Llana slumped onto the couch as soon as she reached the waiting room with everyone in the major group waiting for JYP to finish his evaluation. After sitting for so long, her back ached terribly.
"Yah! Kim Llana, how dare you make me cry earlier!" Chaeyoung exclaimed, leaping onto Llana, who had just closed her eyes, knocking the wind out of her.
"Yah! Unnie, I can't breathe! Get off me!" Llana shouted, though she made no effort to escape Chaeyoung's embrace.
"Ne! Llana, take this as revenge!" Dahyun joined in, jumping onto Llana, creating a human stack.
.
"Okay, okay! I'm sorry! Now get off me before I die!" Llana pleaded, and finally, Dahyun and Chaeyoung relented, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Seriously, Llana, you did great earlier," Nayeon said, forcing a smile as she hid the disappointment lingering from her own performance.
Minyoung and the others nodded in agreement, but no one said much. JYP's comments still echoed heavily in their minds, making it hard to fully uplift their mood to cheer someone.
"Aniyo~ everyone performed well; don't sell yourselves short," Llana insisted, shaking her head.
"You all did your best. Everyone practiced hard and put in so much effort." Her voice was firm yet gentle.
"You worked hard and gave it your all, so you deserve a pat on the back."
She moved toward them one by one, pulling each into a brief hug and patting their backs.
"Unnies, please stop crying."
__
Soon after, the staff called them back to the stage. JYP had finally finished deciding who would move up or down between the Major and Minor groups.
"The essence of being a star is about presenting yourself and your unique charm naturally. In other words, those who understand their strengths and what makes them special are the ones who achieve great results. Today, some will be moving from the Minor group to Major." JYP stated.
JYP then announced, "The person moving from Minor to Major is... Natty."
Llana wasn't surprised. Natty had delivered an impressive performance today. Despite her still-developing dance skills, her ability to choreograph and make the song her own justified her promotion to Major.
"Now," JYP continued, "we'll announce who will be moving down to the Minor group."
Natty picked up a pink envelope with her name from the small glass table, her hands trembling slightly.
"Please come out… Momo-unnie."
Momo walked onto the stage and stood beside her.
The others were surprised to see Momo called out, they didn't expect her to be switched. But Llana had anticipated this. Although Momo was a strong dancer, her performance had lacked the personal touch that set her apart.
"Momo, you excel in dancing, way better than Nattay, but you lack your own color. It's impressive, but it doesn't stand out as distinctly yours." JYP commented.
Turning to Natty, JYP continued, "Natty, you will take Momo's position in the Major group."
Natty carefully removed Momo's necklace and stepped into her new position. Momo moved toward the Minor group, her steps steady, her face composed despite the quiet sting of disappointment.
"The second person moving from Minor to Major is… Chaeryoung." JYP's gaze softened with approval.
"I asked you earlier, do you think doing different styles of girl group choreography will get you good results. What do you think you did well today? You prepared a lot of sunbae's choreo today, with your age and talent, comparing you to the original dancers, I have confidence you are not behind them and you really showed you have it through dancing."
Chaeryoung's chest swelled slightly at JYP's praise, her lips curving into a shy smile, and then she proceeded to take the envelope.
"Please come out… Jiwon-i," Chaeryoung read.
"Jiwon, you sang really well. Your rhythm and notes were perfect. I was surprised by your singing, but I couldn't feel that you were a star. Please change position."
Three more changes followed. Nayeon, Minyoung, and Mina were swapped with Somi, Jihyo, and Sana, their faces a mix of surprise, relief, and determination.
In the end, only three trainees remained unchanged in the Major group—Llana, Chaeyoung, and Dahyun.
No one from the Minor group was eliminated in the first round, and a collective sigh of relief rippled through them.
The next week's challenge mission is an album jacket. A photoshoot where they have to display the charm they possess through a photo.
Triggering another system task
[New task detected!]
[Task: Defend your position for the 2nd week's challenge.
+0.001 Appearance, +0.004 Rapping, +0.001 Singing, + 0.005 Dancing, +1,000 virtual coins.]
____
(Confession Room)
"What was the most unexpected comment given to a participant?"
Somi: "What JYP said to Nayeon-unnie… that really surprised me. She already has the qualities of a star, so the low evaluation caught me off guard."
"What do you think about your performance?"
Jeongyeon: sigh "Honestly… not great. I might get eliminated. I just hope I get another chance to prove myself."
Jihyo: "I didn't train for ten years just to be eliminated. I gave my best—I think my performance went well."
Llana: "100%....In everything I do, I always give my very best to avoid excuses like "if I had given my all, I could have done better." You know, gaslighting yourself. I prefer to stand strong even if sometimes it results in failure, because facing failures doesn't make you weak, it makes you strong. Failures help in molding us become a fighter."
Nayeon: Disappointed. Firstly, I think I need to find that natural part of me again, as PD-nim said. I just hope I wasn't eliminated by then.
"What can you say about Sana and her performance?"
Jiwon: "Sana is… a bit… uh… I can't even put it into words."
Nayeon: laughs helplessly
Llana: "She's really funny and unique."
Chaeyoung: "I honestly can't say 'hamida' to JYP after that." laughs
"Among the participants, who gave the most memorable performance?"
Llana: "Sana-unnie? Her performance was so unique and funny—I laughed a lot."
Jeongyeon: "Sana… yeah, her performance was either a complete fail or a huge success. Definitely memorable."
Mina: "I think Llana gave the most memorable performance. Her song was my favorite, and she really owned it."
Somi: "For me, Dahyun's eagle dance stood out."
Chaeyoung: "Llana… she really owned the stage."
Dahyun: "I'd say Llana and Natty's performances were the most memorable."
"Who among the Major-to-Minor and Minor-to-Major swaps was the most unexpected?"
Jihyo: "I didn't expect Momo to be swapped."
Sana: "Yeah… Momo danced really well, so that surprised me."
Llana: "I didn't expect Mina-unnie to be swapped. She looked amazing on stage—I really enjoyed her performance."
_____
[STATUS]
[ HOST: Llana Ezhel K. Balthazar
GENDER: Female
DATE OF BIRTH: August 27, 1999
HERITAGE: half South Korean, quarter Filipino, quarter American.
TALENT/ABILITIES:
•Singing & Dancing
- Innate performance abilities. Allows accurate vocals, rhythm mastery, fluid choreography, and stage presence.
• Vocal Limit Breaker
– An ability to effortlessly hit any note with perfect control and zero strain. Expands vocal range beyond normal limits, allowing seamless transitions between registers. Immune to vocal fatigue, cracks, or pitch issues even during intense performances.
• Perfect Pitch
- A musical talent that allows the user to instantly recognize, reproduce, and sing any note without a reference. Grants flawless pitch accuracy, enabling precise vocal performance, fast song learning, and perfect harmonization.
• Eidetic Memory
- Ability to perfectly recall any information you see or hear.
ATTRIBUTES:
Singing: 8.903/10
Dancing: 7.63/10
Rapping: 2.310/10
Appearance: 9.017/ 10
Charm: 8.701/10
Perseverance: 8.40/10
Strength: 5.7/10
Endurance: 6/10
__
SONGS OWNED:
- Love Wins All ( by IU)
- Go the Distance ( Disney: Hercules)
- Reasons to Believe (Jayson Dy)
- Lovely (Billie Eilish)
- This is me ( Camp Rock)
VIRTUAL COINS: 535,000]