(JYPE Practice Room, 3:00 PM)
"We only have three days left before our performance day, so we really need to double time. We still haven't even decided which cover we're going to use," Jeongyeon said anxiously. They were running out of time. It was already the third day, yet they hadn't even started practicing for their upcoming stage.
The two songs they were choosing between were "Hush" and "Touch" by Miss A. Luckily, their group also had four members, so dividing the parts wouldn't be difficult.
"Let's go with 'Hush,'" Nayeon suggested. "We always do bright concepts for our performances. This time, let's try something more feminine and sexy."
The rest nodded, agreeing with her suggestion. They also wanted to try something new this time.
"Ne~ let's try a sexy dance," Sana said, her eyes brightening as an excited grin spread across her face. She wanted to try something sexy too.
"Is this okay?" she asked playfully, lightly twirling a strand of her hair around her finger while holding their gaze. A small, teasing smile curved her lips as she tilted her head slightly, her eyes lingering just a second longer than necessary.
The three couldn't help but stare at Sana's unexpected flirting, caught off guard by her sudden transformation.
"Oh! Hahaha, you're a natural flirt!" Jeongyeon exclaimed, laughing in shock. She hadn't expected that Sana, with such an innocent face, could do that.
"Really?" Sana asked, her eyes sparkling as she did it again.
Nayeon laughed, shaking her head in amazement. "Yah! You're really good at this," she said, giving Sana a playful smack on the shoulder.
"Haha~ Anniyo~" Sana giggled shyly, her cheeks turning pink as she hid her face behind her hands.
"Are you all familiar with the choreography for 'Hush'?" Jeongyeon asked, steering the conversation back to business.
"Ne~" they replied in unison.
"Whew~ that's good."
"Let's start practicing then!"
They divided the parts and immediately began practicing the choreography. Since they were already familiar with the lyrics and dance steps, they only needed to focus on polishing the details and adjusting certain moves to add their own unique touch.
After two hours of nonstop practice, they finally took a break. They slumped to the floor, exhausted, and naturally started chatting as they caught their breath.
"I can't understand PD-nim at all," Sana said, gently wiping the sweat from her face as she sat cross-legged on the floor, slouching slightly.
Jeongyeon hummed in agreement. "Don't even try understanding him. Even our sunbaenims can't figure him out, what more us?"
She suddenly straightened up. "He was like—"
Jeongyeon began imitating JYP, throwing on an exaggeratedly wide smile, her eyes crinkling as she nodded enthusiastically as if completely immersed in the performance.
"Waaah~ very good, very good," she said in an overly impressed tone, clapping lightly while still nodding.
The others bit their lips, shoulders shaking as they tried to stifle their laughter.
"And then the next second—"
Her expression instantly dropped. The smile vanished. Her face turned into a strict, unreadable poker face, eyes sharp and judging.
"I'm disappointed," she said in a low, serious voice.
The room exploded into laughter.
Jeongyeon dramatically facepalmed. "See?! That's exactly what he does! He makes you feel safe first, then—boom." She mimicked an explosion with her hands, fingers bursting open for emphasis. "Emotional damage."
Nayeon wiped tears from the corners of her eyes. "Why is that so accurate?"
"It's so vivid I can even picture PD-nim doing exactly that," Tzuyu said between soft laughs, bending forward slightly as she covered her mouth with her fist, her eyes curving into crescents.
Their laughter slowly died down, leaving only the faint hum of the AC and the sound of their breathing.
Nayeon's smile gradually faded as she stared at the floor.
"What if we swap places again this time?"
Nayeon asked, biting the inside of her cheek.
"No. We won't let that happen." Jeongyeon said, shaking her head firmly.
Sana nodded solemnly. They couldn't let that happen or they might risk being eliminated. "Yeah. What matters most this time is our ability to attract the audience. So we have to do our best to bring in as many viewers as we can."
"Uwah… I don't think I can handle it if another member gets eliminated," Nayeon said, her voice trembling. They had already been through so much together. The thought of losing someone now, after everything, made her chest tighten. "What if someone from our group gets eliminated?"
The others couldn't help but feel emotional too, seeing her break down.
"Don't think like that. Aish, I really can't understand you sometimes. One moment you're laughing, then suddenly you're crying." Jeongyeon scratched her head in confusion.
Their conversation had been so lively earlier, and now it had suddenly turned heavy. She didn't want to dwell on thoughts like this worrying now would only affect their performance.
"She must be on her period," Tzuyu said bluntly, acting as if she hadn't just secretly wiped her moist eyes.
Jeongyeon and Sana burst into laughter, and even Nayeon let out a small laugh. "Yah! I'm not!"
"I'm just worried. Aren't you?" Nayeon asked softly.
Sana pressed her lips into a thin line. "I think all of us are worried, unnie. We're in a competition, after all. It's only natural."
Jeongyeon nodded. "Right? Worrying about it now is pointless. It'll only affect our performance."
"Right… mianhae," Nayeon said with a tight smile, quickly wiping the remaining tears from her eyes.
"Oh, I think something happened to the first group" Sana suddenly asked, changing the topic.
"Llana's group?" Tzuyu tilted her head curiously.
Sana nodded.
"huh? What happened?" Jeongyeon frowned slightly, straightening from where she was leaning against the mirror.
Nayeon raised her eyebrows looking at Sana with inquiry.
Sana let out a nervous laugh. "They looked so pissed earlier. I even got scared when I walked in. Hahaha. Their aura was so terrifying. I was too afraid to ask what was going on."
The others exchanged glances.
"Why would that be?" Nayeon murmured.
'What happened?' Tzuyu wondered silently as she listened to Sana. She decided she would ask Llana later in their room when they got back.
"Maybe they're having problems with their song or choreography," Jeongyeon said, shrugging lightly. "That's the only reason I can think of."
"Did something like that happen when you were grouped with them last time, Tzuyu? You were in their team before, right?" Nayeon asked.
Tzuyu answered instantly. "No, unnie. Nothing like that."
"Llana created everything last time, right? And she choreographed it too?" Jeongyeon asked, eyes wide with amazement. "I still can't believe she pulled all that off and taught it to you in just a week. She's a monster."
"Do you think she's going to do the same thing this time?" Nayeon frowned slightly. "Wow… that must put so much pressure on you. Maybe that's the reason?"
Tzuyu frowned inwardly. She didn't like how that made it sound like it was Llana's fault. She quickly shook her head.
"You're wrong, Nayeon-unnie. It's actually the complete opposite, we never felt pressured at all. Llana's amazing. She had everything so well-organized that learning the choreography felt natural. She's incredibly patient, and she explains things in a way that just makes sense. It's really easy to learn from her."
Nayeon, Jeongyeon, and Sana exchanged glances before slow, knowing smiles spread across their faces.
"Ohhh?" Nayeon hummed, dragging the sound out teasingly. "So defensive?"
"Ne, ne~" Jeongyeon nodded exaggeratedly. "Why is it that when you're talking to us, you're so savage? You're always burning us with your words. But when it comes to Llana, you suddenly start pitching?" She shook her head as if in resignation.
Sana giggled, covering her mouth. "Aigoo~"
"ANNIYO! Don't misunderstand and stop teasing me!" Tzuyu protested loudly, her face flushing as she looked at them helplessly.
She only wanted to defend her friend. She didn't understand why they were making fun of her for it.
"HAHAHA, okay, okay," Jeongyeon said, waving her hand as if surrendering. Then her tone shifted, a hint of genuine amazement slipping through. "Though really… Llana is kind of impressive."
Sana nodded absentmindedly. "I wish someone like Llana was teaching us," she added thoughtfully.
Nayeon pointed her index finger at Sana. "Yah! What do you mean?" she shot back, puffing her cheeks as she pouted dramatically. "You don't want us?"
"Anniyo~!" Sana laughed nervously, quickly scooting closer and wrapping her arms around Nayeon. "That's not what I meant!"