Despite trainees from DAY-TA Entertainment having a two-day weekend, more than half of the trainees can still be spotted in the training rooms during Saturday. 

Some trainees spend their weekends going on a trip or staying inside their dorms, but for the majority, a huge portion of their weekends are still spent on preparing for the monthly evaluations. 

With the next evaluation determining who would be selected as debut candidates, there were even more trainees than usual. 

Even Song Noah, who originally planned to have a consultation with a clinic in the morning, went to DAYTA-Entertainment at an early hour. 

But just like most trainees, he didn't immediately head to the practice rooms. 

“Noah-ssi, here's your phone. There's another text from the clinic, but you confirmed yesterday that you didn't make that appointment, yes?” 

“Yes.”

“You've generally been a good kid so we're choosing to trust you in this matter.” The staff said, “But since this is a request from the higher-ups, we'll be doing a more frequent check-in for you and Yullei for this month. I hope you'll understand, Noah-ssi.” 

“Thank you…” 

Once the staff handed him his phone, he went to sit in the nearest lounge to check his messages. In his inbox was indeed a new text message. 

-------

KHC Mental Health Clinic

06:15 AM

Good day. Your appointment today at KHC Mental Health Clinic with Dr. Kim Sanghoon has been cancelled. You can visit xxx.KHC-clinic/appointments/ to reschedule. 

-------

Noah could only be thankful that the clinic didn't mention his name once again. Had they just written his name, it would've been a huge problem. 

When he made the appointment, he used a different email, and even deleted all confirmation details along with related browser activities in case someone were to check it.

Not considering the possibility of getting a message was an oversight, but it's pointless beating himself up for a mistake that had already been made. 

What he needed to do is fix what he could fix. 

In his phone, Noah browsed through his files, looking for any clips or videos of himself that he could find. There weren't many clips, but he managed to find some that were filmed as a task from the instructors, along with some introduction practice videos that he did before. 

Noah watched every single one of them. 

There wasn't a dramatic difference in how he moved and expressed his thoughts, but it wasn't exactly the same either. The Noah on the screen may be soft spoken like he is, but he sounded a bit livelier and confident. There were also times when he seemed shy of course, but his eyes lit up whenever he's talking about his aspirations. 

… Honestly, he didn't realize that there's a slight difference in the way he spoke. 

After making sure that there were no trainees nearby in the lounge, Noah attempted to match the voice on the screen. 

“Ah. ah- I'm Noah.” he cleared his throat, “I'm Song Noah, a trainee from DAY-TA Entertainment.”

Even when the development manager didn't directly spell it, it was obvious what they're assuming with the narrative; ‘Ha Yullei had been targeting another trainee to the point where he needed to seek professional help'. 

It's understandable why they'll reach the conclusion. With Ha Yullei performing his selected song and how different Noah’s demeanor had been for the past few days, it's easy to twist or misinterpret all of the criticisms that Yullei had given him for the past two years. 

Most would assume that the changes were due to an ongoing conflict and harassment, which is why he must minimize the gap between him and the ‘Noah from the past'. To speak how he used to, and act like how he used to or if not– as close he can. 

Of course, it wasn't the only thing he needed to work on.

For starters, he couldn't even look at Yullei directly in his eyes. 

And… 

Didn't the development manager mention that they received reports about Ha Yullei? 

Since the development manager mentioned the gym, he had a speculation on who it was. 

“If he’s giving you a hard time, you should tell the staff or the company about it.”

==========

For Jiho who was listed as a “B list” trainee, his odds for debuting aren't particularly high.

The “A list” which used to have seven trainees, now only has six trainees, and among them, three had already been selected. 

Isn't it just a formality? They probably planned to debut the top 6 trainees from the very beginning.  

It didn't matter if Jiho's name was the first name written in the “B list” for that month. And no matter how much he thought about it, it made sense that the next selected trainees would be dancers or an all rounder. 

Vocalists like him, who are only mediocre in dance and rap, had lower chances of getting picked. 

Unless… another slot becomes free. 

But the realization didn't make it easy to accept. 

Inside one of the practice rooms, Team C or Jiho's group, were having their very first group practice. Due to Gaon's injury, each member had only practiced individually for the past few days. 

Which is why unlike the other groups, Team C was only in the middle of assigning their parts. 

“Who wants to do Zeno-sunbaenim's dance break in Walk With Me?” Theo asked the group. It was the most challenging part of the song, requiring fast and precise footwork and isolations. 

All members lifted their arms, even Jiho, who is more skilled at singing than dancing. 

Seeing that all members were interested, chaos ensued. 

“Huh? Jiho you want to do it too? Aren't you doing the high note after that?” another trainee asked. 

“So what if I am?”

“Don't be too greedy, a great dancer should be the one to perform it.”

Tsk. 

“What? Are you saying that I'm not a great dancer?” 

“That's not what I said.” The other trainee cleared his throat, “But compared to you, I'm far better at dancing.”

“Well, with your logic, shouldn't Gaon do it since he's also better than you?” another trainee chimed in. 

“No! He's injured!”

Hesitant, Gaon spoke-up, “I know that I have an injury, but I really want to do it too, I'll practice twice– no, thrice as hard!”

If someone who used to be on the “A list” were to get that part… it would increase their chances of debuting. 

The thought of it brought ugly feelings. 

“And what if your injury gets worse?” Jiho asked him, “We already delayed our practice because of you, do you want to keep on being a burden?”

When the members heard what he said, there was a momentary silence. Even trainees from other groups were looking at them. 

Min Gaon's expression darkened. 

“... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to burden everyone.” Gaon apologized in a very quiet tone. 

He hated Ha Yullei's bluntness and lack of consideration towards other trainees, but how is he any different? 

“Let's not fight over this.” Theo placed his arms around both Gaon and Jiho's back, “Rather than doing a ripple effect while someone does Zeno-sunbaenim’s dance break, why don't we all just do it together?”

No… If they do that, he would be completely overshadowed. But seeing how the other trainees' eyes lit up with his suggestion, he couldn't bring himself to oppose. 

“That sounds good to me.”

“Right…! And if we all pulled it off, the judges would be impressed!”

“Then let's do it!”

Unlike the trainees who expressed their agreements, all he could do was remain silent. 

After that, distributing the rest of the parts of the song went a lot smoother. Since the members all took their time to study the choreography individually, it didn't seem like they were behind on practice at all. 

Even Min Gaon, who didn't dance for the entire week, seemed to have memorized most of the choreography already. 

On top of that, his movements are excellent. 

Meanwhile… 

“Jiho-ssi, don't do it in one quick motion. You need to add more ‘pop', make it look like it's snapping.” Theo advised him. 

“Yes, I'll keep it in mind.”

“Let's repeat this part again.”

Since the entire group consisted mostly of dancers, it was difficult to keep up. The fact that Theo, who is an “A list” trainee, and Gaon who used to be on “A list” did not help. 

If they keep on doing a great job, what would happen to me? 

Those thoughts distracted him the whole time, causing him to make a few more mistakes. 

“Um, you're supposed to turn your head first, Jiho-hyung.”

“Right.”

After four hours of dancing, the team eventually decided to conclude their group practice and have lunch.

However, another trainee approached him before he even had a chance to step out of the practice room. 

“Can we talk in private?” a gentle voice asked. 

It was Song Noah. From the looks of it, it looked like the trainee had also just finished dancing. 

Seeing him, Jiho couldn't help but get nervous. 

“Yes, do you need anything…?”

“I just need to ask you something, are you about to have lunch?” Noah asked, “Why don't we go together then? We can discuss it there.”

It's rare for Noah to approach anyone first, let alone invite someone to eat together. But seeing as he's going out of his way to invite him to lunch, did he find out about it? 

His voice sounded a bit livelier, so perhaps, something good happened. Is he inviting him to say thanks? 

With thoughts and assumptions running in his head, Jiho, who had been having a stressful morning, couldn't help but smile. 

“Oh yes, of course!”

With his agreement, the two went to a nearby eatery. Noah didn't really mention anything special on their way or while waiting for their order.  It was just nothing but basic pleasantries. 

It was only when they were half way done eating when Noah decided to go straight to the point. 

“Are you the one who reported Yullei?”

Hesitantly, Jiho nodded his head. 

Since Noah is the target of Yullei's constant criticisms, Noah has to have negative feelings towards Yullei too. 

It would be good to be on his good side. 

“Yes, I did it.” 

Noah's cat-like eyes met his gaze, “Why?”

He couldn't read what Noah was thinking, but it didn't seem like he's judging him for what he did. 

“Any other trainee would have done the same if they saw someone being wronged.” he replied, “Hasn't that arrogant brat been targeting you for a long time? Even when we're at the gym, he still manages to find something to criticize. He even grabbed you, for goodness' sake!”

All trainees have probably seen it, how Ha Yullei had been criticizing Noah more than anyone else. And as if the criticisms weren't enough, he even went as far as to perform Noah's selected song. 

Noah can lie and say that they discussed it all he wants, but it was obvious why he had been down for the past few days. After that shitshow, imagine even being forced to room with Ha Yullei? 

He really expected Song Noah to look grateful for his help, but… 

“I really do appreciate your concern but, didn't I tell you before that he was just helping me?” Noah said, “And even if he is, I don't think it has anything to do with you."

How ungrateful. Why are you acting like I'm the one who did something wrong? 

“Helping you? Don't be so stupid, he was just showing off. If anything else, he did that to mock you.” Jiho said bluntly, “Do you think I haven't been seeing your practices too? That's what Yullei does! He'll keep saying that you're doing something wrong, until you're too tired or agitated to perform properly. Do you really want someone like that to debut? Aren't you the victim here??”

Jiho experienced the same thing, and many trainees did too. 

“I understand it now.”

“I knew you'd understand m–”

“Before you get the wrong idea, I am not a victim. Ha Yuillei never targeted me, nor did he ever targeted any trainee.” 

“You must've thought that if Yullei is out of the picture, you'll have a higher chance of debuting, didn't you?”  Noah asked, his voice remaining calm. It was so calm that Jiho couldn't help but get chills on his spine. 

The worst part of all was that he couldn't bring himself to deny it.

When Jiho was unable to speak, Song Noah took out his phone from his pocket, briefly placing it on the table. 

In Noah's phone screen, an application was open. 

↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺

•|၊|။||||။၊|။|||။|||။ 24:12

Recording

Jiho quickly extended his right arm to grab Noah's phone, but the other trainee was quicker. 

“Oh, I must've clicked it.”  

It was a lie and they both knew it. 

“...What are you going to do with that recording?”

“Nothing. I'm not planning to show it to anyone, not even Yullei.”

“Huh?”

“But you should know that the agency would probably check on my phone.” Noah informed him, “Thanks to someone's report, they'd be checking it more frequently too."

It's not incriminating. If the staff were to check it, he could tell them that he was just concerned for another trainee's well-being. But, if Noah tells them that he did it out of malicious intent...

Jiho gritted his teeth, “What do you want me to do for you to delete it?”

“Clear Yullei's name. Tell them you've misunderstood everything.” Song Noah gave him a smile. It looked angelic. 

Before any of this, Jiho thought that Noah was just someone naive.