𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘦 𝘈𝘱𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘵/ 𝗜-𝗟𝗔𝗡𝗗

'FIRE' 1

Yuji cannot express her mixed emotions. She was stuck at being disappointed in herself, it was her first time in Ground, but she never regrets her performance. Because of that, she got a somewhat high score.

[Yuji] I have to go back to I-LAND. So I will work harder from now on.

The eliminated members have the same goal, going back to I-LAND and never giving up. They all towards the ground with a solemn feeling.

Ni-ki opened the door as the ground members gasps in shock and did not expect to see their faces when they went inside. the room filled with an awkward atmosphere.

Yuji follows them inside and quickly changed her mood when she saw Sunoo. He hugged her tightly, gently tapping her back.

''what are you doing here?'', Sunoo asked in a concerned tone.

''it's okay, I'm fine,'' she replied.

But, ''you're going back...'' 

Yuji doesn't know what to react. She suddenly felt guilty for reassuring herself that Ground is not that bad shouldn't be worrying right now because she knew she got a high score among them.

''I have to fight fiercely.''

finally, the people who will go to I-LAND were already announced. The eliminated members stayed on the side, just seated. Yuji was uprightly feeling both envious and happy for the people that will replace them. She just remained silent next to Jake but sighing in anxiety.

Grounders their final hugs and rooting to recruits who will go up, a brief reunion, the time to say farewell has come again. The chosen recruits head towards I-LAND with cheers. While the remaining gathered and sat, forming a circle.

''WE WILL ANNOUNCE THE SECOND TEST OF THE GROUND.''

the voice came from the flat-screen television, unlike at I-LAND, it was two split widescreens. Yuji nodded, observing the screen wondering the next test.

''TEAMWORK''

teamwork?' she thought that they should work hard to go to I-LAND with the help of teamwork.

''THIS TEST WILL BE A PERFORMANCE TO TEST YOUR COOPERATION''

knowing that it's all about how each other handle the team, Yuji thought about the choreography quickly. She expects that it is not going to be common and will be upgraded.

''the evaluation standards here at Ground will be different'', she mumbled.

A familiar melody suddenly flows out. Their mouth was left open due to shock, Yuji instantly recognizes the song because she once went to a MAMA concert with her twin brother way back in 2016 and it was a memorable performance.

All the attention was on the screen. When the dance break was showed, Yuji cannot hide her excitement. She badly wants to do part one or two. The choreography was beautiful that it made her more competitive.

they all clap their hands as they show on-screen ended. 

''THIS TEST WILL BE PERFORMED ON THE I-LAND STAGE FOR SIX DAYS. THE COOPERATIVE PERFORMANCE IS CRUCIAL TO THIS TEST. THIS IS ALSO BASED ON JOINT RESPONSIBILITY, AND THE AVERAGE OF THE INDIVIDUAL SCORES WILL BECOME THE TEAM SCORE''

the success of the cooperative choreography is the key to the second test. Yuji tilted her head on the right understood the setup well. But it was pretty distressing for her because if I-LAND has a high score, their spots will remain, and the six days of practicing might be wasted for nothing, she's a grounder now, and it's a significant disadvantage part of the game.

''PLEASE DECIDE YOUR PARTS NOW''

grounders who dream of being on stage reaffirmed their determination to go to I-LAND.

She can't give up right now. She decided to keep her pride on debuting. She already dropped out of school, resigned from the things she loves the most, and went to Seoul relying only on herself. 

Grounders gathered and divided parts. Each was holding a copy of the lyrics. 

''First of all,'' Jay started, the attention was drawn to him. ''none of you have assigned parts before, right?''

''This is what I think, I've experienced this in I-LAND as well, but it will only work if we work together,'' he continued. Yuji just nodded, agreeing. 

''We need to choose someone who will lead everything,'' Yuji said, turning to Jay, ''what if you lead us?'' she straightforwardly asks him.

''I don't mind doing it,'' he responded. Yuji smiled in amused because he did not hesitate to think of it. So Yuji decided to trust Jay from now on and because she already saw what he could show, and she is reassured because of that.

Under Jay's lead, they started to divide parts. It's all about teamwork, so number one and two's role will be crucial. 

''how about we all take turns dancing?'' Jay suggested, after the discussion, they checked each other's dance skills for the best part distribution. 

 Jay and Yuji started to dance in front of them.

''her moves are clean.''

''that's Yuji. She got the second-highest score.''

''Woah''

Yuji raised her hands in part two. Then, finally, she was confident enough to perform a dance break. When they were asked and ended up getting part two, Jay got the center. Yuji thanked Jay after because of him, they got easily decide on the parts. 

The new grounders changed into new clothes, and it was a culture shock for them to adjust to the new environment. From sleeping in dorms to practicing with only one tablet, it felt like they completely shifted to another world.

It was already night, and all of them were staying in a dorm. And because they only have a tablet, Yuji and NI-KI were assigned to lead the choreography, and they replayed the demo until midnight, learning the moves, and decided to teach it tomorrow to their team.

''is it suppose to be like this?'' he asked her, showing a step.

Yuji was counting in a murmur. She nodded to him ''I got the halfway already'' she reminded him ''I can sleep now,'' she added, covering herself with a blanket.

Ni-ki stayed longer until he finally finished learning the whole choreography at exactly 3 am. He was yawning and kept on resisting his dozing due to his headache throughout the entire night. After a while, he fell asleep, holding the tablet open.

Yuji suddenly woke up and found NI-KI sitting on the floor beside her bed. She stood up and saw him sleeping. She took the blanket from her bed and carefully put it with him.