three.
. • -
《 your point of view 》
ᴺᴼᵂ ᴾᴸᴬᵞᴵᴺᴳ : Don't Tell 'Em - Jeremih
1:49 ───ㅇ───── 4:27
⇄ ◃◃ ⅠⅠ ▹▹ ↻
"TATTER of BEBE will attack first. Jin of D-COY will attack second. The battle of the two dancers begins now. You guys ready? Fight!"
Jin tucker her hands into her pants pockets, her head tilting as Doja Cat's 'Need to Know' began to play. Her eyes were fixed on Tatter as she watched the blonde performed her freestyle.
The girl was undoubtedly skilled at her dance. Her moves were smooth, on beat, and energetic. Her performance was genuinely fun to watch and she was doing a good job at eliciting responses from the other crews and Daniel himself, as he was heard making little exclaims.
Jin stood in one place for the 40 seconds, giving casual little finger-points toward Tatter to hype her up whenever a move she did caught her eye.
Jin found herself feeling amused by Tatter's performance, as she had a talent for really capturing the energy of the tunes and notes blaring for everybody's ears. She was damn good, but Jin figured she could combat it.
"Five, four, three, two, one. Switch! D-COY's Jin." Daniel eventually announced, the song switching up to Jeremih's 'Don't Tell 'Em' once Tatter had stopped dancing.
Jin instantly immersed herself in her performance, adjusting her cap and rolling her shoulders once she heard the song playing, along with her crewmates cheering for her extremely loudly in the background.
Jin soon began to perform her freestyle as her mind consumed the melodies, making use of her facial expressions while she moved. With her movements being swift, sharp, and lyrical, Jin's dance was one of passion and determination.
"Energy! Energy!" Daniel cheered.
Jin was genuinely having a good time too. Even though she was battling at that moment, performing her freestyle filled her with a sense of joy. The dance she came up with was fun for her and she showed that through the energy she put into it.
The cheers from other crews and small smiles coming from Tatter were also giving her a rush.
"Five, four, three, two, one. Battle over!" Daniel announced, the music fading away, bringing Jin's dance to its conclusion.
Jin let out a deep breath as she pushed up the sleeves of her shirt whilst listening to the cheers and applause from all around her.
"You did that!" Yeong shouted out to her joyfully as she clapped her hands aggressively, Jin chuckling silently.
"Let's check out the result of the battle. Fight judges, card open. Three, two, one." Daniel spoke to the three judges.
Anticipation hit like a tsunami as Jin heard Daniel speak, her eyes briefly closing before she turned her head and looked over at the judges.
With a score of 2 to 1, she had won.
Loud cheers emerged from the other members of D-COY as Jin gave Tatter a polite bow before going up to her and extending her hand out for a friendly handshake.
Tatter smiled and accepted the gesture. "You were so good. Congratulations." Tatter told Jin as they shook hands.
"Thank you. You were too. Thank you." Jin replied softly before the girls went their separate ways, the members of BEBE comforting Tatter after her loss.
"She won, she won, she won." Yeong was chanting whilst her and Gigi were dancing around out of their seats, R.2 enthusiastically dancing in her seat while Soul clapped her hands proudly.
"That's our leader!" Gigi shouted as she slapped her hand against Jin's back once she had returned, Jin exclaiming slightly before shoving Gigi in a playful manner.
"First win!" R.2 cheered.
"That battle was hot, honestly." Soul remarked casually with a few nods of her head.
"Exactly!" Gigi agreed.
"Relax." Jin said with a playful shake of her head.
After hearing the comments from the judges, mostly praise given to both competitors from the 1-on-1, Jin placed a 'lose' chip on BEBE's scoreboard.
Whilst doing so, she couldn't and did not resist the urge to glance at their leader again, noticing that Bada's eyes were already on her.
Jin was quick to give another bow of politeness before scurrying her way back to her crew, Bada's gaze remaining fixed on her a few seconds longer before she looked at her own crewmates. "Shoot me, shoot me, shoot me." Jin mumbled.
"You know, she was low-key eyeing you during the battle." Gigi told her.
"Who?" Jin asked as she sat back down.
"Bada." Gigi answered.
"Stop lying." Jin immediately denied Gigi's claim.
"Wha-- I'm not! She was straight up checking you out." Gigi exclaimed.
"She was looking at me because I was battling against her crewmate, you delusional zest fest." Jin retorted.
"She was doing the up-and-down look thingy when you were dancing! And she did it when you walked back over here too!" Gigi claimed. "Back me up here." She told her fellow crewmates.
"I mean, I wasn't even looking at Bada." R.2 said honestly.
"Neither was I." Yeong said whilst Soul held her hands up in surrender and shook her head.
"You all suck." Gigi scoffed.
"Stop playing with me, Gigi. Please." Jin said as she leaned her elbows against her knees.
A few more intense (and drama-filled) battles took place before the dancers were given a short break. The crews spent their time chatting amongst themselves, drinking their water, and warming up.
"Does this place have a bathroom?" Jin asked her crewmates.
"I'm sure it does somewhere. Go look." Soul replied.
Jin nodded and got up from her seat, approaching one of the staircases and walking up them to go search for the bathroom.
It didn't take her too long to find it and once she did, she entered it and handled her business.
Upon leaving the stall she was in and approaching a sink, she heard faint footsteps slowly starting to get louder. They sounded like they were coming toward her.
Jin didn't pay it any mind and focused on washing her hands, up until she had felt a presence right beside her.
When the woman beside her had took off her cap to splash her face with water from the sink in front of her, Jin's eyes turned toward the side curiously.
Bada. It was Bada.
Jin rapidly looked back down at her hands, her heart skipping a beat the very second she had noticed her fellow competitor.
Bada was standing right next to her and it was taking everything in her for her to maintain her composure.
Jin wasn't too sure about attempting to speak to the tall dancer, as she didn't quite know what to say even though she wanted to say something. She just couldn't be the one to make the first move.
Luckily for Jin, she didn't have to. Bada beat her to it.
"Excuse me, you're... Jin, right?" Bada had asked her.
"Hm? Oh-- Yes, I am. And you're... Bada. It's nice to meet you." Jin replied softly as she turned off the sink in front of her, keeping her tone as tranquil as she usually tried to be.
She turned her head to look at Bada and decided to take the chance to take in her appearance fully now that she could gaze at her without having to be discreet.
"You too." Bada replied enthusiastically with a warm smile in her lips as she placed her cap back on her head, turning off the sink in front of her right after.
Jin liked the way she smiled. She was so pretty. Her aura was so much softer when she wasn't on the dance floor too. It was like looking at two different people.
An intense persona with monstrous skill that could bend any genre of music to her will and entice with the way her body used rhythm. And then, an easygoing persona with an idyllic aura about her and a smile that could heal sore eyes.
Jin hesitated at first, but she ultimately couldn't resist the chance to try and make her smile more.
Jin was usually the type to only speak when spoken to unless a situation required her to speak first. However, she would voice her opinions and thoughts whenever she felt like it. Now was one of those moments where she felt a strong urge to say what was on her mind.
"By the way, you were amazing back there during the battles." She complimented as she snatched a few paper towels from the dispenser and handed some to Bada, noticing how Bada's eyes had visibly lit up at her comment.
"Oh, thank you. Thank you so much." Bada replied politely as her smile grew into a grin, both girls drying off their hands and discarding the paper towels.
"You're welcome." Jin added as she gave Bada a brief, small but visible smile; a subtle sign of the pleasant feeling Bada's presence was bringing to her stoical heart.
"You were great out there too. You were so impressive. Seriously." Bada responded whilst extending her hand out for a handshake.
Jin briefly rose her brows, as she wasn't ready for Bada to compliment her back. She impressed her. "I-- Thank you." Jin said appreciatively as she took Bada's hand and shook it lightly.
It felt like the whole premise of the competition had slipped her mind. Her worried about the battles had faded away.
It was refreshing. So far, the atmosphere had been quite tense. The exceptions to this were BEBE, TSUBAKILL, and JAM REPUBLIC. They seemed to be the more relaxed crews and Jin had a bit of admiration for each of them.
They put in a lot of effort without taking things immensely seriously. BEBE was very laid-back, TSUBAKILL was constantly having fun, and JAM REPUBLIC was very respectful and kind.
They made the competition feel friendlier and Jin liked that because it made things feel more fun. It was refreshing to see people who had no beef and were just enjoying dancing.
Jin preferred things that way and she certainly didn't mind getting along with some of the other contestants if the chance presented itself.
"Of course, of course. You're welcome." Bada said as she gave Jin's hand a light squeeze with both of own before dropping the handshake.
"You're very skilled like in your videos." Jin mentioned bluntly.
"You watch my videos?" Bada asked her curiously.
"Yeah. I... remember seeing you on Instagram a while back and I had no clue who you were at the time, but I thought that your dance was really cool so I looked at all of your reels out of curiosity." Jin admitted calmly and honestly with a nod.
"All of them?" Bada asked with her brows raised.
"Some of them-- a portion of them." Jin quickly corrected herself, Bada chuckling slightly. "You just looked very cool to me."
"Are you a fan?" Bada then asked her with a sly smirk, her tone laced with teasing and amusement.
The question caught Jin off guard and she didn't answer it immediately.
"Is that a yes, my fan?" Bada asked playfully.
"Don't start pushing it. You're skilled, just saying." Jin retorted quickly as she crossed her arms.
"Well, thank you for watching my videos. You seem very kind." Bada said gratefully yet teasingly as she grinned at the shorter dancer, who then rolled her eyes. "Do you want to talk some more before the next round starts?" She offered.
Jin's brows briefly rose again. "Sure. Your room or mine?" She asked.
"Can I see yours?" Bada asked curiously.
"Sure." Jin agreed with a nod before she began to make her way out of the bathroom, bringing the fellow leader to her crew's hideout where they could sit down more comfortably and chat.
After taking their seats on one of the couches together, they began to share little tales and anecdotes about their experiences with dance, both bonding over their shared interest for it at an early age and how they both had a desire to lead their own crews.
The atmosphere in the small room was tranquil and warm. The smiles and banter shared made for a pleasant and comfortable aura that truly relaxed Jin's nerves from the competitions before.
Jin had got curious and asked Bada about her experiences with idols, to which Bada provided her with the names of a few idols she's worked with, whether it be as a backup dancer, director, or choreographer.
Jin raised her brows hearing Bada mention working with Aespa on 'Savage', as well as creating their highlight move for 'Next Level'. "Wait, you did that?" She perked up.
"Mm-hmm." Bada hummed with a nod.
"The part where it's goes, 'I'm on the next level'?" Jin asked, singing a little bit of the song as she raised her arm to do the move Bada spoke of, to which Bada chuckled quietly and did the dance along with her.
Jin began to smile a bit as her as Bada joined her, both girls singing the lyrics that went with their moves.
The move was trending back when the song first came out, Jin recalled. She had seen it so many times that she memorized it and still had it memorized to this day.
Jin was also caught off guard when Bada mentioned working with Lisa of BLACKPINK in the 'LILI's FILM' movie.
"You were in that?" Jin asked with her brows raised, Bada chuckling as she nodded her head a few times.
Jin didn't hesitate to take out her phone and search for the video, which made Bada laugh a bit. She looked pretty when she laughed too.
Jin remembered seeing the LILI FILM the day it came out. It felt like everything was coming full circle knowing that Bada was in it.
Upon finding the video and clicking it, Jin spotted a girl in the video with hair like Bada's and immediately recognized her, letting out a quiet, "Ohh."
Jin was amazed by Bada. She was not only a talented dancer, but a sought-after choreographer that was famous in the K-Pop industry. Her eyes were giving away all the admiration she had for the girl sitting across from her.
She listened to the girl speak attentively, taking in every word that came from her mouth while occasionally adding her own input. Her gaze never left Bada not once, her eyes flickering up and down from time to time just to take her beauty in fully. It was hard not to.
It was more than just her striking looks though. Bada seemed quite kind and she was very easy to talk to despite the circumstances and the competition. Despite how intense her dance was, her general demeanor was much lighter. Her voice was soft and pleasant to listen to, so much so that Jin could listen to her talk all day.
Both women were absorbed by their peaceful reminiscence and had lost track of time. Their focus went to the connection slowly forming between them with every passing second.
Jin was also pleased to hear that Bada was a choreographer and backup dancer for KAI. She recalled seeing her and KAI together on one of Bada's Instagram reels dancing to 'Rover', but just assumed she was a friend of his. It made more sense to her now.
"KAI too? Really?" Jin asked curiously.
"Yes. I've directed a lot of his performances, but I think that as of now, 'Rover' is the one that's been trending the most recently-- or somewhat recently." Bada explained.
"That's quite amazing. You're iconic. You make so many trends." Jin remarked with an impressed raise of her brows.
"Wouldn't you know all about that?" Bada asked her.
"...Have you seen my videos too?" Jin asked with a slight tilt of her head.
"Ah, well..." Bada trailed off as she leaned her chin on the back of her palm, briefly glancing away. "During the evaluations, they mentioned your history of viral choreographies and starting trends, so I got a bit curious and looked to see which trends were originated by you." She admitted.
Jin chuckled silently with a smirk as she took her cap off her hand and adjusted her hair with her free hand, Bada's eyes turning toward her again as if she wanted to take the chance to look at her up close without the cap on. "Are you a fan?" Jin asked.
"Okay, now who's pushing it?" Bada asked back.
"Don't be embarrassed, my fan." Jin responded. "Do you want a picture too?"
"Was I the one stalking your Instagram reels?" Bada questioned with an eyebrow raised, a small giggle leaving her.
"See how you push it? I wasn't even stalking. I was being curious." Jin claimed.
"But when I'm curious, it's a problem." Bada exclaimed with a laugh.
"Whatever." Jin rolled her eyes, looking away as she crossed her arms.
"Jin!"
Jin looked over at the door when she heard her name being shouted from the other side of it.
"Jin, where are you, you-" Gigi spoke as she opened the door to the hideout, her brows raising when she saw Bada and Jin sitting together. "Oh."
"Yes?" Jin questioned her.
"Sorry to interrupt, but the next battle is gonna start soon. We need you down." Gigi informed before looking over at Bada. "Hi, Bada!" She greeted with a happy wave.
"Hi." Bada replied politely as she waved back.
"Nice to meet you." Gigi grinned before looking at Jin again. "Fight zone." She told her as she gestured her thumb backward before walking away.
"Shall we?" Bada asked Jin.
"After you." Jin replied as she got up and walked over to the door, opening it for Bada to walk through first.
"Why, thank you." Bada smiled as she got up and walked through the door, Jin eyeing her up and down briefly.
Then, a smile slowly started to form on her lips, that smile turning into a grin as she shut the door of her hideout and began to walk down the hallway, both girls eventually reaching the fightzone and rejoining their own crews.
"Were you with Bada this whole time?" R.2 asked Jin curiously with her brows raised in surprise.
"Yes." Gigi answered before Jin could.
"Ooh!" Yeong exclaimed with her fingers over her lips.
"Oh, relax. We were just talking." Jin stated as she waved her crewmates off.
The attention was taken off of Jin quickly enough when Daniel began to announce another battle.
Plenty of them went on, adding more and more wins and losses to each crew's scoreboard.
Amid the battles, R.2 had been called out both times. She won one battle against JAM REPUBLIC's Ling and lost the other against 1MILLION's Amy.
Jin was called up to choose a No Respect Dancer, to which she picked someone from Deep N Dap. She had performed a freestyle to Chris Brown's 'Loyal' ft. Lil Wayne & Tyga and after her talk with Bada, she felt somewhat happier. She had a lot more fun during that round.
During her turn, many cheers came from her crewmates, fueling her determination. She didn't notice it herself, but she was also receiving some support from her new acquaintance.
Amid the battle, the rest of D-COY happened to notice Bada hyping Jin up, grinning from ear to ear, tilting her head almost in the manner of a curious cat, and clapping for her by the end of it.
It was another win for D-COY.
Gigi told Jin about it again and was actually given support from the other crewmates that time, which made Jin believe it more.
Bada ended up having a second battle against MANNEQUEEN's Redlic and Jin decided to show her support as well, clapping her hands as loud as she physically could whenever Bada did something that excited her-- which was majority of the time.
She was practically gripping the end of her shirt watching the girl's cool demeanor as she moved, trying to hold in the joy she was experiencing from watching Bada's skilled dance. She just loved girls who were good at dance. A lot.
The girl had even shifted onto the floor and scooted closer to the dance floor just to get a closer view of Bada. She was whipped. Her crewmates knew it. She knew it.
Yeong, while having not been picked, got to pick her own opponent-- which was Vessi of LADYBOUNCE-- and she won.
Gigi didn't get to battle in the normal rounds, however she did get to when she had volunteered to be in the Ace Battles, winning in another battle against Deep N Dap and losing one against Wolf'Lo.
Gigi had shown off some impressive hip-hop and breakdance moves that had caught the other crews completely off guard.
Eventually, some Crew Battles were held where crews had to compete as groups against one another. And wear matching outfits. Afterward, the final results were revealed.
"For your pride, and for the honour of your crew, you have engaged in a fiercer battle as you represented your country. I will now announce the final result of the No Respect, Battle with the Weakest Dancer." Daniel spoke. "Ninth place."
Everyone was filled with immense anticipation upon hearing Daniel's words. No one wanted to end up last.
"LADYBOUNCE. One win and eight losses." Daniel announced.
"Damn." Gigi muttered with a chuckle, Soul chuckling as well.
"Don't be mean." R.2 scolded them.
"Why not? They were laughing at us too." Soul replied matter-of-factly.
"That doesn't mean we need to be on the same level as them." R.2 stated.
"Fair, fair." Gigi nodded.
"The first last-place crew of Street Woman Fighter 2 will start with a dishonorable title of the weakest crew." Daniel added.
LADYBOUNCE was less than pleased with this. After saying a few words, their leader Nob placed their crew's chip beside tenth place on final scoreboard.
"Eighth place, 1MILLION with 4 wins and 11 losses." Daniel said, 1MILLION's leader Lia silently placing her crew's chip next to eighth place.
"Eleven is crazy!" Gigi muttered with wide eyes.
"Seventh place, TSUBAKILL with 4 wins and 6 losses."
TSUBAKILL's leader Akanen didn't seem all that pleased with the results, but she still got up with a smile and placed her crew's chip next to seventh place.
"Sixth place, Deep N Dap with 5 wins and 6 losses."
Deep N Dap's leader Mina Myoung seemed neutral about the results, giving some low-energy claps after she placed her crew's chip next to sixth place.
"Fifth place, JAM REPUBLIC with 6 wins and 6 losses."
JAM REPUBLIC's leader enthusiastically went up and placed her crew's chip next to fifth place, giving a soft, "Thank you." She seemed content just being in the top five.
"Fourth place, D-COY with 6 wins and three losses."
Jin was pleasantly surprised by the results and went over to the board to place her crew's chip next to fourth place, giving a small bow before heading back to her crewmates.
There were some mumbles from other crews about them being placed higher than most expected. The same applied to BEBE.
"Third place, BEBE with 6 wins and 1 loss."
Bada went over and placed her crew's chip next to third place before walking back to her crew with a wide smile on her lips.
"Second place, MANNEQUEEN with 8 wins and 5 losses."
With a calm expression, MANNEQUEEN's leader Funky Y placed her crew's chip next to second place.
"Which crew is the strongest crew that won No Respect, Battle with the Weakest Dancer?" Daniel asked. "It's Wolf'Lo with 12 wins and 1 loss. Congratulations." He announced.
Everyone in Wolf'Lo held up banners with their crew's name on it whilst they were given a round of applause, all of them feeling very proud of themselves and letting it show.
Confidently, Wolf'Lo's leader Halo placed her crew's chip next to first place.
. . . . .
"I'm proud of you all today. We made it into top five and we ranked fourth. That's a great start in my eyes." Jin said whilst her and her crewmates entered their hideout and clapped their hands, having been dismissed from the fight zone.
"Yeah, true. We got pretty high up compared to the people who underestimated us." Soul stated.
"Was I right or was I right?" Gigi asked with a laugh. "And Jin found herself a little crush." She teased Jin.
"I wish you wouldn't. I really, really wish you wouldn't." Jin mumbled as she sat down on a couch, her crewmates joining her.
"Gay, gay, gay." Gigi chanted whilst pointing a finger at Jin, the other three girls doing the exact same thing while Jin pinched the bridge of her nose.
✾
𝚕𝚘𝚌𝚊𝚕 𝚐𝚊𝚛𝚍𝚎𝚗