"Welcome to the finale of HYBE SHOWDOWN August! Let's see which Trainee will take over the cup tonight.!"

Ever since Hybe had been established from the former BigHit Entertainment,it brought with it all the different labels-Pledis,Source,KOZ and more with it.

This was good for business. But for trainees-it was added pressure. More competition under one building.

And to add to that competitive spirit was the Hybe Showdown. There were no more monthly evaluations,instead the trainees would have a friendly battle,showcasing their skills. This was indeed healthier for the trainees though,as they would not perform under stress in front of the stern eyes of mentors,but with passion in front of their peers,to show how much they had learnt.

Today was the first ever Hybe Showdown. SK was awaiting her chance ever since she heard there would be a public showdown. She would make her mark and knock Jo Woochan out of the park.

She successfully made it to the finals. Her vocals were still lacking a bit,but her biggest opponent was Chan-ie . They were neck to neck now by the time the rap and vocal segment finished.

She glanced over at Woochan who raised his eyebrows.

"Get ready to be thrashed kiddo " she whispered and he chuckled.

"Same to you sweetheart."he whispered making her cringe.

Four of them made it through to the semifinale~

Lee Sangwon
Bae Sae Kyung
Jo Woo Chan
Justin Jay Takagi

"How about the maknae come up here and draw chits to see who his opponent would be for the semi finale? Trainee Justin,step up here please."

Sae started praying, "Jo Woochan is mine,Jo Woochan is mine,Jo Woochan is mine..."

EunChae looked at her in disbelief. What was the girl even murmuring??

SK observed the petite younger boy named Justin who got up from his seat. He was so young,he was literally a baby. Takagi- he must be Japanese. But he looked mixed. He was probably the prettiest boy she had ever seen.

"Why are Japanese kiddos so sweet?" She was reminded of Ta-Ki who was competing in I-LAND at the moment. Something about Justin was familiar though,but she couldn't just recollect it.

The younger boy reached out into the glass bowl and picked out a chit. Sae continued her Woochan cult chant.

"Bae...Sae...Kyung!" Justin Jay exclaimed with a sparkling smile as he showed the name the piece of paper held to the audience.

Woochan and Sangwon automatically became opponents.

SK was surprised.  Looks like she had to battle the kiddo first.

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The first battle was between Sangwon and Woochan.

Never did SK think she would have to support the betrayer. But she did today.

"Jo Woochan...Jo Woochan should win...please oh lord..."she started her cult chant again. EunChae thought her best friend went crazy.

The rules were simple,they had to freestyle to the music played for this dance round. And the expert would decide who conducted themselves with better technique and showcased a better performance.

Sangwon started off. Sae supposed he was primarily a vocalist,due to his excellent renditions in the past rounds,but boy he turned out a great dancer too.

Whatever nervousness be showcased before the music started was gone in a second and he transformed into the image of the powers a 6 year old trainee had.

But Jo Woochan's experience on the stage happened to work in his favour. He had a great stage presence and was a natural dancer.

Sae genuinely enjoyed both their performances.

The judge however did have a hard time proclaiming the winner,as he scratched his bald head in confusion.

"Lee Sangwon, I love how your body moves in a fluid way,but you need to control your energy a little. Jo Woochan wins this by a slight margin." He finally announced.

The two trainees warmly hugged each other.

"Sangwonie hyung,you gotta crush me next time bro-" Chan jokes as Sangwon laughs.

"Well,if you aren't already by then,sure. Your girlfriend has been shooting daggers of love all this time."he whispered as they got down the stage.

Chan quickly flipped his head in Sae's direction to find her sneering at him.

"That birdie? Yep she is,but not of love,but death. Daggers of Death." He shook his head as Sangwon smirked.

"I didn't even mention who your girlfriend is...why did you think it was her? Unless..."He sprinted away before Woochan could come to his senses.

"Aah hyung!"

Sae was ready. Chan made it to the final,so she finally had a chance to beat him.

"Let's get done with this kid first." She thought as she entered the battle arena.

Justin was quite tall though,maybe even a little taller than her. He stood opposite to her and smiled.

She walked upto him and tapped on his shoulder.

"Don't worry,noona is going to go easy on you munchkin. Give your best."

Justin Jay giggled in response and nodded.

First up,Sae.

She let the beats take over her body and as she vibed along and pulled out some funky moves. Hip-hop was in her blood,and this challenge was made for her.

Everyone clapped as she was done,so did her cute baby opponent.

"Go ahead JJ! Give your best munchkin." She cheered.

But she was not ready for the 'kiddo'

(Please Watch this video to see the battle between SK and JJ,you will enjoy it,and watch till the very end please for the victory speech,it's part of the storyline ❤)

Well,turns out the 'kiddo' was not 'kidding' around.

Forget fourteen year olds,she had never seen anyone dance like that,neither did the other trainees,everyone was in awe.

He was aggressive and to an extent-scary. Yes,opponents would gulp if they saw him move. He was a genius at his craft. The dance lord.

As the final moments of one minute came close he approached her and started twirling around her in circles before finishing his performance by winking at her,she couldn't help but chuckle.

And there he went-back to being an angelic baby.

SK knew by this time,who the winner would be. Justin had this different level of stage presence while he danced.

The result came as no surprise.

"JJ moves into the finale!"

The both of them shared an amicable handshake before JJ did a little celebratory dance before heading to the mic as SK got back to her seat.

"You did really well!" EunChae cheered her up,and Sae smiled." Now that we got some real good competition,let's work even harder!" Sae whispered as Chae smiled and nodded.

They turned their heads back to see JJ's short interview.

"So how do you feel on moving into the final?"

The young boy carefully gathered his words,as he was still not quite familiar with Korean yet.

"I am very happy...I am glad to compete...here...I joined this month only ...thank you to my trainers for teaching me a lot...I will do even better in the finale..."he smiled and nodded as everyone clapped.

He suddenly seemed to remember something and he came back.

"I also want to thank...SK noona...for going 'easy on me' " he chuckled.

SK clicked her tongue in disbelief as everyone broke into laughter at the young boy's cute diss.

"You are dissing me boy? Want my diss too? Won't go easy on you there." She shrieked comically as he broke down in splits and so did everyone else.

She joked along because she herself found it quite amusing. She really called this guy 'kiddo'

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Well Jo Woochan did manage to go through to the finals,but fell a little short to beat the dance prodigy boy Justin,who with a stunning performance,took the cup.

"Our New Champion! Justin Jay Takagi!"

The little boy beamed as he was handed over his trophy as everyone cheered on.

"How do you feel on winning the HYBE SHOWDOWN AUGUST?! "

"Neomu Haenbokhamnida(Very happy)"

"I will keep working hard...Kkeut"

"Kkeut?!" Sae found it so cute she wanted to go right then and there and pinch his squishy cheeks.

"Woah...daebak Justin Jay Takagi." She nodded with a smile.

Just then EunChae came upto her.

"Yah...do you know who he is?" She asked is a surprised tone.

"I feel like I have read about him somewhere...sometime back..."Sae bit her lip trying to remember.

"Bae Sae Kyung! He is the 2 time winner and current defending champion of the Dance Alive Hero"

"That World Dance championship?"she was beyond surprised. That was no ordinary feet.

"Woah...a real life Boss Baby"
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The trainees were all walking out at the end,when Chan ran upto Sae,who was still in the Boss Baby trance.

"Yah...EunChae was telling me you were doing some satanic chant before the competition started." He smirked.

"What chant?" She asked,nonchalantly.

"Umm...Erm...Woochan is mine...?"he awkwardly said,his ears turning red.

"Ah! Yes,I was. Because I wanted you to be my opponent so I could give you one kick on the stage and beat you up." She threw a couple of punches in the air as he gulped.

"For real?" He asked,as sweat trickled down his forehead as she brought her face closer to his.

"Why not? You wanna try?" She rolled her eyes and backed off.

"Anyway,it's alright,I have finally foun a worthy opponent in dance now. Justin Jay Takagi!" She said in a gradiose manner,stars shooting out her eyes.

"What do you mean worthy? I wasn't one before?" He pouts.

She gave him a 'meh' look.

"Ya,you just lost to him. Mr 5 year old trainee backstabber friend Jo Woochan!"she sneered as he chuckled.

"So did you miss 5 year old kid rapper bird brain Bae Sae Kyung!"he dissed back.

Sae collected her calm,and turned to him and fake smiled.

"If we are done with our daily banter,I will excuse myself now,i have some important business to attend to~"she sprints away.

"Where are you going Sae??" He yells.

"To adopt Justin Jay Takagi to be my guru." She yells back from distance.

"That's not how adoptions work Sae Bird!"

"Shut up Pokémon!"

Her Pokémon insult mad him chuckle.

He recollected the moments of his final battle.

He could see she was rooting for Justin,whilst doing another satanic ritual for his failure.

"Anyone but you!" Her words wouldn't leave his mind.

He shook his head to get him outside it.

"That Sae Bird really~Aish"

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A/N : 1st July 2022

Introducing Justin Jay Takagi,shortly JJ or JayJay!

He is a 2006 liner Japanese -American,and a dance prodigy having won many worldwide dance championships. And probably the most angelic guy you have ever seen.

The Hybe Showdown episodes are real! Go check them out on TsineeA's Youtube channel asap! You will connect better with the boys and the story :)

Please do vote and comment,they really make my day 💕

Saranghae

~Author V✌️