The Season 1 title track echoed through the ceiling speakers.
- jump in! jump in! fallen for you! -
I woke up to the clamorous music.
'What time is it now...'
Habitually, I reached out and fumbled for where my phone should be, but nothing was there.
'Ah, they confiscated my phone yesterday.'
I sat up and looked at the clock hanging in a corner of the dorm room.
2 PM.
I'd gone to bed at 10 AM, so I'd only slept four hours.
Filming us for twenty-two hours and only letting us sleep for four.
Of course, the production crew was suffering just as much, so I couldn't complain.
Between the Season 1 title track came the broadcast voice of the production staff.
- All contestants, please wake up immediately and gather in the auditorium via the central entrance by 3 o'clock! -
Sigh...
I need to wash up and get ready quickly.
I got down from bed and opened the bathroom door to find Hana unnie in the middle of taking off her top.
I'd forgotten to knock.
I quickly closed the door and said,
"I didn't know you were using it. I'm sorry."
I hadn't expected her to already be awake and washing up.
Hana unnie's voice came from inside the bathroom.
"No~ I forgot to lock the door!"
"I'll knock next time too, unnie."
"Okay~"
But the glimpse I'd caught of Hana unnie's bust was more impressive than I'd thought.
Is that a C? A solid B?
My next goal, after surpassing Mom, is right there.
I went out, finished washing my face in the shared bathroom, and returned to the room.
It seemed Hana unnie was still showering.
To take a shower on this exhausting morning, she must have good stamina.
Meanwhile, the other two were still asleep.
I approached Kim Seyeon first and shook her.
"Seyeon unnie, wake up. We need to get ready by three."
Seyeon unnie barely opened her eyes.
"Huh...? Ah, yes."
Now, Eunsera.
This person was eating her own hair in her sleep.
As I approached Eunsera and put my hand on her, she startled awake with a jolt.
Whoa, that gave me a fright.
"Are you awake? We need to get ready to go out..."
"Ah..."
She looked around, then stared intently at me.
Why...
"Thank you..."
***
After getting ready, I entered the auditorium to find the trainees lined up by tier.
In the front row stood Seoyun unnie and Naeun unnie wearing T-shirts with a large 1 printed on them.
So Tier 1 is the front row.
I squeezed in between the two of them.
"Your pretty girl is here~"
Seoyun unnie said flatly.
"Yeah."
In contrast, Naeun unnie smiled brightly and said to me,
"Our Dohee, what's this? You put on makeup?"
I couldn't exactly skip it when all my roommates were doing theirs.
But it was nothing more than sunscreen and the tint Seoyun unnie gave me over basic skincare.
"How is it? Do I look pretty?"
"Yeah. Totally pretty."
Naeun unnie is so kind, she's really the best.
I glared at Seoyun unnie.
"What are you looking at."
Once all the trainees had gathered in the auditorium, the trainers came up onto the stage.
"Alright everyone, full-fledged practice for the title track 'Banhaesseo' begins today, right?"
"""Yes~"""
Go Yunjeong, the dance trainer, stepped to the center of the stage and spoke.
"Before we begin the full-scale tier-based classes, let's all learn the choreography together first."
On the front screen of the auditorium, the choreography video we'd watched yesterday was played.
Trainer Go Yunjeong explained by breaking down the choreography into short segments.
After learning as a group for about two hours, the trainees ate and moved to their respective tier-based classrooms.
The Tier 1 classroom was on the top floor.
They said it's the top floor because it's Tier 1...
Nothing but hard work climbing the stairs with no real benefit.
I'd rather be on the bottom floor.
The first class for Tier 1 was another dance lesson.
Of course, being able to immediately review the choreography we'd memorized for two hours was actually a good thing.
We entered the classroom and practiced reviewing the choreography until the dance trainer arrived.
I wondered which of the three dance trainers would come.
"Hey guys, hello."
The one who came was the only male dance trainer, Gang Munho.
Of course, just like the others, he was a famous choreographer specializing in current K-pop idols.
"""Hello~"""
"Yeah, this is Tier 1, right? Looking at you now, there are a lot of promising people here. Let's start right away."
The song began.
- The way you look at me is electrifying (electrifying, electrifying) -
Most of the Tier 1 trainees handled the entire choreography.
Of course, a few people made mistakes, but it was still early on.
Trainer Munho looked satisfied.
"Okay, you guys are really good."
"""Thank you!"""
"You all memorize the choreography fast even though you haven't spent much time on it."
"Hmm... then for now... let's try dividing into groups for a moment? Dorm rooms 1-1 and 1-2. Everyone come out."
Seven people, including me, stepped forward.
"Let's start again from the intro part?"
"One~ two one~ two three four."
The seven of us danced to Trainer Munho's count.
"Okay stop stop. Overall, your movements are too strong right now. Do it cuter and more charming. Softer, you know what I mean?"
"""Yes~"""
"Okay, again. One and two and three and four."
"Guys, cutely."
"Cute! I said do it cute! Everyone stop."
Trainer Munho, sounding annoyed, cut the music loudly and pointed at me.
"Dohee, come out to the center."
Ah.
I went out to the center.
"Dohee, you're the youngest in the Tier 1 class, right?"
"Yes..."
"But does that look right? Dance it alone again."
Ah...
I had no choice. This time I danced with less force, as femininely as possible.
"Yes Dohee! That's it. You're so charming!"
It was praise, but for some reason it made me sad.
"Thank you..."
"Okay, let's all go with this kind of charm, yeah?"
The two-hour dance training ended, and a ten-minute break was given until the next class.
But most people only went to the bathroom and then practiced singing while warming up their throats for the upcoming vocal lesson.
A short while later, the vocal trainer, singer Sua, came in.
"""Hello!"""
"Were you all singing? I love the passion~ good, good."
Trainer Sua smiled brightly and sat in front of the piano placed in the center of the room.
"Alright, since we have numbers assigned here too, come out one by one and sing. Who wants to go first?"
While everyone hesitated, trainee Jeong Euna raised her hand.
"I'll sing first!"
"Okay, I like your spirit."
Euna unnie cleared her throat and began to sing.
As expected of someone who'd stepped forward confidently, her skill was outstanding.
But.
"Trainee Jeong Euna."
Trainer Sua's tone was displeased.
"Yes..."
"You know it feels like you're just flowing along flatly right now? You should be getting more and more excited as you head toward the chorus, but it doesn't feel exciting at all."
The trainees who went after her were also top-tier, as expected of Tier 1.
"Trainee Jeon Harang, you're being too insincere. Is that Haru Entertainment's style? That's not Haru style. It's not hip, you're just fidgeting."
"Hana, can't you hit that in real voice instead of falsetto? If you're already scared during practice, what are you going to do on stage?"
"I really don't know how trainee Gong Chaerin is in Tier 1. Being a rapper is no excuse for not being able to sing. What idol these days can't sing just because they're a rapper? Idols are all-round entertainers. There's nothing they can't do."
"Trainee Yu Yerin, you're just off-key."
"Trainee Kim Naeun, try singing to match the song's mood a bit more. Hm? A bit more excitedly."
Contrary to her kind image, what came from Trainer Sua's mouth was harsh criticism.
Still, there were a select few who received praise.
"Oh, Seoyun is really good. It suits the song so well."
"Huihyeon's fundamentals aren't complete yet... but her voice is good. Let's work a bit harder."
"Wow... there's a reason they say she's a candidate for first place. There's a reason people go on about Eunsera."
And finally, my turn.
I started singing.
In the middle of singing, Trainer Sua stopped me.
"Dohee, want to try playing the piano yourself while singing?"
"Ah, understood."
I sat at the piano the teacher moved away from and started singing.
When the song ended, Trainer Sua opened her mouth.
"You're good. Yeah. The rhythm, the pitch, the mood are all good... but do you know why I wanted to hear you sing while playing the piano?"
"No..."
"I did that because I was curious whether Dohee couldn't bring out the points, or if her tone couldn't keep up."
"But the conclusion is that your tone can't keep up."
"Watching you play the piano, I can tell you know all the points. You definitely have musicality befitting a piano genius. That's why when the piano holds it together, your tone comes to life immediately."
"Then in the end, the problem is that your tone is rough."
"You have to think about how to fix that tone yourself, Dohee. Whether you refine it or change it completely, understood?"
"Yes..."
"Yeah. Of course, even though I said that, your overall skill is good. You're charming. Still, let's try a bit harder."
Ah.
What's the problem.
It's hard to blame genetics when Mom and Doa both have such pretty voices.
***
Day 2 of practice.
After vocal, dance, and self-study lessons were all over, it was free time before bed.
Rather than rest, I headed to the large practice room with the vocal rooms.
There were five vocal rooms inside the large practice room.
With ninety-nine trainees, the number of vocal rooms was severely lacking.
If it wasn't free time, there was almost no time to use them.
Of course, I could practice outside, but I preferred a vocal room if possible.
When I arrived at the large practice room, all five vocal rooms had their lights on.
Wow... everyone's practicing like this?
Honestly, I'd been proud of myself for practicing without rest.
This is the baseline?
Aish, I guess I'll dance while waiting.
I practiced dancing in front of the mirror for about thirty minutes.
Nobody came out of the vocal rooms.
Just in case, I approached the vocal rooms and pressed my ear against them, but most were silent.
What, were the lights on by mistake?
I opened one of the vocal room doors.
A trainee startled as the door opened.
Inside the room, a trainee was sitting crouched.
What the.
"What are you... doing here?"
The trainee who had been sitting stood up and said with an apologetic expression,
"Ah... I'm sorry, you need to use the vocal room. I was so tired that I sat down for a moment and fell asleep..."
Well... it wasn't easy memorizing the song in just three days.
So what the production team chose wasn't to extend the schedule, but to reduce sleep.
Yesterday, after twenty-two hours of filming, I slept four hours and woke up to practice.
Today, I slept three hours and woke up to practice.
It was impossible not to be exhausted under such a relentless schedule.
"It's free time now, so you can go back to the dorms and rest."
"Ah... yes, thank you. I'm really sorry."
"It's okay. Cheer up."
"Yes, I'm sorry."
After apologizing to the very end, the trainee left the vocal room.
Ha... suddenly I'm exhausted too.
Should I just sleep?
The moment I thought that, I just started practicing singing again.
Of course, I know that sleeping first and then practicing might be more efficient.
But practice had become something like an obsession for me before I knew it.
On rest days, I make up for it by sleeping twice as much.