"Pardon me?"

Ari stared at Larry Jackson in confusion, wondering what prompted him to suddenly begin asking him questions when Jamie was right there.

"I said, ’Is this the best performance idea you can come up with for the finals?’" Larry Jackson reiterated, his gaze portraying his anger and disappointment.

"Well..." Ari paused to glance at Wilford Forbes before shrugging and saying what he wanted to say, "We had other things that we wanted to include in the performance, but the director thought they were a ’frivolous waste of money’ so we did the best we could with the constraints we have and tried to capture the essence of what we were going for. That was really long-winded, but the answer is yes."

It seemed that this wasn’t the answer Larry Jackson was looking for because he furrowed his brow angrily before raising the microphone to his lips again.

"All I’m hearing is excuse after excuse. Even without the extras that might cost money, you’re usually more creative than this. You as well, James. There’s none of the usual flair that you usually have at your performances. None of the vocal stacking, the riffs. It’s just bland and boring. Are you really satisfied with this kind of performance?"

"Yes. I’m pretty satisfied with the performance overall." Ari replied simply.

"Really? You’re satisfied." Larry Jackson’s neck and hands began turning a lobster red as he stared intently at Ari as if his eyes alone could make Ari change his response.

"...yes?"

Ari didn’t understand what kind of answer Larry Jackson was looking for.

Jamie made the song, Kim Young-woo helped with the choreography, and we performed it well, considering the short practice time and everything else we had to prepare for.

Of course, our stage performance will be completely different with the looper, acapella beatboxing bits, live instruments, and crowd interaction, but I don’t think this was bad enough for you to criticize?

But it seemed Larry Jackson was hell-bent on being critical.

"And you, James. Are you satisfied with this kind of performance? This is the great idea you had on stage and wanted to perform. This kind of lazy song is what you want attached to your name." Larry Jackson turned to Jamie in hopes that his words ignited a spark within him.

Unfortunately-

"Yes, sir. You may not like it now, but I hope you come around to our performance on the day of the finals since we all worked hard on it. And I hope you come to the realization that although it’s simple, sometimes simple things are the best," Jamie responded with a bright smile.

He was someone who knew the vision he was going for and wasn’t going to let anyone sway it.

Seeing that the two of them were adamant about keeping the performance as is, Larry Jackson turned to the rest of the team.

"And the rest of you? Justin? Rei? Daniel? Vishal? No other ideas for your final performance? It’s your last chance to make an impression."

As the rest of the team shook their heads, Larry Jackson clicked his tongue with disappointment.

"Tsk. Fine. Just know that I’m very disappointed in both of you. Your team can take a seat. William and the rest come up to perform. I hope you all have something better planned for your final performance."

With a mocking smile on his face, William stared down Ari and Jamie as they took their seats after being scolded by Larry Jackson for having a mediocre performance.

He suddenly was glad they had gone first instead of his team, because it meant his team didn’t have to do as much to impress them.

Exchanging a quiet nod with his uncle, William got into position with the rest of his team and began performing once the music began.

And once the performance finished-

"Let’s start with the good. After we worked on the song, I see that you’ve all made it your own. Everyone’s learned the lyrics, everyone knows the choreography at a decent level, and I’m quite happy that everyone has a relatively substantial part. I will say you’re utilizing all sections of the stage, which is great. Now to my cons. Firstly, the parts, I think the distribution could be a bit better, and there are certain parts that would fit other contestants better." Jelissa paused as she looked between William and Carlos.

She had been the main person who created the song the Williams team was using, so she knew it better than her own reflection and knew what she had recommended to the team.

Carlos’ clear, bright voice and his ability to hit high notes were his strengths, so it was annoying that William took those parts and gave Carlos less suitable ones.

In fact, it seemed that he had taken the parts that would be suitable for particular contestants and forced them onto others, with the only person to keep their original part being Levi.

Unfortunately, she could only recommend, not force, the contestants to do anything, and bring it up again so they would consider changing it.

But seeing the stubbornness on Williams’ face, the avoidance on the others, and indifference in Levi, she continued with her critique, "Secondly, your teamwork is not ideal. I’m not sure what’s going on, but when you’re performing as a group, it’s not a competition to see who stands out the most. Or an effort to leave somebody out. You all need to work together to put on a good show, even if there’s tension in the background. This goes to everyone."

"There’s no tension." William interrupted, causing Jelissa to laugh and correct him.

"There’s tension among people signed to the same label, much less contestants who are fighting for votes. One of your members has been missing all week, not to mention other issues. Tension is fine, but too much is toxic, so work out whatever needs to be worked out so it doesn’t show up on stage and affect the fan experience. As I said at the beginning, I’m here to support you all as best I can, so if you tell me what the issue is, I will do my best to help. Especially since I am the primary producer of the song, even the director cannot reject me if I insist on certain things, and if you need me to mediate, I will." Jelissa intentionally met each contestant’s eyes before continuing her feedback.

"Thirdly," Jelissa paused to look at the performance document before continuing her train of thought, "This performance is... really busy. I think you added quite a lot of stuff and referenced quite a few past ideas for inspiration, but it’s really messy right now, with not all of the pieces clicking or even painting a cohesive picture. A piano, drums, guitar, water stage, cloaks, color-changing paint, rising lifts, instruments, and an acting segment, just to name a few things. To me, it looks like you just threw the whole kitchen sink at it to see what sticks, and it’s not landing. I truly believe that your performance might actually be better if you cut out about half of these things to make sure it’s a cohesive experience in line with the song. It would be things so that you could execute well. Right now it’s a little too ambitious for the time that’s remaining."

"But-"

Just as William was going to protest, Larry Jackson cut in.

"I disagree. It’s good that they have ambition, and we’ve seen what happens when teams lock in and execute ambitious plans despite a messy midterm evaluation. We saw it in Korea, and I think these contestants are skilled enough to smooth out all of the rough edges by the day of . Besides, it’s the finals. Now is the time to be ambitious instead of going the easy route."

As Larry Jackson looked pointedly at Ari and Jamie, the two of them simply blinked in response, letting Larry Jackson’s words go through one ear and out the other.

"I agree with Judge Larry Jackson. I think these boys are skilled, more is more, especially in the finals, and that they’ll execute it well. Or is your bias showing? Do you not trust these boys but trust others? If so, that’s disappointing of you." Wilford Forbes added mockingly, since he wasn’t happy that Jelissa challenged his authority earlier.

Still smiling her usual warm smile, Jelissa met the director’s eyes and spoke in her usual gentle but firm tone, "I am a professional at my job. I do my best not to be biased, and I only have the best interests of these boys at heart. When I give advice, it’s because I care and want to see them succeed, not because I have a favorite. I hope you don’t question me or try to heap accusations upon my name like that ever again, Director Forbes. Because if you do, I’ll walk away right now and take away everything that has my name attached to it."

As the two of them had a staring contest, the air filled with tension. It was Wilford Forbes who looked away first after he calculated the cost of removing and replacing all the songs Jelissa made, the cost of rescheduling, and the cost of explaining it to the executives.

After running the expenses in his mind, Wilford Forbes gave in.

If she wanted to have her little moment, then fine. It wouldn’t affect the end goal anyway. But if she wanted an apology, she had another thing coming.

"Let’s just agree to disagree and move on. We have a busy day planned." Wilford announced.

"Alrighty, let’s move on to the two new songs you’ve all learned. We’ll be starting with the Unique Qrew. Both teams, please get into position. You’ve all been working on learning your team parts, and now Kim Young-woo and Jaywalks will also organize the stage placements at the beginning and end, while all the judges decide which individuals deserve extra parts in the joint portion of the song. Make sure you all give it your best, even though it’s just practice. Okay?" Jelissa announced, smoothly moving past her interaction with Wilford Forbes.

As the contestants got up and took their positions, Jelissa smiled remorsefully to herself.

Actually, she had lied just now.

After all, she was the one helping Ari’s team with their actual performance prep and keeping it a secret from Wilford and the other teams, which she supposed was a form of favoritism.

Still, seeing how Wilford flexed his muscles each time while making it difficult for the team opposing his nephew, she didn’t regret a single thing and would absolutely do it again.

******

And just like that, the 14 boys continued practicing for the rest of the day.

And while the contestants were slaving away late into the evenings, fans were settling in to watch the episode.