26 | mission four

191 10 0
                                        

nyla asher

[korean]

Heavy breathing fills the room as we finish our performance. We promised GOT7 we would show them our finished performance, so that is exactly what we just did.

"That was great," Jaebum compliments.

Jinyoung nods, "And, if PDnim decides to let you release predebut songs like Stray Kids did, this would be a great first song."

"You've all definitely improved on those weaknesses PDnim mentioned," Mark begins to say, "But that doesn't mean you should pay less attention to them. There is always room for improvement."

We nod at him and thank all the boys. For a final opinion, we wanted our four trainee friends to judge the song. They've been a big encouragement in the background of this whole show thing, and we value their insight deeply.

However, since they were busy with all their own practices, we took a video as we performed for GOT7 and sent it to them. With our performance in front of PDnim tomorrow, we want to see if they have any little tips.

groupchat:
JYPE'S MOST LEGENDARY TRAINEES

suwei lin
[1 video attached]

riley smith
any opinions?

fujita kaito
i feel so honored that we get to hear your song before PDnim and the public

kim hyesun
^ better stay like this even when you're famous

suwei lin
hahah of course we'll run it by you guys

jeon moonsik
i know you're my friends and im supposed to act calm

jeon moonsik
but like

jeon moonsik
if i didn't know you guys i would be a big fan after this video

nyla asher
so you're not a fan now :(

sarai
you made her sad moonsik!!!

jeon moonsik
aH YOU KNOW IM YOUR BIGGEST FAN

nyla asher
im just messing with you hah. but thanks moonsik :)

sarai
yay everyone is happy again :)

kim hyesun
okay but seriously

kim hyesun
the lyrics and dance overall are great. i would only suggest for nyla to make her dance moves bigger, riley not to be shy with her voice, and suwei should be more confident when she is center

jeon moonsik
agreed. i know you're just being considerate of nyla and riley, but its ok to be bold when you're in the center. besides, nyla and riley are doing great anyway, so you don't have to worry about them

fujita kaito
yeah, but don't change anything about the song plssss

sarai
^^^

nyla asher
no worries i wont

riley smith
thank you so much

suwei lin
yeah thank you all!

kim hyesun
no problem, now rest well so you can do amazing tomorrow

riley smith
we will, mother

kim hyesun
yes GO TO BED MY 6 CHILDREN

jeon moonsik
no thank you

kim hyesun
do you want me to hit you again?

jeon moonsik
fine i'll go sleep

jeon moonsik
just a warning: hyesun hits very very VERY hard

fujita kaito
i can confirm from experience

sarai
yiKES

nyla asher
ooF

riley smith
hahah well we'll see you guys later

kim hyesun
see ya

»

[english]

The staff fixes the microphone on my shirt as we prepare to film the mission for the fourth episode. When she finishes, I go to stand by Suwei and Riley.

"You two ready?" Suwei asks us.

We give her unsure looks.

"Don't stress. We've gotten good feedback so far, so if we just keep what everyone said in mind, we can do this," she assures us.

[korean]

Filming finally begins and PDnim does his usual introduction of summarizing the mission and such: "Nyla, would you explain the song you made?"

I nod and step forward a bit, "The song is meant to be upbeat as it explains how unexpected our lives turned out to be. The lyrics, which were written by me and Riley, talk about the quick change from California to South Korea and all the things that made the change worth it. Suwei worked with a choreographer to make the dance moves match the feeling of the song."

PDnim smiles at my explanation, and I can't help but feel a bit proud of myself for getting all those words out without stuttering.

He signals for us to begin, and we get into our positions. We begin to sing, rap, and dance just as we rehearsed. I try my best to keep the trainees' and GOT7's advice in mind and make my dance moves bigger and stronger. While singing, I attempt to keep my voice at a steady volume; in rapping, I use gestures to hopefully keep the audience interested.

Once finished, PDnim claps: This was the first time he seemed so proud of us.

"You've improved a lot," he points out, making us all smile in relief, "Of course, there is still some ways to go, but I am quite impressed. Nyla, did you make the song entirely yourself?"

"I had help from 3RACHA, mainly Jisung and Changbin," I tell him.

PDnim grins, "Great job. I'll begin with my notes now. Suwei, you are a very skilled performer, but I can see you holding back. While it is important to look unified as a group, you should not downplay your own talents. Find a balance. Nyla, as I have mentioned, I think the song is great. I can see lots of improvement in your confidence, but it could still use work. As for Riley, I think singing is still your main weak point, however, your dancing and rapping are great."

We all bow and thank PDnim.

"Overall," he summarizes, "I think this is your best performance yet."

We can't hold back our excitement at the compliments as we give each other high fives.

He gets ready to announce the fifth mission, "I am going to give you more time to work on this mission as it is a big and important one. You will do a busking performance in Seoul. The reason I am giving you more time is that I expect you to make at least two more original songs. Good luck, and I have high expectations."

prove it • stray kidsWhere stories live. Discover now