truthfully he should’ve listened way earlier. when junho ( @bejun ) raised his voice at him for not taking it seriously enough, he’d ended up confused, but as time passed, he realized he should’ve listened. and junho was his friend, so it wasn’t like the other had ever been out to sabotage him, still though, when junho told him to take all of this more seriously, he’d raised a brow and wondered to himself why junho was taking it so seriously. he feels bad a bit, that he didn’t listen to junho, but first began taking it seriously when the judges told him how awful he was. after coming to realization that junho was right, he felt a bit bad, and like he had to apologize for not listening to his friend.
but through the show after my turn, they hadn’t particularly crossed paths much, never on the same team, not even for sports day. but for the final performance they were together, and noel couldn’t help but being happy. the chance to perform with junho, someone who had obviously proved they deserved to be within the top ranks, and the chance for junho to see him again, but this time where he would take it seriously. he has a smile on his lips, claps the other on the back “jun, i promise i’ll take this seriously, so let’s promise to make a good performance” he shows his pinky finger, indicating a pinky promise. “i wonder how i never knew before how you’re such a good rapper… and singer… and dancer”.
“so” he sits down. “we’ve really made it this far?”.
“the bottom rankings have been like a home to me, a home i haven’t really been able to escape” he lets out a giggle. “i’ve gotten scolded a lot, after the my turn scolding i had kind of just guessed i’d be going home soon, but somehow i didn’t, somehow i really made it to the finals”. he looks around “wow…” he gives a smile to the camera “is this real? maybe i’m having a really long dream? or maybe this is some kind of awful and way too long prank?” he lets out a quick laugh. “if i’m honest… i have to be careful i don’t end up crying at the finals” … “or now”.
‘what was the greatest challenge during this mission?’
“that it’s the last? after this there are no more chances, whatever result comes out of this is the final. sure the other missions could’ve been the final, i wasn’t sure if i would make it or if i’d get eliminated, but at last then i knew there was a chance of another next performance” he runs a hand through his hair. “i’m not sure of the outcome of this, but practicing for realize was honestly scary… i’ve often felt like i didn’t deserve to be on the show, like everyone is far far better than me… with realize i’ve really wanted to prove that i was and am worthy of being here, not just to the judges and viewers, not just to the other participants, but to everyone, myself included”. he looks down, a single tear being shed, and he wipes it away as he looks up again “sorry about getting emotional… it’s just been” … … “tough”. “i want to give the best performance i’ve yet to give, and i’m scared of messing up”.
‘was there another participant who was especially helpful?’
“me and junho actually know each other from outside the show… we haven’t done any missions together, but he scolded me during my turn practice. i was really shocked at the moment, almost thinking, wow he’s taking this too seriously, but the truth was i was the one taking it too unseriously. for my turn i didn’t just get scolded from junho but from the judges too, it made me realize i should’ve listened to junho… so for this time around i took everything junho told me seriously, anything he had pointed out i listened to carefully, junho isn’t just a friend, but i find him to be one of the best on the show. i’m thankful to be on the same team as him where i’m actually taking everything seriously, i’m thankful to be able to perform with him”. he hums before continuing “of course the other members on my team we’re a great help too, so i must mention a thank you to nayoung, cameron and kou too, thank you for helping me learn the dance, to practice singing and rapping with me” he gives a smile.
‘do you feel confident in your performance?’
“i feel nervous, realize is my last performance on the show”.
“but”
“but yes, i feel confident. there might be better dancers, singers and rappers than me on the show, but i’ve improved a lot. i used to get scolded, people was disappointed to be teamed up with me, but i’ve made it to the finals, so… there must be something good about me, my performances can’t be completely bad when i’ve made it so far, yeah? i’m nervous of course, but i’m confident in that i can show the viewers a performance where they’ll question if i’m really the same guy as from the first episodes. i’ve improved a lot, i’ve learned a lot, i can give a performance that others will enjoy too, i’m confident in that”.
“and next gen? thank you for it all” he shows a smile.
