not to sound cocky or anything, but haein’s still a little taken aback about her elimination. this isn’t her saying that anybody else deserved to get eliminated in her place, but she had been placed so high that it didn’t seem super possible. however, of course, television programs were weird and anything was bound to happen, especially with how she messed up that note.
nevertheless, she’s trying her best to think positive. it gave her a good experience, and she came out with a few more friends, and one of them was matthew. he, unfortunately, had a similar fate to herself as they both found themselves eliminated in the same round. it was a bummer because she thinks he was great, but she could say that about pretty much all the participants. there really was nobody deserving of an elimination.
haein’s still a bit bitter, upset, mad at herself, but she’s trying her best to get over it all. it’s why she’s sitting across matthew at a small little cafe, stirring her straw in the iced vanilla latte she decided to get. “so, what have you been up to since the elimination?” she was a bit embarrassed, but she hasn’t done much but re-live every moment of her last performance and screaming into her pillow, so she was curious to know how he was coping.
the fact that this was all a competition was something noel had already almost forgotten, they were being evaluated and being ranked. the fact that he ranked last could’ve hurt him, could’ve bothered him, but it did neither, noel was just happy to be here, having this opportunity was more than enough. his interest in dance was something he’d kept secret, not fully on purpose, he just never brought it up and nobody had ever asked him his opinion on dance. he didn’t let anyone know he auditioned, in the case that if he didn’t make it through then people wouldn’t know of his interest in dance.
when he figured he’d made it through, he’d like to keep it hidden a bit longer, but apparently that wasn’t something he could do, because everywhere he went there was familiar faces. it had it’s positives though, it was a lot easier asking the other participants for help. he could go around asking strangers for advice and tips, but it was easier sticking to those you knew, so that’s what he did. matthew ( @bematthew ) was someone he knew, and someone who ranked quite highly. “matthew ” he taps the other one on the shoulder “there’s some moves i can’t figure out, do you think you could help me?”.
next gen had brought a lot of surprises, and not just for noel. noel had joined and sucked totally ass, he kept ranking lowest and still somehow he managed to survive the eliminations, and not just did he survive the eliminations, but he made it to the final and got a contract offered. already from the beginning had noel been surprised when he saw the fellow participants, and that he already knew a few. noel had unconsciously kind of just stuck around the people he already knew, with how hard he was practicing, he didn’t have much time to go around and make new friends. but seeing a few fellow faces, he had hoped for being able to perform together with them (besides the my turn performance), and as he had gotten the chance to perform with seojun and junho, he had not gotten the opportunity to have a performance with matthew ( @bematthew ).
matthew was very skilled, and had very well deserved his high rankings, and it was a shame when the other got eliminated due to an injury. as noel usually was quite the social butterfly, he’d during next gen been too busy to interact with anyone but the fellow participants, coaches and his sister. he feels a bit bad he hasn’t really had contact with matthew since the other’s elimination, he’s just been so busy himself. “i’ll pay for anything you want” he sends the other a smile, who he has finally seen again as they meet at an café. “i wanna know what you’ve done the last few months! is your injury better?”.
STAND UP
moon saea performing salute with @bexstevie, @bematthew & @sarangbe
she’s genuinely very excited for this performance.
following the my turn performance, she had definitely not expected to receive such good praises from the judges, especially since they had told her that she needed to work on her singing more. it’s a bit of a surprise that they had given her a dance group, but she’s not going to complain. especially when they put her with stevie and sarang, and matty who’s a new friend but now a friend nonetheless.
after everything with my turn she had focused on learning and perfecting the performance for salute. the only problem that she had come across was that she was so used to working to stand out among her busking team that she had needed to work on pulling back and making sure their group dances cohesively.
but it’s fun and it doesn’t feel as stressful as practicing my turn did. maybe it’s because she has people she trusts to fall back on and to have them point out any mistakes they see, or even if they see any improvements or have any suggestions. she takes any and all constructive criticism because even little comments on how she should move her hand or how she could walk a bit different is helpful since they’re all working together to make sure that they perform to the best of their ability.
she’s sure not to fool around too much, even if she can’t help but tease stevie a bit about the editing from the last episode. she’ll always be on his side for it though, so she knows he knows that she’s only playing around. having sarang there is fun too, though they’ve only ever really collaborated on tiktok dances. it’s a whole different story this time, but she thinks they’ve managed to bring their expertise from that side of the internet to this side where they have to be more serious and they only have one go. matty is a good addition too, and they had had a few good discussions about outfits and fashion which was fun.
on the day of the performance, saea is nervous again. she doesn’t have any snacks to offer this time, but she hopes the pokemon bread she had shared with everyone had been a good morale booster and they can get through this without any hiccups. she hopes matty’s shoulder isn’t hurting him too much, and then it’s time for them to be on stage.
they greet the judges before getting into position and she immediately schools her expression into one that she hopes suits the concept. she’s used to acting cocky and confident with the boy group songs that she covers regularly, and she just lets that bleed into this performance, trying to emulate coolness more than sexiness since she’s not the best at that. perhaps it’s because she doesn’t have that much experience yet but she hopes that it works as well as their group thought it did.
her movements are sharp and smooth and she focuses on making sure that everything is clean when she’s dancing. her favourite part comes up and she allows her serious expression to slip a bit, a small smirk appearing as they lead into the ‘dance break’ of the performance, starting it with a kick.
the rest of the dance passes by in a flash once that part happens, and it’s almost surprising when she realizes they’ve moved into the ending salute. and then, it’s over.
she’s breathing deeply, a slight ringing in her ears and her second performance on this stage is over. when the camera pans over to her, she holds eye contact with it and raises an eyebrow slightly, grinning when it finally moves away. she holds the final pose for a moment, before she drops it as everyone else in the group does as well.
they have to wait for the judges to give feedback but she’s quick to say a soft “good job you guys!” to them before they gather in line to listen. hopefully, they did as well as she thought they did.
next gen episode three / dance mission: salute w. sarang, matty, saea.
with the m-countdown performance out of the way, all that’s left is the next mission. free time is spent practicing and learning-- no goofing off! or at least minorly. lots of time getting it down, time spent worrying over matty and his shoulder. time spent getting to know sarang. time spent hanging out with saea and preparing to slay the stage. time and hours fly by, days gone by-- and their approaching hours upon the final performance.
stevie’s nervous. not as nervous as he was for the m-countdown performance, for sure-- but nerves still tugs at his gut. this is the start of stakes, of eliminations. it’s make it or break it-- and even if he doesn’t make it through the end, he’s at least got to show some improvement. for his own pride. his own dignity. something.
the outfits they choose are nice. they fit the theme of the song and the vibe of their dance. they’ve peaked at the set and it looks cool. everything is set up and ready and all that’s left is the performance, seeing the judges and hoping they don’t get the axe afterwards.
it’s the first time he’s not smiling when they make it in front of the judges. swallows and keeps his expression blank-- it’s not too hard, either. all things considered, his gut is doing major flips in response of nerves. even as they settle into position, lights on and music beginning to start, stevie stares forward. all or nothing.
muscle memory kicks in when the sirens come through. limbs popping in time with the beat and the bass-- to match how harsh the melody hits at times. he likes the strength of this dance, how it goes from harsh and aggressive to sensual and smooth during the switch ups. he keeps his expression strong and focused when the beat hits with a bam and softens it when the melody comes in. part of him holds his breath when they get to the part where matty had fallen in practice, but the seconds are ticking and they’re moving and stevie’s quick to go with it.
stevie’s most excited to do the drop-- falling into a near split when the bridge comes in, and keeps his expression on the camera. softens his features and goes with the feel of tune, corner of his mouth quirking up in a shy little smirk as they move through the move, then onto the next person.
up and to the next part. energy is buzzing in his ears as they move. the dance break at the end is high energy, his body moving and popping and hitting the beats as harshly as they come through. his heart hammers with it, ringing in his ears all the way up until the end.
once his hand lifts to his head in the ending salute, his chest is heaving. but he stares forward, waiting as the cameras stare down at them. slowly, the corner of his mouth slips into a small smile, even as he keeps his focus on the cameras and where the judges are.
a salute team starter for @bematthew
taking place in a sr media practice room
“i’m so hype for this performance,” she says, her voice slightly strained from the position that she’s in. they’re taking a break and the team is scattered around the practice room, either drinking water or doing whatever that they did during their breaks. she’s sitting on the floor with her legs stretched out in front of her, hands gripping at her feet as she stretches out her legs and her back. the choreography is a strong one and she loves the song so it’s almost a dream performance for her.
also, they’re not singing live either so that’s a perk. if she can just focus only on dance, then that’s when she knows she shines.
“you excited?” saea asks the person closest to her, looking at matthew. prior to coming into this group, she had only known stevie but had very quickly found that she liked everyone in the group. she wasn’t too concerned, originally, about making friends in the competition, but had decided that it was better than not making friends. if the competition went south for her, at least she would still have people to support while watching the show.
letting out a groan, she straightens up and stretches her back too. she needed to make sure that she was loose and nimble for this dance and she had found that stretching at each break made sure that she wouldn’t accidentally hurt herself if she went too hard. “i want to know what our outfits are going to look like. i hope they’re like, uniforms. but sexier.”
though alcohol was not something that occurred in wook’s life as much as it used to, it was still something he enjoyed a lot. when he was younger he’d drink every weekend, get drunk friday and saturday, and sunday morning too if he was extra dumb. that was not a life-style he could keep though, properly very lucky for his liver. he was busy with not just university but also his many jobs, but today he’d found some free time, no working right now, so he felt it could be nice going out for a drink or two. along with him today he’d brought matthew, but while wook was feeling no more than tipsy, that didn’t seem to be the case for matthew ( @bematthew ). he drinks the last of his drink before turning to matthew.
“matthew? it’s late, and they’re closing soon” he looks at the shorter. “think you can walk out or should i carry you?” he chuckles a little, it is a joke, but perhaps not fully, he doesn’t mind carrying matthew out, can’t have the bartender angry at them not leaving. “also… do you want me to finish your drink? not exactly sure if you should be drinking more” he nudges the other.
stevie is floored. he can’t believe he’s here -- on next gen, practicing and filming for another televised episode. can’t believe he got complimented by yoojung. still in disbelief they didn’t just say cool, not what we’re looking for and moved on. his face is on mnet’s page. what the fuck.
not to mention it feels less like a program and more like...an outing with friends. he doesn’t know everyone but he knows a lot of them. like matty, who he’s chosen as his main focus for the moment. stevie stretches out his legs, bending down to touch his toes. his body feels heavy with exhaustion, knowing they’ve been going pretty hard at learning the choreography. it’s still fun, and while he’s tired, stevie’s still vibrating with energy. something about adrenaline and moving and endorphins to the brain-- yadda yadda yadda.
“dude, i can’t believe we’re here.” he mumbles in english, still in awe. “crazy. and your rank is awesome.” way better than stevie’s fourteen, though he’s pretty proud of it himself. it’s in a ranking at all, and he’s not last. which is more surprising, than anything. “you aiming for number one?”
