OPEN YOUR EYES (BLIND I) - MUSIQ SERIES PART 2

53. CLIMBING UP

Their short vacation was over in a flash and the girls got to celebrate the New Year together with the rest of the foreign trainees at MusiQ. They had recharged their energy to be able to work even harder and better for the program, so they took the bus back to Paju after lunch. Most of them were just carrying the same bag they had used when they went to Seoul, but Heejin also had with her the new guitar and her family's gifts.

Since it had just been a week, when they were back at the filming site it felt like they had never left. Heejin, however, felt completely different from the last time, as she had had enough time to reflect on what she wanted to do as well as had time to be with her family and friends without having to worry about privacy. It had truly been a healing experience, and it helped her gather back all the courage and determination she needed.

"Breakthrough trainees to the assembly hall," the familiar robotic voice said through the speakers. "Breakthrough trainees to the assembly hall."

"I missed you, MC Bot!" Iku said, making the rest of the girls laugh.

When they arrived there, they saw that Kim Jisoo, the new MC, was already waiting for them, and some of the girls could not hide their excitement upon seeing her.

"Hello, everyone!" Jisoo greeted them once they all sat down. "I'm Blackpink's Kim Jisoo, the third MC for Breakthrough. Please take care of me!"

"Kim Jisoo, we love you!"

"Thank you, girls," she said with a cute giggle. "Now, although I'm sure you are still excited after your week off, it's time to get back to work once again using that excitement and energy to work even harder on the future tasks. Today, however, we need to see the results of your last evaluation. Are you ready to see them?"

Even if they said they were, everyone knew they clearly were not as they were all nervous about being in the lower ranks. No one would be eliminated so they were not as worried, but that did not mean that they were comfortable being at the lower ranks.

"This time, instead of giving you the exact votes I will only be telling you your rank. The viewers will know the vote count, but since no one will be eliminated and the exact number of votes is not as important, I will only be saying the rank after all the votes were added up," Jisoo said and picked up the cue cards as the screen turned on, ready to show their ranks. "Starting from the tenth spot this time, we have someone who the professional jury saw as a very promising star that regretfully did not shine as bright today. She is... Utagawa Iku."

As the performances had been of a very high quality, no one could say that they were expecting it but they would not have expected anyone else there. Someone had to come in last place, but that did not mean that they had not performed incredibly well.

"Thank you for everyone who voted for me. I will try to shine brighter from now on and make it to the final line-up. That is a promise," Iku said bowing and sat down on her stool, just like the previous time. 

"The trainee in ninth place is someone who is seen by the public as someone with the looks of a princess but the heart of a warrior. She is... Huang Lihua," Jisoo announced and everyone applauded for her. "The professional jury said about her that on this performance they got to see a more playful side of her that contrasts with her looks and it made her stand out in a good way."

"I will try to stand out even more from now on. Just like the public said, I will fight like a warrior until the very end," Lihua said before going to her seat.

"In eight place we have someone who last time shocked everyone with a more sultry and mature side of her but this time showed her more playful one. She is... Juna Mirai Canumay Makalintal." Jisoo struggled to say her name. "I probably butchered that."