[ continued from Episode 3, Part 6.1 ]

[ #25 ] Zhao Mulan (WM): "We already know three trainees who dropped out of the top 7... So.. the fourth one either placed 26th or is getting eliminated? How does something like that happen?"

Mulan seemed to have been one of the first trainees to realize that, but soon everyone else followed - and no one could believe what seemed to be reality.

"I will now announce the seven trainees in the top ranks one by one. Those trainees will immediately have the chance to say something, and then they will directly sit down on their seats."

Some of girls who were already sitting on a chair on the stage couldn't stop themselves from taking a quick look at the very comfortable looking armchairs, which seemed to have been padded - as opposed to the plastic chairs they were sitting on.

"The trainee on rank seven has scored 6500 points and has performed Bbyong during the last mission."

[ ?? ] Park Yuju (Fantagio): "Sooyun? Jihyo? Zelestia? It could be any of them!"

"Please join me on the stage..... Zelestia Wu."

When handed the microphone, Zelestia turned around to look at the all the chairs on stage, being in awe at how high she would sit in just a moment.

[ #07 ] Zelestia Wu (Pledis): "I can't believe that I managed to rank in the top 7 and I would like to thank everyone out there who voted for me for doing so! It's an honor to represent my company on this show and I hope I'm making everyone from Pledis Entertainment proud, just as I hope that my parents - Hey mom! Hey dad! - are also proud of their daughter! Thank you!"

She gave Jongsuk the mic back and skipped up the stairs quickly as she couldn't wait to sit down on her seat.

"Rank 6 has, sadly, dropped down a class or two after the second mission..."

No one dared to make a speculation as to who could be meant by that statement, but everyone drew their own conclusions in their heads instead.

"...but she has managed to maintain her rank. Congrats, Lee Siyeon. You have scored 8000 points and placed 6th again!"

Siyeon jumped up from her chair and ran towards the stage, but only after she hugged Yuju who was sitting right next to her. Heiyeon looked at her younger label mate proudly from where she was sitting, hoping that the third Fantagio, Park Yuju, would also join them on stage.

Before giving her little speech, Siyeon also turned around to look at the trainees sitting on the plastic chairs - and Zelestia. Iseul, Soohyuk, Lami and Inah all showed her a thumbs up, which Siyeon promptly answered by also holding her thumbs up as well.

[ #06 ] Lee Siyeon (Fantagio): "I don't wanna get all mushy and emotional, not until the finals anyway-"

The trainees and Jongsuk laughed at Siyeon's confidence.

[ #06 ] Lee Siyeon (Fantagio): "So I'll keep this very short: Thank you to everyone who voted for me! You are the best! And I promise to not betray your trust! I'll work even harder from now on!"

And with that, she returned the mic to Jongsuk and made her way to the 6th place seat.

"With only 200 points more than rank 6, rank 5 is the last place to have gathered less than 10.000 points. Though I'm not saying this to make this less of an achievement, especially because she jumped up an incredible number of ranks."

[ ?? ] Kang Jihyo (Starship): "Sakura hasn't been called yet, so it could be her!"

Jihyo searched for Sakura along the almost empty rows of chairs, and when she found her, Sakura was looking back at her.

[ ?? ] Yamauchi Sakura (Pledis): "I feel like Jihyo has gained in popularity a lot during this mission..."

"Kang Jihyo, congratulations, you have placed 5th during this ranking."

[ #05 ] Kang Jihyo (Starship): "I never expected to rank this high... While you out there have placed a big part in me ranking this high, I also want to show my appreciation for my team mates. I hope that I'll get to spend a lot more time on this show, together with all of my friends I made here. For that to happen, though, I need the audience's help! So please also continue to show support for me, Kang Jihyo, while I try to get even better in singing and dancing. Thank you!"

"There are only five spots left.. And there are nine trainees sitting in front of me.."

Jongsuk sighed as he took a look at the girls who were all anxiously waiting for their name to be called, everyone desperate to not be one of the first four trainees to get eliminated.

"On top of the waves of nervousness I can feel coming from all of you, I now also have to make everything worse by saying: The trainee on rank 4 is the last one which didn't surprise me while reading through the ranking an hour or two ago."

[ #14 ] Kang Iseul (Woollim): "W-what? Does that mean that the top 3 completely changed compared to last time? How is that even possible?"

[ #11 ] Kim Harin (Woollim): "I mean, he did say that only three trainees of the top 7 were the same.. So one of the top 3 probably moved up to first place or something and the other two fell down a lot of ranks..."

"You probably all figured out that... rank 4 stayed the same! Congrats to Kang Haeun who earned the 4th place with a whooping amount of 10350 points!"

Haeun stood up from her seat, thankful that she remained a high rank. 
While the others applauded, she had to let this result sink in a minute before she could make her way up the stairs.

[ #04 ] Kang Haeun (SM): "Oh god, thank you all so much... I really thought I would have to hope for rank 26... It would have broken my heart if I had fallen down so many ranks.."

She took a few seconds to look at the MC who only hid his face behind his cue cards, still apologetic for shocking Haeun during the announcement of Eunseo's rank.

[ #04 ] Kang Haeun (SM): "Although this isn't the finale yet, and there's still a possibility of me not ending up in the debut line-up, I'd call this somewhat of a successful participation in this program! Mainly because I already got to learn so much from the mentors and the other trainees. I'm so thankful for being able to gain more experience here!"

Haeun blew a few kisses into the camera and then walked up the many stairs to her chair.

"Rank 3... well.. Rank 3 is... quite a handful, I guess. She's a very energetic person, always cheering everyone up, you just can't be sad when you're in her presence."

[ #10 ] Lim Heigyeon (Starship): "I think I know who he's talking about..!"

[ #12 ] Song Lami (Jellyfish): "I think I do too. I mean, there are many happy viruses on this show, but... among those that sit down there, one stands out."

The trainee around Lami, who all heard what the girl had said, had to laugh. 
Because she was totally right.

You could see that one girl, who was still waiting for her ranking to be announced, was kind of moving up and down on her chair, like a bouncy ball.

"Come on up, Jung Yebin. I can't take seeing you so giddy and all! You have placed 3rd on Produce 1+1, with 10950 points!"

Although everyone, including Yebin herself, already knew that she was the person being described, she still ended up letting out a scream that sounded like she was trying to express her shock, mixed with a victory screech.

[ #03 ] Jung Yebin (WM): "Ahh! I'm actually so surprised by having gone up so many ranks! I..."

In that moment, you could her a small sniffle coming from the girl.

[ #13 ] Lee Haejin (WM): "I wanna hug her! Can I hug her? I need to hug her!"

[ #03 ] Jung Yebin (WM): "Before I start crying, I'll quickly say thank you to everyone who voted for me.. Really, it means so much to me! Also, thank you for also voting for Haejin and Mulan! I'm so relieved knowing that all three of us are safe for now... Oh and..!"

Yebin turned around really quickly.

[ #03 ] Jung Yebin (WM): "Iseul! Let's be in the same team during the next mission, yes?"

"I'll now announce the first place candidates. Please come up on stage when your name is called...... in just a minute."

Jongsuk swiftly grabbed his water bottle again as two members of the staff prepared two pedestals for the candidates to stand on.
Those podiums and the light being dimmed a little showed how much of a big deal it was to be the rank 1 trainee.

"Remember that, if your name does not get called now, there's only a slim chance of you not being eliminated."

He cleared his throat.

"One of the two candidates has performed Umpah Umpah during the last mission."

[ ?? ] Kim Hyunji (YMC): "So it could either be Yeonseok, Yuju or Sakura."

[ ?? ] Hwang Yeonseok (DSP): "I'm 100% percent sure it's not me... But it would make sense for Yuju to be at least a candidate for the first place, right?"

[ ?? ] Lee Haneul (YMC): "Hmm.. MC Jongsuk said that he was very surprised by the top 3 trainees. Yebin moved up about 10 or 11 ranks I think? I'd say that counts as being unexpected! But I don't think Yuju falling down to 2nd place is... shocking..?"

Yuju just sighed and nodded while Sakura looked down to the floor, concentrating on her breathing and hoping to not be eliminated.

"Yamauchi Sakura, please get on the stage."

To say that Sakura was surprised by being one of the two candidates was an understatement.
Just a second before her name was called, she had finally looked up again after saying her approximately 100th prayer. She was smiling at Zelestia and Xieun who both send finger hearts and thumbs up her way.

"And the second candidate is someone who has worked really hard during this mission. She had a lot of pressure weighing on her shoulders, but she made everything look so easy to everyone watching from the outside."

[ #18 ] Choi Soojeong (SM): "They MUST be talking about Yuju, right? No way she fell down so many ranks!"

[ #19 ] Park Eunseo (Cre.Ker): "What about Sooyun, though? Didn't she earn a ton of extra votes, compared to Yuju who didn't earn any, as far as I know?.... Either way, one of them has fallen down out of the top 7 which is kinda unbelievable.."

"The trainee I'm talking about has... lead her team to victory. Kim Sooyun, you are the second candidate!"

Sakura and Sooyun awkwardly stood next to each other. The two were in the same group during the second mission, but that didn't make this less weird, somehow.

Sooyun turned around to the 23 trainees on their numbered chairs, hoping to find someone who was looking at her.. so she could find some calm in their eyes.
And she did find someone, actually, she found four pairs of eyes only looking at her.

Dahyeon, Meihua, Jihyo and Heigyeon all looked at her and the latter seemingly tried to message Sooyun something telepathically - which obviously didn't work quite as well as Heigyeon had wanted to, but Sooyun still appreciated it nonetheless. 

She waved at them and then turned back to face the cameras in front of her, now a bit more calm than she had been before.

"Before I reveal the first place, why don't you both say something about being a candidate? Sooyun, do you want to start?"

[ ?? ] Kim Sooyun (BBC): "Uhm.. sure!.... I-I'm a bit speechless because I never expected to get such a high ranking, like, ever. When I landed on rank 3 during the pre-show voting, I was already really surprised.... I ranked so high without even earning it, which kind of makes this situation even better! I worked really hard and gave it my all so my team would win and I'm glad that this hard work payed off!"

"I saw you turned around just now... at whom did you wave?"

[ ?? ] Kim Sooyun (BBC): "I could see my four teammates all crossing their fingers for me - literally, actually - so I waved at them to show them that I saw and appreciate them! And they took away some of my nervousness, by the way. I'm so grateful for having gotten to work with them!"

"Ahh.. It's so nice seeing friendships being formed on this show! And it's also really cute of your teammates to support you so visibly!"

[ ?? ] Kim Sooyun (BBC): "Right?"

Jongsuk laughed and nodded and then turned slightly to the left to face Sakura directly.

"Sakura, what do you think about standing on this pedestal right now?"

[ ?? ] Yamauchi Sakura (Pledis): "I.. actually don't think about much right now, I'm too nervous. My mind went blank as soon as you said my name..."

The girl scratched the back of her head and looked at the MC in an apologetic way.

"Don't worry about it, I can totally understand that you're too nervous to think right now! I experienced situations like that myself.... Do you maybe want something to the viewers at home who voted for you?"

[ ?? ] Yamauchi Sakura (Pledis): "Oh yeah! Uhm- Dear audience, thank you all for voting for me. Even if I don't end up on the first place, I'm still so thankful for everything since I was on rank 30 during the last voting... Thank you for giving me a chance and for believing in me."

"Well then.. let's get to the reveal!"

Every headlight in the studio was turned off, except for two. Those two spotlights shone at the two anxious trainees.

"The second place gathered 13450 points in total.. while rank 1 has managed to get 17050 points. So there's quite a big difference between those two ranks, but also between the third and the second place."

...

"BlockBerry Creative versus Pledis Entertainment... A charismatic and powerful leader versus a cute and shy center - who will come out on top?"

...

"The girl who has ranked first is...."

...

"Kim Sooyun of BlockBerry Creative, congratulations!"

[ this is a gif! please wait a bit~ ]

It was quiet in the room for a whole second before every trainee, except for Sooyun, broke out into lout cheering and screaming, applauding and some trainees even got up from their seat.

Sooyun didn't move from her spot and just stood there, wide-eyed and mouth wide open.

"Is there something you want to say?"

She took the mic out of Jongsuk's hand and held it in front of her mouth, but didn't say anything for about 5 seconds.

"Sooyun? Is everything okay?"

Jongsuk and the other trainees laughed at how speechless the trainee was.

[ #01 ] Kim Sooyun (BBC): "Oh-eh.. I guess I should say something? Give me a second."

Sooyun coughed slightly.

[ #01 ] Kim Sooyun (BBC): "While it feels like this has been said a thousand times already, I'll still say it once more: I'm unbelievably thankful for every vote I got. Even if you just took 5 minutes out of your day to vote for me, I'm so incredibly thankful! I'm also very grateful for the BlockBerry Creative CEO who allowed me to come on this show. And also for everyone in the staff team here who works hard to make this show so nice! Oh and of course: My teammates are the best members I could have wished for! Thanks guys for working just as hard as I did!"

[ this is a gif! please wait a bit~ ]

Jongsuk nodded and motioned for both trainees to go to their chairs.

And although there had been an awkward tension between the two just a few minutes ago, Sakura and Sooyun now walked up the stairs hand in hand, receiving some high fives and hugs along the way.

At some point, though, they had to let go of each other and Sooyun climbed up the last three stairs alone, sitting down on her chair - or rather throne - which was waiting for her, and only her for now.

[ #01 ] Kim Sooyun (BBC): "Oh my god, this is such a comfortable chair? I didn't know something as comfy as this existed?"

"Now... after celebrating the two trainees who got out on top of everyone else... We have to come to the saddest part of today - the elimination of four trainees."

The MC sighed as the five remaining trainees moved around some chairs so they would sit next to each other.

"I don't even want to imagine how you all must feel like right now if I'm already so sad about this... but it's part of the show and, even if I tried to bribe the producer, I couldn't do anything about it."

"I will not get two candidates for rank 26 on the stage, that would be cruel for the trainee who ranked 27th. So.. I'll just say who it is."

You could see how four of the five trainees were just a few seconds away from crying, and Jongsuk sighed again, but deeper this time.

"No matter whether you'll get eliminated, you need to promise me that you will not stop dreaming, okay?"

They nodded.

"I'll announce the trainee on rank 26 now."

"The girl who placed 26th on Produce 1+1, and thus escaped elimination just by an inch, has scored 800 points."

...

"She has worked diligently during the preparation for this mission and her strong-headedness will probably get her far in the entertainment industry."

...

"Min Jihye, congratulations, you have placed 26th and thus can continue your journey on this program."

The moment Jihye's name was announced, one pair of eyes lit up, while the other four pairs broke out into tears.

"I'm so sorry, but.. Yuju, Haneul, Yeonseok and Hyunji, you are eliminated. Jihye, please get up onto the stage."

[ #26 ] Min Jihye (Jellyfish): "I don't really feel like celebrating right now.. especially because I know that I could do so much better than rank 26, but-"

She took a second to look at the four trainees who tried their best to sob quietly.

[ #26 ] Min Jihye (Jellyfish): "I still want to thank everyone who voted for me and fought for me to stay on this show. I promise that I'll do better from now on so I can hopefully rank higher next time. Thank you."

After Jihye sat down on her chair, greeted on the plateau by warm hugs from Mulan and Miyeung, Jongsuk asked the four eliminated trainees to come on the stage as well.

"Kim Hyunji, you ranked 27th."

[ #27 ] Kim Hyunji (YMC): "I'll keep it short and simple: Thank you guys for everything. I'll try harder next time..."

"Hwang Yeonseok, you ranked 28th."

[ #28 ] Hwang Yeonseok (DSP): "A-ah... I see what I did wrong. I'm sorry for disappointing you, but I-I promise t-to do better next time. Thank you." 
You could hear the sound of some sniffles being amplified by the microphone as Yeonseok moved to hand it over to the next person.

"Lee Haneul, you have ranked 29th."

[ #29 ] Lee Haneul (YMC): "Although this amazing journey has come to an end for me now, I'm very thankful for all the experiences I was able to make. In the future I'll continue to work on my skills to show you an even better performance next time. Until then I will cheer on my friends who are still in this show! Thank you very much!"

Everyone thought she was done speaking, but when Haneul's and Hyunji's gazes met, she quickly added something.

[ #29 ] Lee Haneul (YMC): "Also, I think I speak for Hyunji and myself when I say that.. we are very sorry to all the people at YMC Entertainment for disappointing you. You gave us a chance to prove ourselves, but we didn't take it. We apologize."

"Park Yuju has, very surprisingly, ranked 30th."

[ #30 ] Park Yuju (Fantagio): "Thanks for giving me the chance of gaining experience and making new friends on this show. I'm so sorry to everyone whom I disappointed with my performances and promise to do better next time! Fighting!"

[ this is a gif! please wait a bit~ ]

"And with that... the ranking announcement has concluded."

Jongsuk and the four eliminated girls turn around to face the 26 trainees who have survived the elimination.

"Kim Sooyun, as the trainee in first place, would you please greet the audience at home?"

Sooyun nodded as all the 26 girls got up from their chairs.

[ #01 ] Kim Sooyun (BBC): "Dear viewers, please keep supporting us on our journey on Produce 1+1."

a/n: honestly? i got a lil teary eyed while writing this hahh... 

Although I should be particularly sad about Yuju and Haneul being eliminated (bc they were my own trainees at the very beginning of the story), I'm just a bit... sad about all of them being eliminated ._. But I guess that's how things work oof 

Anyway.

I hope you liked the chapter!

And I also hope you'll like the edits in the 1st Ranking chapter!~

Thanks for reading and stay healthy!