▌ EPISODE TWO: Anywhere But Here. 
❪ PART TWO. ❫

It is finally time for the Class Tournament to start!

Let's see what the students have in store for us today~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― Greetings!

The girls are gagged. The boys squeal out of not-so-heterosexual excitement. The audience erupts in a collective scream in sight of the never-ending beauty of the host.

This was very gay but I promise it's not a personal note, I'm just translating what the original editor added.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― Are you ready for today's performances?

The public unanimously screams "YES"!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― Amazing! Let me welcome the first two classes on stage then... Let's give a warm round of applauses for Class 2 and Class 4!

The students run on the stage and bow in front of the enthusiastic public!

No one would think they're just some random nugus, given the warm welcome from the public!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― I see you're all energetic and ready to perform... That's nice! How has this training session been, Class Representatives?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ??? 1 ꜜ ???（CLASS FOUR） ― Everyone worked so well... I'm sure we'll live up to your expectations, if not surprise you!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ??? 2 ꜜ ???（CLASS TWO） ― ... We had a rough start, but I think we ultimately did a good job. Please look forward to our performances!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SEO JUNYEOL ꜜ he/him（HOST） ― I'm sure you did~ What are your last words to your fellow Class Representatives before we get started?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ??? 1 ꜜ ???（CLASS FOUR） ― Even if we're roommates and friends, I won't let you win this easily! So let's give it our all~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ??? 2 ꜜ ???（CLASS TWO） ― Mhm. May the best class win!

The public claps as the two Class Representatives shake each other's hands.

After this wholesome showcase of friendly competition, the boys' teams are the first ones to perform!

But how about we check what happened during the week first?

▎ DAY ONE: First session.
❪ 📍 Class Two's Training Room — Where The Boys Are ❫

✹ ﹒ ﹒ KIM JUNSEONG ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― Here, let's take a look at the lyrics first. The only fixed roles we need in this case are Main Vocalist and Main Rapper... Everything else is for us to decide. Does anyone have any ideas?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ WANG MUCHEN ꜜ he/they（CLASS TWO） ― [giving the lyrics a quick read] ... None at all.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ KIM JUNSEONG ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― Well... How about we proceed this way, then? Is there anyone who wants to go for any of the main positions? I want to be the Main Vocalist, but I'm up for a challenge~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HEO SEONWOO ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― ... I'd like to go for the Main Vocalist part too.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ WANG MUCHEN ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― I think I'll pass.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHOI NOEUL ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― Me too...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ YANG INSOO ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― What?! Aren't you a great musical singer or am I wrong...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHOI NOEUL ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― You think so? Thank you! Ah, but Huiryeon is much better than me... Until I become as great as she is, I won't even think of such an important position.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HEO SEONWOO ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― [placing a hand on NOEUL's shoulder] No offense, but this makes little to no sense... If you want it, go for it. There's no use in comparing yourself to other people who have nothing to do with this.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ KIM JUNSEONG ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― [sighing] I guess we should respect his choice, though... Anyone else? The Main Rapper position is also open, just saying...

The other five boys all vigorously shake their heads after Junseong's (ridiculous) proposal.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ KIM JUNSEONG ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― Let's vote for Main Vocalist first, then! Seonwoo, choose a line for us to sing and have the others judge us based on that.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HEO SEONWOO ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― Mhm... The second prechorus, maybe? That should tell enough about who is the better fit.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ KIM JUNSEONG ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― Sounds like a plan! Do you want to go first? Or would you prefer if I did?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HEO SEONWOO ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― [shrugs] Up to you.

As the boys' team votes for their Main Vocalist, the girls' team is also working on their own song...

Or should I say one of them is working on their song?

▎ DAY ONE: First session.
❪ 📍 Class Two's Training Room — Where The Girls Are ❫

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― Long story short: Haneul will take on the Main Vocalist position, since she has the most experience, Seonmi will get Main Rapper and I'll stick with Sub Vocalist 1. I highlighted the parts already, so... Give it a look and tell me what you think!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ NAM HANEUL ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― Oh, these are fine!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JANG SEONMI ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― Mhm!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― ... You're not even going to read it before stating your opinion?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ NAM HANEUL ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― I'm sure you did a good job~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JANG SEONMI ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― You're a lifesaver, Den!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― [hesitant] If you two are so sure... 

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❪ INTERVIEW ✶ ❫

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― I... Did not like that.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― While I appreciate that they praised me, if you can even say that... I feel like it was just a way to get done with work quickly. What about teamwork?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― I hope I'm just thinking too much of it right now and that they'll prove themselves to be more helpful soon... Or we're going to have a problem here.

────────────────────────

In the meanwhile, another class is practicing the same songs...

But how is their training session going?

... If we can call it like that?

▎ DAY ONE: First session.
❪ 📍 Class Four's Training Room ❫

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― And now...! Who wants to discuss about our cult executive committee?

Ashina... No.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HA SEOYOON ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― [unfazed] Oh, we should! Sorry, I got carried away with the Sanrio plushies...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HA SEOYOON ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― And also a random person who's embarrassed to be in the same class as us...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― ... WHO?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― Oh, you mean blond face card guy?

Everyone turns towards Yiyuan!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ LIU YIYUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― ...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― We'll deal with him later~ Now... Everyone, raise your hand if you're applying for the Class Representative position and explain why!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ LIU YIYUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― ... What do you mean by "deal with him later"?!

As everyone ignores Yiyuan, three people raise their hands!

The first one is Yulian!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（CLASS FOUR） ― I think that, as the hag I am, I would lead this class well. I have been in the showbiz for a long while and I have the mental strength to lead a class as the most experienced one of the bunch. Please consider voting for me!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ZHENG HUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― I worked as a Philosophy professor, so I'm used to leading a group and helping out students... I think it would be even easier to do with people on my same level for this reason!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ BAE KITAE ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― Weren't you a florist...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ZHENG HUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― Mhm! But you just unlocked another piece of Zheng Huan lore~ For the next one, you can pay $5 or get a discount and pay 10$ for a bundle of 3 othe-

✹ ﹒ ﹒ BAE KITAE ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― No, thank you!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ZHENG HUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― Aw, c'mon!

This is not an OnlyFans deal, Zheng Huan!

There's one final person applying for the position...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― [grinning] I'm on a mission to convert this studio into my cult~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ LIU YIYUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― ... Are you insane?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ BAE KITAE ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― I don't know, but I'm sold. You're getting my vote! As long as it's fun, count me in~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ZHENG HUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― Mhm... That reminds me of when I was hired as a promoter and I didn't know I was promoting a cult...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― So you have experience as a PR, mh? [writing down on her notebook] I will lure you in another day... You seem too fragile right now.

... THIS CLASS IS INSANE.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― Now, then... Let's vote! Write down who you're voting for on these papers between Yulian, Zheng Huan and me, anonymously, and put your vote in this box... Who do we get to read the results?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（CLASS FOUR） ― How about Yiyuan makes himself useful? Since he was a staff member before joining, I'm sure he can get Hao or Hoon to come here.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ LIU YIYUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― Absolutely not.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― Don't be stingy! Move your ass and go call one of them now.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ LIU YIYUAN ꜜ he/him（CLASS FOUR） ― ...

And so, as Hao is called and finally reads the results...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "HAO" ꜜ he/him（STAFF） ― Ashina wins with 4 votes!

Everyone claps as the new class representative gets selected!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ "HAO" ꜜ he/him（STAFF） ― And in second place... Chen Yulian, with 3 votes!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CHEN YULIAN ꜜ she/they（CLASS FOUR） ― Ah, thank you...! [bows]

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― Sweet, just like I planned... Thank you so much!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HIURA ASHINA ꜜ she/her（CLASS FOUR） ― Let's work on the songs together now~

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CLASS FOUR ― Yes!

It is clear by now that the two classes are proceeding with different approaches and at a different pace...

Let's see how well they do at the first rehearsal with the teachers!

▎ DAY THREE: Test simulation.
❪ 📍 School Theatre ❫

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― ...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SHIROMA MIRU（TEACHER） ― ... How do I say this?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― [sighs, shaking his head] I didn't expect you to be that good before the real evaluation, but... How are you this bad three days in?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― Let's start with Class Two...

Doyoung looks through his papers to make sure he's evaluating the students appropriately based on their experience on the field.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― I didn't have high expectations for Seonmi, given she's an actress... But both Haneul and her managed to do much worse than expected. Did you two even practice this piece?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ NAM HANEUL ꜜ she/they（CLASS TWO） ― Well, we did...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― How many times? One and never again? Because it sounded like you were reading the lyrics for the first time without even knowing the song... I didn't think your performance would be perfectly polished by now, but...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ―  [sighs] Just take this more seriously, will you? I think you can do at least a decent job if you put hard work into it instead of slacking off.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― As for Adelaide... At least I can see you practiced this, but you were way too pitchy, especially compared to your previous material from the audition and your old group. You might want to work on that before the final performance.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― Yes...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― Thank you. Onto the boys... Junseong and Muchen work very well together, and their lines work well with their voice types and skills. If you keep up the good work, I'm sure the final performance will turn well.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ KIM JUNSEONG（CLASS TWO） ― [bowing] Thank you!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― The same can't be said about anyone else... Overall, both performances are... Bad. Who are your Class Representatives again?

Den and Junseong raise their hands, hesitantly.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― Mhm, I see... [writing down on his notebook] That explains... A lot.

Doyoung sighs yet again... It's not a good sign.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― I think you need to meet up and have a proper discussion, possibly redistribute your parts and make sure your final performance isn't... Whatever this was. Please.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SHIROMA MIRU（TEACHER） ― Luckily, all you've shown us today can easily solved by spending more time in the training rooms. You still have the chance to prove us wrong, so until then... Work hard!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CLASS TWO ― Yes...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SHIROMA MIRU（TEACHER） ― More enthusiasm, come on...

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❪ INTERVIEW ✶ ❫

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― It's clear that out of the students in Class Two, only the Representatives and a few others worked properly... Did they think we wouldn't notice? They really underestimated our qualities as mentors, I fear. And they're also underestimating their audience.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― If this is how they'll perform, I think they'll all get eliminated by the time the first ranking announcement comes.

────────────────────────

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― Moving onto Class Four...

The students hold their breath in as they're being called.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ DOYOUNG（TEACHER） ― It wasn't that bad. You're great as a group, and the teamwork is praiseworthy for how consistent both performances were...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SHIROMA MIRU（TEACHER） ― ... But none of you stands out at all. I can't remember who sang what line, and I wouldn't remember who was performing altogether if I didn't know you already. Given the songs, this is unforgivable.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SHIROMA MIRU（TEACHER） ― You need to find the right balance between making the performance cohesive and captivating the public with your individual charms, because that's what this performance needs from you. Right now it sounds like a bunch of kindergarteners trying to act mature.

...?!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ SHIROMA MIRU（TEACHER） ― I wouldn't consider myself particularly impressed after seeing this. But I know that with enough hard work and feedback, you'll be able to overcome this in little to no time. Fighting!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ CLASS FOUR ― Yes!

All the students leave the theatre after the teachers are done with pointing out their observations.

And the tension that was building up until this point finally explodes.

▎ DAY THREE: Post-simulation.
❪ 📍 Class Two's Training Room ❫

✹ ﹒ ﹒ NAM HANEUL ꜜ she/they（CLASS TWO） ― ...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ YANG INSOO ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― ...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― ... I did a terrible job as a leader. Maybe Junseong would've been a better fit, given he has experience already...

✹ ﹒ ﹒ WANG MUCHEN ꜜ he/they（CLASS TWO） ― [scoffing] What difference would've that made? If no one wants to work, no matter how good of a leader you are, the result will be [BLEEP] even if one person or two put in any effort. You're not the reason why this didn't work out.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ KIM JUNSEONG ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― Muchen... Den is not at blame for sure, but can we not-

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HEO SEONWOO ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― He's literally right, though? There's no use sugarcoating when the reason is as clear as it can be. Those who haven't contributed in any relevant way or trained an appropriate amount of time to perform should be held accountable for that.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ HEO SEONWOO ꜜ he/him（CLASS TWO） ― Heck, I'm [BLEEP] at performing and arguably the worst one of the bunch but I can't drag down an entire team now, can I?

✹ ﹒ ﹒ NAM HANEUL ꜜ she/they（CLASS TWO） ― ... Well-

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― I understand, Seonwoo.

The students all turn towards Den.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― Aside from Junseong, the only people trying to oppose this reasoning are literally the one criticized the most over slacking off.

✹ ﹒ ﹒ ADELAIDE BEAUCHÊNE ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― I will work even harder, but I'm tired of not seeing my efforts being matched by anyone else. Instead of trusting each other's work so much to entrust it to one person, let's work together from now on!

✹ ﹒ ﹒ JANG SEONMI ꜜ she/her（CLASS TWO） ― Yes...!

Hopefully this served as a lesson for the rest of Class Two...

Or maybe not?

FEVEN'S CORNER !!

... I lied. I can't make all of these parts much shorter than 3000 words. I PROMISE I'M TRYING-

Some of you don't mind, I mean~ BUT STILL.
I tried my best to shorten this, but it was starting to look too bare already... So I might as well keep it as it is at this point. I will include everything I removed in the extras, however!