley possible." Yeeun agrees thoughtfully. "Who knows?"

"And who cares? We only really have to worry about who we're friends with when the final eliminations come up." Aerin is flopped over the back of her chair, staring at the ceiling. "And those won't be for another," She pauses to count, "Two months almost."

Yeeun looks slightly pained. "Two more months? I admit, it's barely been one and I'm already worn out."

Ahri nods in agreement, though she looks less exhausted by the thought.

It breifly shifts to an interview with the quiet contestant. "I mean, it's been tiring for sure, but also pretty rewarding when you do well at the end of the week. At least for me."

Yeeun's sentiments are surprisingly similar in her own interview. "I mean when you really feel proud of a final performance it's awesome. But the lack of sleep and constant competition are really what get to me." She doesn't look at the camera as she speaks, instead focusing to a point just to the right.

The camera returns to show a wide shot of all fourteen remaining contestants. Jiwon has returned to her original table, and Natchaya and Jakyung have relocated away from Miyeon and her friends. A note at the bottom of the screen reveals that it's been nearly fourty five minutes since the end of the competition.

The focus switches to a close up of Miyeon's group.

"Shouldn't the hosts be here by now?" Miyeon frowns and eyes the door.

Yoonhee looks nervous as well. "Do you think something happened?"

Just then the lights go out, and several girls shriek. The emergency backup lighting bathes the startles contestants in a dull glow seconds later, showing that nearly everyone had stodd up during the momentary power outage.

"What is going on?" Hiroko is shouting as the ceiling.

Yeeun peels herself off of Ahri, who she'd apparently grabbed in terror at the sudden darkness. "Maybe there's a storm outside?" She offers nervously, hand still hovering in the air like she's ready to dive back onto Ahri if something else happens.

The speaker system crackles to life with loud static that again has several girls jumping, and Yeeun back on top of Ahri.

Hyomin's voice fills the room. "You have until eight AM to get out of the building. Anyone left inside after that time will be eliminated. Good luck girls."

The camera has been switched to low light, and the girls look almost ethereal as they huddle together. There are only six people still remaining in the cafeteria - Miyeon, Minah, Yoonhee, Kyungmi, Kaerin, and perhaps surprisingly Jiwon.

"Well, they all left in a hurry." Kaerin notes, her cheer sounding a bit forced.

"They think time is against them." Jiwon replies.

"Isn't it? It's against all of us right now." Kyungmi sounds extremely nervous as she looks around the room. "Shouldn't we get moving too?"

Miyeon and Jiwon share a look.

"Not yet." Miyeon replies, her tone soothing. "I promise we've got this."

Jiwon smiles slightly at the 'we', but otherwise remains motionless next to the exit door.

Suddenly there's a crashing sound from somewhere in the building, and Jiwon nods.

"Let's get moving then."

The scene switches to a hallway, which is better lit than the cafeteria, but not by much.

Hiroko is on the ground, rubbing her leg and wincing. Olivia is nearby, holding herself up against one of the walls.

"That was unexpected." She offers after a long moment of silence between the two.

Hiroko grunts. "Next time, you take the bottom."

The camera swivels to show a wall blocking the hallway in front of the girls. It's a smooth surface, but there's a human-sized gap at the top.

"I'm not as strong as you though, you're a dancer!" Olivia protests.

Hiroko groans. "Well obviously we're not going to get out this way then. We'll have to turn around."

Olivia groans. "We can't, remember? The door locked behind us. So we have to get over this wall."

Hiroko falls onto her back, groaning. "This is ridiculous. What are they hoping to accomplish with this?"

"Entertainment probably." Olivia grumbles back, sinking down to sit next to her friend.

The scene switches again to show Jakyung and Natchaya in the same predicament.

"I don't think either of us can get over that wall - we'd need at least one more person to help out." Jakyung notes. "Or some people-sized transport protiens!"

Natchaya raises an eybrow and Jakyung shrugs.

"Science joke. Give me a break I'm still tired." She laughs.

"Come on, let's see if there's some other way around this." Natchaya sighs, sounding rather tired as well. "Maybe there's a trick to it."

Jakyung nods and the two begin feeling around the wall, when a noise behind them causes them both to turn in surprise.

Yeeun is clinging to Ahri again, clearly just as startled by running into Jakyung and Natchaya as they were at being disturbed. Next to the two, Aerin looks vaguely amused.

Yeeun relaxes when she sees the two. "Oh, hey guys."

Jakyung claps happily. "Hey! Now we can get over the wall!"

Ahri, Aerin, and Yeeun all look at the singer, clearly expecting more, but Jakyung just shrugs.

"I got nothing. You helping or what?"

Yeeun and Ahri share a glance before walking up to the other two contestants, Aerin right behind them.

The scene switches again to show that Shisae had struck out on her own for the challenge.

The rapper is wandering down an empty cooridoor, trying each door she comes across only to find them all locked. She sighs, a clearly frustrated look decorating her features as she tries yet another locked door.

"This is ridiculous." She sighs to herself. "How is this supposed to work? None of the doors are open."

Her eyes wander around the space as she leans against one of the walls, running a hand through her hair as she does.

"Okay Shisae, you have an unknown amount of time left to get through this. Obviously there is a way out, you just have to find it." Her eyes continue darting around the area as she gives the personal pep talk, though a moment later she sighs.

"Or there isn't and they're just weeding us out at random for fun."

The scene moves back to Miyeon and Jiwon as they lead the other four girls with them to one of the many doors.

Jiwon presses her ear to it, and then nods. "Sounds like it's empty in there. Let's check it out."

Miyeon huffs out a slight breath of annoyance but gestures to Minah and Kyungmi. The three contestants open the door and walk inside, letting it click shut behind them.

Immediately Kyungmi's voice comes through the door. "It's pitch black in here and the door locks once it closes."

Jiwon nods. "Got it. Anything further in?" Her voice is raised in order to be heard through the wood.

"Nothing." Minah's voice is fainter than Kyungmi's. "the room is tiny."

"I've got a vent. It feels loose. Hang on. Minah come over here a minute. Jiwon open the door so we can get some light." Miyeon instructs.

Jiwon hoists the door back open and the camera shows Miyeon and Minah crouched in front of an air vent.

"Are we going to crawl through the air ducts? Would they make us do that?" Yoonhee asks nervously.

Jiwon looks over at Minah. "I can't imagine they would, it could be quite dangerous. But you never know for sure with this show I suppose."

Minah and Miyeon finally wrestle the cover off the vent, and Yoonhee ventures cautiously into the room.

"I could check inside? See if it leads somewhere?" She offers.

Miyeon shakes her head. "It could be dangerous. We'll find another way." She looks past Yoonhee as she speaks, making eyecontact with Jiwon over the younger contestant's shoulder.

Jiwon nods. "Agreed. Just leave the vent cover and let's try somewhere else. We wouldn't want anyone getting hurt again."

Kaerin absentmindedly tugs at the wrapping around her hand at the comment. "Yeah that wouldn't be fun." She agrees cheerfully. "They might not get off as easily as I did!"

"Keep the bandage on." Minah's response is automatic. She's already propped up the vent cover next to the opening and heads out of the room. "Let's check the next door."

Miyeon watches Minah leave, and Jiwon catches the look.

"Did you guys not get upset over eliminations in Produce 101?" She doesn't wait for a response before answering herself. "I guess there were a lot of you so you wouldn't really be able to form any friendships. Minah will be acting weird for a while, her and Eugene were really close." She sounds like she's going to say more, but instead she lets the door close and follows after the rest of their group.

Miyeon follows shortly after, frowning.

Meanwhile Hiroko and Olivia are still stuck in front of the same wall they were before.

"This is ridiculous! I'm done moping, let's just take the vents." Olivia stands up quite abruptly, startling Hiroko.

"It's too dangerou-"

"Oh bull crud, at least we'd be trying something! What happened to Miss Take Charge Leader, huh? Getting stuff done? I thought you wanted to win?"

Hiroko glareds sharply up at Olivia. "Liv don't. I want to win, but not by killing myself falling out of the ceiling."

Olivia stomps her foot. "Fine then! I'll do it myself!" The rapper walks over to a vent opening and hoists herself in, crawling away rather noisily.

Hiroko watches the vent for a long moment, before sighing loudly and standing up.

"If we die doing this it's your fault." She yells as she crawls in after Olivia.

The scene changes to show another hallway. For a moment it remains empty, and then one of the vent grates is violently forces out of the wall.

Hiroko appears a moment later, feet first, and carefully eases herself to the floor, which is a short drop. She backs up and waits as Olivia strugles out of the vent as well, decidedly less gracefully than Hiroko had been.

"The grate was already loose. I guess they do expect us to use them." Hiroko notes idly, glancing around. "So where did we end up?"

"Heck if I know, but at least we're away from the stupid wall." Olivia sounds distinctly cheery as she heads off down the new cooridoor, hand trailing along the wall.

Hiroko sighs, brushes at her clothing, and then follows the other girl.

The camera angle changes to show a different hallway, where Yeeun, Ahri, Natchaya, Jakyung, and Aerin are all huddled around what appears to be a bucket.

"There must be a million keys in there! How can we figure out which one opens the door?" Aerin complains.

Ahri looks thoughtful. "There must be a trick to it."

"We have to find the key to the key!" Jakyung pipes up.

Natchaya sighs. "This is an off day for you isn't it?"

Jakyung shrugs. "We all have them."

"Guys, could you focus? We need to figure this out and we have no idea how much time we have left!" Yeeun snaps. She's clearly stressed out as she regards the bucket of keys in front of them.

Ahri reaches out comfortingly. "We'll get there, don't worry."

"Don't worry? Did it occur to you that you might all be eliminated because of a stupid bucket?" Yeeun's voice pitches up, and Ahri pulls back.

Jakyung frowns. "Woah, guys, chill out okay? We have time and this has to be solvable, otherwise everyone would get eliminated, you know?"

Ahri nods. "She's right. We just have to stay calm and stay together."

Aerin looks thoughtful. "Hey, what's that thing Hyomin is always saying? Think outside the box?"

Jakyung lights up. "Think outside the bucket!"

Natchaya sighs. "Really, maybe just stop for now."

Jakyung shakes her head. "No - turn the bucket over." She's grinning brightly over at Aerin, who returns the smile though with less enthusiam.

With some struggle Yeeun dumps out the contents of the bucket, scattering tens of keys across the floor. Her face lights up.

"Aerin, Jakyung, I am so glad you're with us." She pulls a key taped to the bottom of the bucket off and waves it triumphantly.

As the others excitedly talk to each other, Aerin begins gathering the fallen keys and replacing them in the bucket. Natchaya notices first.

"What are you doing?"

Aerin glances up, startled. "Oh, um, I don't want anyone to trip on them." She replies.

Natchaya smirks. "Right. Let me help then." She winks at Aerin as she begins gathering keys along with the other girl.

The rest of the group begins assisting, except for Yeeun who unlocks the door. Once the bucket is full again, she places the key on the ground and Ahri puts the bucket on top of it.

"It's not perfect, but I think if another group comes along they'll be fine." The quiet singer smiles brightly.

The scene shifts again to show that Shisae is still in the same hallway, but now is gazing upwards towards a hole in the upper wall, looking thoughtful.

Just then a door swings open. She immediately spins towards the noise.

"Don't let the door close!"

Startled, Hiroko does the opposite and drops the door, and it slams shut.

Shisae frowns. "It's locked now."

Olivia tests the door, and frowns as well. "Dang. Are any of the others unlocked?"

Shisae glares at her. "There's a gap. With the three of us we could get through."

Hiroko eyes the gap critically while Olivia groans.

"More walls? Do they have any other ideas or is it the same dumb thing over and over?"

Hiroko then speaks. "I think we could do it, since two of us are dancers. Olivia, you and me can lift Shisae up first."

Olivia frowns. "What? Why? I can go up first."

Hiroko sighs. "We need someone strong on top too Liv. Anyway I'll go next since I"m lighter than you,"

"Hey!"

"And then both me and Shisae can lift you over. Sound good?" She looks to Shisae, who shrugs and nods.

"Uh no, why am I last?"

"Liv can you just do it please?" Hiroko sounds exhausted, but there's a tension in her voice that gets Olivia to frown and nod.

The two lift Shisae up with some difficulty, but it's achieved. Hiroko goes up easier with assitance from both ends. But when she reaches the top, she appears to stumble slightly, and she ends up falling over the other side of the wall, taking Shisae with her.

"Hey! Hey what's going on?" Olivia sounds distinctly nervoous. "Roko? Shisae? You guys okay? Hey get me over too!"

Hiroko's voice is muffled. "Sorry Liv, we can't get back up! Maybe there's another way? I'll see you outside!"

"What? Hiroko! Hey, don't leave me here! Hiroko!" Olivia's voice pitches up in increasing terror as she gets no reply, and finally she falls silent, staring up at the hold above her.

"Well sh*t."

The scene cuts to Shisae and Hiroko as they walk down yet another of the cookie cutter cooridoors the girls are trapped in. Shisae is keeping a few feet behind Hiroko and there's a heavy silence between them.

The quiet is broken by the sound of footseps, and the two contestants come face-to-face with Aerin.

The younger rapper blinks, and then turns around and shouts down the hallway. "Hey guys, this is the wrong way!" She then turns back to Shisae and Hiroko, eyeing the empty hallway behind them.

"Where Olivia?"

Hiroko's answer is clipped. "There was an incident and we were separated. You're with someone?"

"Lots of someones. Come on, we can travel together I guess." Aerin doesn't sound thrilled with the idea, and her offer is pointedly directed more towards Shisae than Hiroko.

The three walk back down another long hallway before they reconnect with Aerin's group. Yeeun raises an eyebrow at the two additional contestants with Aerin, but doesn't comment.

Natchaya though, has plenty of complaints about the new travelling companions.

"Really? We're helping more people? I mean I'm all for teamwork and that crap but this is still a competition guys. If we all walk out together there will be that many more eliminations to deal with after this." The Thai girl points out in exasperation.

Hiroko doesn't look at anyone when she repies. "Well there's at least one elimination from this so it won't be everyone."

Natchaya looks searchingly at Hiroko as the singer attempts to take charge.

"Okay so where have you guys been so far?"

"Yeah, you aren't in charge Roko." Aerin interrupts. "You want to travel with us, you stay quiet and follow. Those are the rules."

Hiroko starts to protest, but then seems to think the better of it and closes , nodding wordlessly.

Aerin seems pleased and looks to Yeeun. However Ahri speaks up.

"So I actually think I might know where we are. And I know the way out."

The scene switches to the other group in the building. Kyungmi and Yoonhee are puzzling over the same bucket of keys the other group had encountered. Behind them, Kaerin and Minah are holding the door open. Miyeon and Jiwon are nowhere to be seen.

"There are a million keys in here." Yoonhee frowns.

Kyungmi's brow is also furrowed. "I would have put money on this being an 'out of the box' metaphor, but there's no keys anywhere else so it has to be in the bucket."

Kaerin glances at Minah for a moment before piping up. "I'm sure Miyeon-unnie and Jiwon-ah will find another way around! We can't give up hope guys!" She cheers.

Kyungmi and Yoonhee both smile at her, but both are clearly worried.

"Maybe I should go look for them? Make sure they aren't stuck behind any locked doors?" Yoonhee offers nervously.

All three girls look to Minah, though she takes a moment to notice.

"Oh! Um, sorry, what?" She looks embarrassed.

"I'm thinking of going to look for Miyeon and Jiwon. Is that a good idea?" Yoonhee looks hopefully at the oldest contestant there, and Minah seems to stumble a bit despite not moving.

"I, um, if you think it's a good idea then sure?" She sounds extremely unsure of herself, but it's enough to send Yoonhee scampering out of the room.

The scene changes to show Yoonhee as she wanders down a hallway, glancing into rooms and occasionally calling out for Miyeon.

After the fifth room checked she reaches he end of the hallway. She hesitates, and then pushes open the door and peers around it.

"Hello? Miyeon-unnie? Are you guys in here?" She tests the door handle on the opposite side before stepping past and heading further into the facility.

The empty hallway shot is held as the loudspeakers crackle to life. "You have one hour left to leave the building or else you will be eliminated."

The screen changes to showa cartoonish blueprint of the arirang building, with dots indicating where each of the contestants are.

All fourteen are quite close to the exit, save Olivia who's dot shows she's still trapped in one of the first rooms past the cafeteria.

The screen zooms in towards the dot representing Hiroko's group, and a familiar darkness engulfs the screen.

After a moment though, it brightens to show the shadowy features of the group.

All seven girls are awkwardly feeling their way down the pitch black cooridor, and mostly doing alright until a box on the floor trip Aerin up and she crashes to the ground.

"Sh*t! I can't see a thing!" Aerin swears, kicking out at the unseen obstacle and missing entirely.

"Oh quit whining and get up. I'm in front of you and I"m doing fine." Natchaya doesn't turn around as she speaks, focusing entirely on feeling her way forward.

"I know things look dark now, but I bet we can find a bright side!" Jakyung has a grin on her face and her eyes screwed shut as she waves her arms around in front of her in a Frankenstien-esque manner.

"Um, I've been trying to map our progress in my head." Ahri waves her hand in the air as she speaks, though of course no one can see it. "I think there might be a door to the right pretty soon. Maybe that will let some light in?"

Shisae is the one to find the door, and when it pushes open the screen is lit up in pure white for a moment before it focuses to show a figure standing on the other side.

"Iseul-unnie!" Jakyung's greeting is met with amusement from teh vocal judge.

"Congratulations girls, you made it! As a reward for finishing almost thirty minutes before the deadline you can take naps. We set up some tents for you over there if you're interested." She points over her shoulder and in seconds both Jakyung and Hiroko have left, beelining for the rest area.

The rest of the girls follow, except for Yeeun who hesitates at the threshold of the exit.

"Actually... am I allowed to go back in and help the others?"

Iseul blinks in surprise. "I... suppose you could. But if you don't get back out in time you'd be eliminated." She points out.

Yeeun nods. "I have time. I thought I heard the others so they aren't far behind us. Plus I think we might have caused their delay." She adds wryly, glancing past the judge towards where the rest of the safe conestants are settling down."

Iseul shrugs. "Well, that's your perogative then. Good luck contestant."

Yeeun nods and heads back into the darkness.

The scene shift to Miyeon and Jiwon, who run into Yeeun just as the latter opens the door into the dark room that leads to the exit.

Jiwon frowns. "Is this not the way? We've checked most of the other paths."

Yeeun nods. "It is. I'm making sure you guys get out too is all."

Miyeon raises and eyebrow. "Awfully altruistic of you Yeeun."

The other singer shrugs. "Just my nature or something. Do you know where everyone else is?"

"We're with Minah, Kaerin, Yoonhee, and Kyungmi. They're back in another hall looking for a key. Luckily we found another way through."

Yeeun nods. "I know the path from the key room - why don't you two go ahead and get out and I'll get the other four?"

Miyeon and Jiwon exchange a look, and Jiwon shrugs.

"I won't argue with getting to safety faster. You coming unnie?"

Miyeon hesitates, and then nods. "Yeah, right behind you." The two girls vanish into the dark room as Yeeun heads back into the building.

She makes her way quickly back to the locked door and pushes it open, startling the three girls inside.

"Yeeun? What are you doing here?" Kyungmi recovers first.

"I know the way out. Where's Yoonhee?"

The three girls look at each other worriedly.

"She was supposed to catch up with Miyeon and Jiwon. Did she not?" Minah sound extremely nervous.

Yeeun frowns. "There isn't much time left. Okay, listen closely and I'll tell you the way out."

The three listen intently as she explains the path, and the scene transitions to show a frantic Yoonhee, pulling on a locked door.

"No no no no, please open, please don't do this?" She begs the object. But the door doesn't budge and she finally colapses to her knees, shaking.

"It can't end like this, I can't be eliminated yet, please please please." She whispers, eyes watering. "I just wanted to help."

There's a faint noise from beyond the door, and Yoonhee jumps to her feet and stares at it for a long moment.

The noise comes again, and immediately Yoonhee starts pounding on the door.

"In here! Help I'm locked in! Guys, is that you? Kyungmi? Help me!" She shouts desperately through the door.

"Yoonhee? Thank god, I thought I wouldn't fin you. Come on there's still time." The door swings open to reveal a slightly breathless Yeeun. "We have to run though, so stay close to me."

Yoonhee nods wordlessly and the two take off running back towards the exit.

Outside, Kyungmi and Minah are waiting with Iseul, staring alternately at the door and at the stopwatch Iseul is holding.

"Five minutes." Kyungmi whispers. "They'll make it. They have to make it."

Minah glances at Kyungmi, and then at the ground. "They don't have to. But hopefully they will."

Kyungmi clenches her hands into fists and stares at the ground. Minah doesn't look at her, instead choosing to let her eyes wander upwards, towards the sky as it lightens with the rising sun.

"Thirty seconds." Iseul announces, looking nervous.

There's a sudden crashing from inside the building. After a long moment, the door suddenly bursts open and Yoonhee tumbles out onto the frost-covered ground, panting heavily but grinning.

Inside the room Yeeun gives a half-swear but doesn't come into view. Minah moves towards the building.

"Yeeun?"

"I'm coming I just-"

"Time!" Iseul sounds regretful but firm. "All contestants still inside the building are eliminated."

Yeeun appears in the doorway as Iseul speaks, and a strange mix of emotions cross her face at the announcement.

"All because I tripped over a box. Wel, I tried at least." The singer finally says. "So, should we go try to find Olivia then?"