"It's too high. Why don't you or Jamie take that part?"

"I don't think I can reach that note. You and Jamie should do it."

"Hmmm, my voice might crack if I strain too much. You and Jamie should try splitting it."

Ari looked at the current parts distribution, which had him and Jamie doing over 60% of the singing, before staring at his teammates' stat sheets.

[James Jones III]

[Age 19]

[Vocals: A- (S+)]

…

[Levi Temple]

[Age 19]

[Vocals: B- (S)]

[Woobin Choi]

[Age 20]

[Vocals: C- (B+)]

[Alfonso Silva]

[Age 20]

[Vocals: C(B)]

[Justin Cavendish]

[Age 21]

[Vocals: C+(A-)]

"Are you guys fuc- messing around with me?"

Having dealt with people being greedy for parts in his previous teams, this was the first time he was dealing with people avoiding claiming parts like the plague, and Ari couldn't understand it.

Excluding Jamie and Levi, the others were firmly in the upper average stats of singers, even if they preferred to rap.

There was no reason for them to avoid singing parts, even if it was slightly on the higher side.

Ari really couldn't allow this.

If he, as the leader, maintained the current part distribution, he could already see the production team labeling him as greedy, which would lead to a whole new round of criticism for being greedy.

As someone who was already being nagged for who knows what on the internet, he would rather avoid that.

"Spit it out. What's the real reason you're avoiding parts?"

Ari glared at them one by one before Justin finally fessed up with a guilty expression.

"The song is high?"

I don't think that's the real reason, but let's pretend to go with that.

"Is the song high, Jamie?"

Ari glanced over at Jamie, the resident expert musician, while mentally urging him to take his side even if he had to lie.

"Objectively, it's not a little high but not that bad. The highest note is E6, and while they might not be able to reach that comfortably, the melody is mainly within the E4 and E5, which, from what I've heard you all sing, you should be able to reach with practice and proper vocal coaching." Jamie explained with a bright smile.

Smiling happily that, for once, the telepathy worked, Ari turned back to them while tapping his foot impatiently.

"Music genius kid says you can reach the notes, so what's the real issue?"

"Well…Even if Jamie says that, it is a bit high for me. What if my voice cracks? Especially with the Golden Generation sunbae-nim in attendance and coaching us to perform their own song. It will be really embarrassing if we do badly. And if the choreography is added…well, it's easier for you and Jamie to sing it, so…" Choi Woobin finally explained his thought process, but Ari was unsympathetic.

"So what? I don't get it? Just practice until you get it or die trying. Do you think Jamie and I don't need to breathe while we do choreography? Or that our voices won't crack when strained? I understand that you don't want to do the extremely high parts, but this? Unacceptable. Let's try assigning parts again. Jamie, if you think they can sing it, speak up. I'll mark them down. We're going to get as even a split as possible because I don't want complaints later when you think you're not standing out enough."

"Why don't we just lower the key of the song? That way, Alfonso, Justin, and I could comfortably sing it while you and Jamie still do the high parts. Levi seems fine with his part." Choi Woobin interrupted.

He was the weakest singer of the 3 and was really worried about looking bad in front of Golden Generation, especially because he was originally a trainee at the same company as them.

The thought of ruining his senior's song and performing badly in front of a lot of his peers was very frightening, and he hadn't realized how hard the song was until he actually tried singing the verses.

Seeing that he actually looked worried and wasn't making a fuss just because, Ari actually considered it.

He felt that the song would lose its charm if lowered, and he would prefer for everyone to just power through, but-

At the end of the day, they were a team, so the majority's decision was the way to go.

Walking over to the camera, Ari covered it with his arm so no visuals were recorded.

"We can vote, and if the majority says yes, we'll lower the key of the song. I'll be abstaining from the vote, so for the rest of you, eyes closed, hands up if you want the key of the song lowered."

Swish!

Levi didn't vote.

Justin raised his hand a tiny bit before dropping it.

Jamie kept his hand down, while Woobin and Alfonso raised theirs.

With a result of 2 for, 1 against, 1 abstaining, and 1 indecisive, it seemed that they had no choice.

"Alright. Thank you for your honesty. Eyes open."

As 5 pairs of eyes stared at him, Ari announced the result.

"The majority says we'll lower the key, so we'll lower it. Jamie?"

"Aye, aye, captain. I'll get it done before lunch so we can reassign parts after eating." Although he was a bit disappointed with the decision, Jamie saluted with a smile.

"C'est bon. Then let's begin working through the choreography while everyone thinks about how we can integrate Justin into it. Justin, do your best to perform as much as you can without hurting yourself, so we can get a general range of motion and see what you can do. Got it? Once we have it down, we can assign the person who will act as the center for the dance break and the beginning. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Sounds good."

"Let's do it."

After a quick warmup and slowing the video down while trying to copy the moves, Ari quickly realized that-

He was quite inflexible.

Actually, if he were to be honest, he was very inflexible!

He thought he had been getting better by diligently following the torturous routine that Mathew had taught him, but nothing in the warm-up routine prepared him to drop down into a full split, leap back up, immediately drop down to a jazz split, and then rise up into a smooth spin, before moonwalking away.

While attempting the choreography, all he was left with were several problems.

Problem 1:

He didn't even know how to moonwalk.

Problem 2:

He not only lacked the flexibility, but he barely had the strength to get back up.

Problem 3:

After attempting the move three times in a row, he was already tired.

Ari could feel his calves and thighs burning with effort, and they were visibly shaking as he stood.

His only saving grace was that he wasn't suffering alone.

The only person having a slightly easier time was Justin, seated on the chair, and he looked simultaneously relieved to not be suffering and miserable as well, since he felt left out.

Everyone else had a pained, blank expression of despair as they stared at themselves in the mirror.

This…are we going to be okay?

Is two weeks enough time to truly learn this and perform it well and win?

NOVA! Can't you give me a special skill that will make me more flexible?

I distinctly remember seeing a skill called Bendy?

Or give me a surprise mission for something.

[Finish your current mission board, and maybe the skill you need will appear.]

[Otherwise, prepare to practice until you want to die.]

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

Are you sure you can't read my mind?

[I wonder?]

[^_^]

[What was it you said the last time?]

[Bonne chance. Hwaiting. Gambare. I believe in you.]

As Ari was glaring at the screen full of mocking words that only he could see, Jamie turned to look back at him.

"Something wrong?"

"No, let's restart the song."

It was going to be a long practice.

**********

Well, not that long.

Once it was 10 o'clock on the dot, much to their shock, Ari promptly released everyone.

Alonso: "Practicing only until 10 pm? Is this a dream?"

Woobin: "You're letting us go before midnight? No death march practice until 2 am? I've heard the horror stories, but was it exaggerated?"

Justin: "Practice is over? Ari, are you sick? You did pass out yesterday, didn't you? Go take some medicine."

Ari: ಠ_ಠ

I'm trying to do you all a favor, and you're talking trash to my face?

Since you love to practice so much, wait for me.

Your torture will begin 3 days before the performance, so look forward to it.

I'll grind all of your bones to dust.

Ari reached out and squeezed Justin's face, which was located at the perfect height to let out some frustration.

"Whysqueezemee? WhatdidIdo?" Justin looked at him with a betrayed expression, even as his cheeks were being used as a stressball.

"You were the closest, and your cheeks are fluffy. This week, I decided to be kind, generous, and caring so I don't lose my voice. Next week, prepare to wish you were dead. More importantly, I have things to do, so if you'd like to practice solo or together, go ahead. Jamie, Levi, and I won't be in attendance. However, we'll meet up at 7:00 a.m. tomorrow. Don't make me come drag you out of your bed."

"Is it a party? A secret hangout? Wherever the three of you are going, I want to come!" Justin looked at Ari with sparkly eyes, and the other two looked on with interest as well.

"Ah, free labor? Great! Are you interested in studying music theory for song creation, learning to sing, rap, and compose in French, and doing my physics homework? I pay in snacks and possible future credits."

Shake shake shake.

3 heads began shaking simultaneously as Ari's lips curved in an (innocent in his eyes) and (ominous in their eyes) smile.

"No? Are you sure? It will be fun~. Team bonding!"

"No, thank you! I should sleep early because of my leg!"

"If I'm dying next week, I'm going to catch up on sleep this week."

"Obrigado for the offer, but no."

Before Ari could say anything else, two people ran, and one person scootered out of the practice room.

"Tsk, too bad. Anyway, let's shower and go. Levi, I don't know where you think you're going. You're with me."

"You're dragging me, too?"

"Otherwise? You had different plans? Going to sleep at this time? Have you no shame?"

Levi: ಠ_ಠ

What did shame have to do with anything?

He had actually planned on sleeping, but clearly, this energizer bunny demon disguised as a human being had other plans for him.

Ari gave him a mischievous smile.

"I thought so. Come along. Your French rapping is improving by leaps and bounds, and Jamie said his dad's lawyer looked over the contract. We have a song and money to make. Plus, I need someone to distract the staff member while I sneak out, and Jamie is bad at lying."

So you need me to cover for you?

No, but why is he still being included?

Wasn't it a one-time thing?

"I'm not a bad liar!" Jamie protested with an offended expression while Ari rolled his eyes.

"And my hair is naturally red. Anyway, didn't you like the snacks at the karaoke place? Don't pretend. Let's go."

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