jooheon immediately looked up from his phone and saw kihyun in front of his bunk.

"i'm sorry, did i bother you?" jooheon asked.

"not really. i woke up to use the bathroom and saw some light coming from the cracks of my bunk."

"oh, sorry, hyung."

"i'll be back."

kihyun quickly walked to the bathroom to do his business, then came out.

"what were you doing anyway?" he asked out of curiosity, sitting on the edge of jooheon's bed.

"texting y/n."

kihyun's eyes widened when he heard her name; the reason why he couldn't fall asleep.

"oh? what did she say?"

"actually, i texted her first to check up on her."

"is she doing okay? is she still crying? is-"

"she's doing fine, hyung."

kihyun felt relieved after hearing those words.

"well then, you should sleep now. good night jooheon." kihyun said, standing up from the bed and climbing onto his own.

"goodnight hyung!" jooheon whispered back, loud enough for kihyun to hear.

~ a couple weeks later ~

"hurry up, hurry up!" kihyun nagged the others, as they quickly got into the cab. today was the day of their evaluation, and they woke up late.

they were nervous, but a little relieved that y/n was going to be there.

after she ended her school year last week, they've hung out with her a lot. however, minhyuk still wanted to know what happened between her and group a. ever since a couple of weeks ago, they did not discuss the subject, nor have seen group a.

arriving at their destination, the boys bowed quickly to the driver and paid for the ride. they all ran into the warehouse, where they had their evaluations.

entering the place, they saw that group a was already starting to prepare their performance on the stage.

"why are you guys so late?" the boys got startled at the sudden voice and saw y/n in front of them.

"sorry." they bowed.

"you're lucky my dad isn't here. if he is here, he would minus points for your attendance, you know that!"

"are you gonna tell your dad?" jooheon asked.

"no! i won't tell him anything." she replied, smiling. "now hurry up and go!"

the boys nodded, and they quickly ran backstage.

"group b, please come out!" the crew member announced, gathering the boys. it was time for their performance. they were nervous because practicing a few days before, kihyun couldn't hit his high note in the song they were performing.

"we're gonna do good today." shownu said, leading the cheer. "ready?"

"one, two, three, fighting!" the boys cheered. they quickly walked on the stage and saw y/n sitting with her dad in front of them. they got into the positions to start their performance. once the music started, they began to dance, sing, and rap.

she was happy to see them performing one of her favorite songs. her father saw the bright smile coated on her face, which made him smile too.

kihyun, this is the part. he thought to himself as his solo singing part was coming. a few moments before, he prayed that he would hit his high note. he opened his mouth, and his talented vocals filled the warehouse. he reached his high note, and he was happy that he did.

once the music stopped, y/n clapped loudly for them, giving them a standing ovation. the trainees smiled and bowed, walking to the front of the stage while waiting for their criticism.

"well, it seems like y/n enjoyed your performance a lot." hyungwon said, chuckling and looking at his daughter.

"that was amazing!" she exclaimed, jumping in place. "kihyun's high note truly gave me the chills!"

kihyun blushed at the compliment and nodded; he was also proud of himself that he hit it too.

"i'm also happy you all followed what i told you the first day i saw you in the practice room. the eye contact and your expressions. you should all debut right now!"

the five boys blushed and bowed. "thank you!"

"yes, and i have to agree with y/n. you all did very well today. group a, please come out."

group a walked out, nervous about what was coming for them. they knew that group b would do good because of y/n. but surprisingly, y/n also gave them good compliments despite the drama that happened to them.

"according to y/n and i, both of you guys did really well today." hyungwon started to explain. "group a, you definitely improved from the last evaluation. group b, you've been doing excellent from the last time. y/n, which one was your favorite?"

"if i am honest, both groups were my favorite. both groups fulfilled the goal, in my opinion."

"if y/n says so, i agree with her." he said. "both groups did excellent today, and i wish this type of work to be done for future evaluations."

"thank you!" the two groups said and bowed.

"now, i promised last month that i would announce when the post-evaluation would be, right?" hyungwon asked. the trainees nodded. "i would like to talk about that now, actually. i suggest you all should sit because this might take a while to explain."