CONNECT |Enhypen's 8th member|

Chapter Two: The First Mission

"The first eliminated member with ten votes is...Kim Sunoo. The second eliminated member with nine votes is...Noh Sungchul. The third eliminated member with nine votes is...Taki. The fourth eliminated member with six votes is...EJ. The final eliminated member with six votes is...Youngbin."

Daisy let out a small breath of relief. Her name hadn't been called, and neither had her boys'. They were only given moments to say goodbye before the first mission was announced. The song was immediately familiar, and she nearly jumped out of her seat as she saw the choreography video.

"Isn't that—"

"That's me!"

All eyes turned to her as she recalled being asked to be part of a group of dancers to record a choreography. She'd never known it would be used for I-Land. As the parts were shown and trainees realized it was not going to be divided evenly, they ultimately decided to split up and practice for the parts they wanted to audition for.

Both Jay and Sunghoon approached her, asking if she would rather practice with them or alone. She said she'd be okay alone, and went to find a corner of the house without sound.

Daisy was confident in her skills, but not enough to want the pressure of taking part one. Her voice especially made her weary of claiming that part—there were better singers like Heeseung and Geonu for that. Instead, she sought part four. It had good lines and dance parts, giving her a good chance to shine without placing too heavy a burden on her.

"Excuse me," a voice suddenly interrupted. Her gaze must've been harsher than she intended since he flinched. "I-I was just wondering if you could help me a bit with the Korean...?"

She put in an effort to soften her eyes, smiling and agreeing. He sat next to her, introducing himself as Jake. "You speak English then?" He nodded, sighing slightly in relief.

"Korean is hard."
"What's giving you difficulty right now in the song?"

He pointed out different sections, and she helped him with proper pronunciation. She even got him to sing a bit, and found herself impressed. It was clear he was untrained, but his basic sense of pitch and vocal quality were rather good. He had a lot of potential in her eyes.

"I think we should head back," she finally decided, standing up from her seat. The two headed back, and Jay raised an eyebrow at her in question. She smiled, rolling her eyes slightly as his hint of jealousy before taking a seat.

The auditions began. Heeseung got part one with little to no objection. Geonu got part two. When it came to part three, Jay raised his hand along with Jungwon. She felt herself cringe internally as his voice had trouble reaching the high notes. Daisy knew his voice—it was lovely and soothing—but right now, he was nervous, and that didn't bode well for him.

She was lucky enough to get part four, although she didn't like taking it from Jay especially. As the parts continued being distributed, she could feel the frustration radiating off of him until he finally slammed his paper down, giving up.

Daisy was ready to go over and comfort him when Sunghoon made eye contact with her, shaking his head. She was about to do so anyway when Jay, despite what he said earlier, continued trying and eventually got a part. Sometimes, Sunghoon knew Jay better than she did, and she was grateful for that.

"Congratulations," she said, pulling Jay into a hug as the trainees started stretching to begin the choreography. "You'll both do great." Jay thanked her, still a bit down but appreciating her effort.

"Noona," Jungwon called toward the front of the room. "I think you should help lead the choreography with Heeseung hyung since you know it."

"It was a long time ago, but I can try."

She took a look at the video, her body automatically remembering most of it. After filling in some details, she'd be good to go. Glancing over, she noticed a few others in the same situation, including a boy a bit younger than her named Niki.

"You're doing really well," she complimented. He flushed, mumbling a thank you and shifting awkwardly. Not knowing how to continue the conversation, she decided to just walk away and gather the trainees around.

"Before we start, I think we should change this part slightly," Heeseung suggested. She pursed her lips before ultimately agreeing. The original choreography was rather difficult, and teamwork was a huge part of their score.

They lead together, both at the front with Niki and Jungwon behind them since they were also stronger dancers. "Every twenty minutes the front row goes to the back and everyone else moves up a row," Daisy instructed. "Everyone needs an equal chance to see the front people who know it well, okay?"

"Okay," they chorused. They practiced just the chorus together for about an hour before she suggested they practice in their own groups. Naturally, she gravitated towards Sunghoon and Jay, Heeseung, Jungwon, and Niki joining them. A while later she and Heeseung headed upstairs, him grabbing a water bottle and her taking the opportunity to tie her hair up.

"I'm worried," she finally admitted. "There's a huge difference in skill and I can't see people clear enough to tell what to fix."

Heeseung nodded in agreement, taking a swig and running a hand through his hair. "We could have them go individually?" Daisy suggested, then immediately groaned, laying her forehead on the kitchen counter in frustration. She hadn't wanted this kind of responsibility so soon.

"Are you okay, Daisy?" She met his eyes and he could sense the stress emanating from her, giving him his answer. "It's only day one," he reminded. "They're gonna get better. We all are."

Daisy nodded, biting her nails without thinking before heading downstairs decidedly. "We're gonna have everyone go one by one, including Heeseung and I. That way we can see strengths and weaknesses." After everyone gathered together once more, she went first, Heeseung and Niki in the front evaluating her.

"Your moves are really clean, but there isn't a lot of variation in texture," Heeseung spoke up. She nodded, making mental notes before sitting down as Heeseung hopped up. She noted some moves with angles that were a bit off before he sat back down, and everyone continued going one by one.

"Sunghoon, you're a little fast on the beats. Stay ahead of the beat but not too much, okay ja—"

She stopped awkwardly mid sentence, preventing herself from calling him "jagi" in front of everyone. Jay let out a small snort from his place on the side, making her glare at him and Sunghoon punch his shoulder as he joined him on the side.

Jake went next, and Heeseung spoke for Niki in declaring him the best of the people who had gone so far. He smiled with pride, and Daisy gave him a high five as he left to the side.