✿ EPISODE TWO ! part one

the following morning didn't start any better than how the previous night ended.

it was HOMURA's alarm that went off at six in the morning even though the girls didn't have to get downstairs until eight.

the blaring sound of her iphone's alarm only resulted in groans.

a few girls pulled the pillows over their ears to try to muffle the noise.

HOMURA was the only girl that got up.

she knew there was no way all six girls would be able to wake up and get ready at the same time in only an hour.

she thought it was pretty obvious and that's why she set an alarm in the first place.

she had no idea if any of the other girls set an alarm but it wasn't her responsibility to see.

they were all old enough.

HOMURA pulls her arms far over her head, enjoying the few seconds to stretch out her body.

that bed was not anywhere near as comfortable as the one in her bedroom.

she takes one swift glance around the room as her eyes struggle to adjust to the darkness before she's lethargically trudging to the bathroom to get ready, yawning.

she didn't hear the patter of someone else's feet until about an hour later.

by then, she was pretty much done getting ready and called her mom.

KUBO HOMIRA : mom? it's starting to get a little noisy so i can't hear you that well.

HOMURA's MOM : i said have you done anything yet? did you get any assignments?

HOMURA stepped aside to allow JIEUN access to the fridge.

not a word has been exchanged between the two since the mishap last night.

KUBO HOMURA: no. we didn't do anything last night. i think we might get something today. i don't really know.

HOMURA mom said something but HOMURA couldn't hear her.

MOON YERANG : SUBIN get out the bathroom! other people have to use it!

KUBO HOMURA : i can't hear you. i'll just call you later today when i have time, okay? bye. i love you.

she didn't think her mom heard a word she said.

there was too much going on.

there was no way they would all make it on time and HOMURA had no problem leaving them.

she wasn't sneaky, she just wasn't one to play around with her career like this.

this is unprofessional.

KANG KIMJOO : we have forty five minutes left.

MOON YERANG : fuck it. i just won't shower.

HOMURA can only assume by the sound of stomping feet and a door slam that YERANG got fed up with waiting.

she guessed the next day they'd wake up like how she did.

the group probably can't handle the morning rush.

MENTOR WONEIL : good morning, ladies. you're -

he stops talking to flip over his watch.

MENTOR WONEIL : - about seven minutes late.

against HOMURA's better judgement, she waited until everyone was done to leave.

MENTOR WONEIL : i don't want to hear any excuses. just don't let it happen again. it reflects poorly on your work ethic and quite frankly, it angers me.

YERANG felt her own anger bubbling in her stomach.

this is so embarrassing.

they're getting scolded and everyone watching is going to see it.

HOMURA could have told her she was getting up to get ready.

SUBIN shouldn't have spent that long in the shower.

MOON YERANG : i'm very sorry. we'll be more prepared going forward and arrive on time.

WONEIL didn't care what they were going to do in the future.

he was already in a sour mood for having his time wasted.

MENTOR WONEIL : have a seat on the floor so i can introduce myself.

he waits until they do just that before continuing to speak.

WONEIL is big on respect and is known as the monster instructor by other trainees.

he has always been the most strict and hardest to please mentor.

MENTOR WONEIL : my name is woneil. i'll respond to mr. woneil and nothing else. i'll be your dance instructor in the time that you're here. there are a few rules while you're in my room.

JIEUN exchanges looks with KIMJOO.

rules to dance?

she wasn't expecting it to be that strict here but KIMJOO didn't look that shocked.

the only girl who had truly never experienced anything like this was LIHUA and she was doing a great job of hiding it.

MENTOR WONEIL : respect me and i will respect you. simple rule if you want us to get along in these six months. please come prepared to dance. not just in your clothes but in your attitude. i have prepared white shoes for you to wear only when you're dancing in here. i don't want your outside shoes on my floor.

he continues to go on and on about what he does and doesn't allow while passing out the white sneakers.

as boring as it sounds, everyone listens to him talk about his qualifications and what they're going to be doing with him to train.

MENTOR WONEIL : now, your favorite part. the assignment.

he wants to chuckle when he sees their little heads pop up in excitement but he doesn't want to lose his iron grip on them.

MENTOR WONEIL : in the next two weeks, you'll be performing two songs at our showcase for trainees at sme. your job is to learn the choreography and the lyrics. the goal is for you to sing live but two weeks is not enough time to prepare some of you for this.

YERANG's hand shoots up in the air.

MENTOR WONEIL : yes, YERANG?

MOON YERANG : have the two songs already been predetermined?

MENTOR WONEIL : one of them has. the other one has not. the second part of the assignment is for you six to pick one and rehearse on your own. us, instructors, will be here to help and we will come by to help evaluate and change things around. it's not as easy as it sounds.

YERANG's hand is in the air, again.

MENTOR WONEIL : yes?

MOON YERANG : do you know what the song is?

MENTOR WONEIL : all of that will be revealed after we deal with the first task.

he waits to see if she's going to ask him what it is and when she doesn't, he continues.

she's too eager for her own good.

MENTOR WONEIL : i don't believe everyone sent in an audition with them dancing so we cannot review those. however, we can review the ones that did include it. i know we don't typically do this, but i think it would be good for you to see what you look and sound like through the camera.

LIHUA was so relieved to hear this.

she sent in a video without her dancing, showcasing her main skill.

she didn't need everyone watching her stumble across the stage, sacrificing her vocal ability to catch the movement.

she was never able to get her body to do what her brain told it to do.

MENTOR WONEIL : LEE SUBIN, we'll start with yours.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

MENTOR WONEIL : i was pleasantly surprised to see a young girl dance powerfully. why did you choose this song, specifically?

LEE SUBIN : i wanted to pick something to showcase my skills. hip hop has always been the most difficult genre because i'm trained classically. it was supposed to show that i can rise to the challenge and do everything.

or something like that.

ask park hyejin if you really want to know.

MENTOR WONEIL : i think you did rise to the challenge. there were a few things that were discussed between me and the other mentors. you danced so powerfully that your voice was shaky at times and you look like you forgot to have fun. you were so focused on the audition aspect that it took away from your fluidity and you just look stiff. there were a few points where i wish you could have given us more in the face. i don't think you're a bad dancer. i think you chose a dance that was too much, considering your size and background. in order to really make it work you'd have to really extend yourself and sometimes you did, sometimes you didn't. it's just consistency.

LEE SUBIN : i see. thank you for the critics. i'll work in them and improve.

MENTOR WONEIL : i'm sure you will. next up is SONG JIEUN.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

MENTOR WONEIL : eleven is not an easy dance to do and unfortunately, you've shown us that. while you are able to go through the movements, you are not performing. you are simply hearing the song and going through the steps. there's no connection to you, as an idol, and the song, as a performance. not only that but you've missed a lot of small details. it looks messy in comparison to the original. i do not doubt you can dance but i doubt your skills are where they should be. you're consistent. consistently underwhelming.

JIEUN only nods.

she fights to keep a neutral expression.

she was so disappointed that it didn't turn out to be as good as she thought it was.

JIEUN practiced that dance for weeks and still failed to be good enough.

MENTOR WONEIL : the last one we're looking at in here is KANG KIMJOO. i expected a lot from your audition.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

KIMJOO's lips curl in satisfaction.

everything about it was perfect.

every move, every hair flip, every smile perfectly timed.

nothing less than perfection.

or so she thought.

MENTOR WONEIL : i can see it in your eyes that you want it, KIMJOO. i can see the hours of practice and work that you put in to look like that. is that not what you did?

KANG KIMJOO : of course. i spent all my time perfecting the dance.

she imagined the room got silent, waiting for her response.

she's greedy, itching for fame.

MENTOR WONEIL : and yet, it's not perfect. you're overworking. you're over-dancing, over-performing. it's too big, too distracting. it's almost perfect but it's too overwhelming, and not in a good way. you're hitting everything too hard. soften up. you have so much potential and it's an easy fix. my only fear is you've made it a habit. i fear you do not understand what i mean and will not be able to adapt. it's definitely possible to perfect it too much, to over-correct and overdo it. it's almost like you're anticipating it and throwing the movements around. don't do that.

KANG KIMJOO : of course. i understand. i know what you're telling me and i'll improve on it.

MENTOR WONEIL : now that that's done, we can start working on your two week project. you still have an hour and a half for me to teach you so i expect to power through this. keep up. any questions?

there's excitement buzzing through the air.

this is exactly what they came for.

they came to learn and gain experience from the top of the line professionals.

a few were more nervous than excited.

LIHUA wasn't too sure she could live up to their expectations.

just from watching the audition tapes she could tell she was still so far behind.

she wasn't as stable, as fluid, as prepared as everyone else.

MENTOR WONEIL : great. before i show you what we're going to be working on, i want to hand out the parts. these may change depending on how you adapt so don't get too excited. KIMJOO, you will be taking wonyoung's lines. HOMURA, you have rei's lines. LIHUA to yujin. SUBIN to leeseo. YERANG to liz. JIEUN to gaeul.

YERANG can't help but glance at KIMJOO.

wonyoung got all the lines and screen time.

everyone knew it.

what about her screams wooyoung material?

she can't even sing.

she just prances around with her pretty smile and long legs.

she was probably so fake.

MOON YERANG : congrats on wonyoung! that's a big deal.

KANG KIMJOO : thanks so much!

the tv on the back wall turns on.

WONEIL airplays the video from his phone onto the screen.

he didn't want to tell the girls what the dance was.

he wanted them to be excited.

they were still young and seeing their eyes light up when ive showed on the screen made him enjoy his job.

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

CHEN LIHUA : we're doing that song? it looks . . . ah, what's the word i'm looking for?

LEE SUBIN : fun? exciting?

difficult.

MENTOR WONEIL : alright. let's get started.

the music is stopped again.

SUBIN isn't sure how much more of this she can take.

stop and go stop and go.

that's all they've been doing for the past thirty minutes because JIEUN and LIHUA can't keep up.

she really hopes it's first day jitters and they're not consistently like this.

the cameras are still in here recording their every move so SUBIN turns her attention to the floor.

she was afraid if she looked over at them, she'd start glaring and lose fans.

WONEIL stands at the front of the room with his arms crossed.

he didn't know what to say, what to do.

were they joking?

is this a joke?

MENTOR WONEIL : it's been thirty minutes and we haven't even came close to the pre chorus because of you two, stumbling back there.

JIEUN can feel the tears pooling in her eyes but she knows better than to cry in front of everyone.

MENTON WONEIL : come to the front. come on. you must not be able to see back there because you're completely clueless.

he motions for the two to join the front line.

even he was starting to lose his patience.

MENTOR WONEIL : and stop looking so sad, JIEUN. no one hit you. you can't expect to be an idol with a boring face like that. from the top.

the music starts again and they barely get ten seconds into the song.

JIEUN underestimated and travelled too short.

she slid right into KIMJOO, making them both crash onto the floor.

KANG KIMJOO : oh my god.

LIHUA and YERANG rush to help the two into their feet.

MOON YERANG : are you okay?

she gently places a hand on KIMJOO's shoulder.

her voice dropped just below a whisper.

MOON YERANG : you're so tiny, someone like that falling on you could cause some serious injuries.

KANG KIMJOO : yeah. she's just a fucking mess. it's so bothersome.

the two share a laugh but JIEUN, standing right next to them, frowns.

MENTOR WONEIL : how about a break? let's take a ten minute break before i just decide you're running laps for the remainder of our time!