Chapter 10
On the first day, there was no separate schedule after group practice.
The trainees, burned by the hard-difficulty song from day one, seemed to have all collapsed as soon as group practice ended.
Thanks to that, I was using this large practice room like a private one.
"Status Window"
[Name: Seonwoo Rin]
Level: 3
Stamina: S-
Vocal: D+
Dance: C
Appearance: B-
Charm: C+
Remaining Points: 1
Traits
- Hatchling, Perfect Match, Rival
My level had risen by one again since the last rank evaluation.
Once again, remaining points had appeared.
I wanted to raise my Dance stat right now, but I was holding back to prepare for future events.
And another peculiar point.
'Why did the Charm stat go up?'
While I hadn't been paying attention, the Charm stat had increased by one level.
The Vocal and Dance stats that I practiced to death for were still the same, so I didn't know how to take this, but.
Anyway, a stat increase was a good thing.
I would need to think more carefully later about how to raise stats, but there were too few clues right now.
'For now, that's not what's important.'
The rank-based lessons starting tomorrow.
Before that, I needed to get the choreography down to some extent.
'Ah, it was good when Kang Ajin and the Bussi brothers were here.'
I owed a lot to those three while preparing for the rank evaluation.
They were skilled enough to make their long trainee periods unnoticeable, and they didn't hold back advice from me.
In a way, meeting such good people from the start in a competition like an audition was already enough luck.
If we were the same rank, we would have spent more time together, but for now, I had to try on my own.
Also, relying on someone wasn't my style.
"Alright, let's stop resting and start again."
When I got up to start practicing again, I felt someone's gaze from outside the practice room door.
Looking toward the door through the mirror.
'Baek Sihyun?'
Baek Sihyun, who was in the same X-Rank as me, was standing outside the door looking at me.
"Did you come to practice?"
When I spoke toward the door, I saw Baek Sihyun nodding.
"Why aren't you coming in? Hurry up and come in."
I gestured to Baek Sihyun, who was standing still, to come in quickly and said so.
Baek Sihyun, who hesitated for a moment, soon entered the practice room.
"I'm sorry for interrupting."
"What are you talking about, this is a shared practice room. Don't mind me and practice comfortably."
At my words, Baek Sihyun nodded quietly.
He was a much more cautious kid than I thought.
Come to think of it, he hadn't said a word in the room except when introducing himself.
I remembered he was criticized for that timid look during the rank evaluation too.
'Did he say he was 18?'
He was the same age as my younger sister.
I didn't know if his personality was originally timid or if it was because of the unfamiliar environment, but perhaps my babysitting instinct kicked in again, as I kept worrying about him.
"Sihyun."
"Yes?"
Baek Sihyun, who had gone to the very corner and was warming up, looked at me with slightly widened eyes when I called his name.
"Did you come to the audition alone? Don't you have friends from the same agency?"
"Yes, I came alone. Our agency is a new one."
"It must be tough being alone."
"No... it's fine."
"Okay, sorry for interrupting your practice. I won't bother you anymore."
At my words, Baek Sihyun bowed his head and started warming up again.
'For now, let's not worry about him and focus on doing my own thing properly.'
Like that, I decided not to pay attention to Baek Sihyun anymore and focused on practice.
'I'll start over from the beginning.'
I recalled the choreography I saw today in my head.
First, the verse.
It wasn't a part that would be a big problem. I was already somewhat familiar with the choreography of the beginning.
The problem was from the chorus.
As soon as it entered the chorus, with the endlessly fragmented beats and ceaseless movements, if I didn't keep my wits about me, I would instantly miss the next move.
'Focus for now.'
Clumsily, I moved my body as much as possible. I tried my best to listen to the accompaniment and follow along.
It was still lacking, but it was a huge improvement compared to the beginning. At first, I couldn't even follow along properly at all.
And after getting past the difficult chorus.
'How on earth am I supposed to do this dance break part?'
I remembered the moves the dancer performed and could follow along in my head, but when I actually tried to move my body, it didn't work as I wanted.
'Ah, if only Kang Ajin were here at a time like this.'
Feeling Kang Ajin's absence once again, I stopped following the music.
Thinking that it might be too much to master this choreography to the end within today, I looked forward.
Reflected in the mirror, I saw Baek Sihyun dancing the dance break section so naturally in the corner of the practice room.
'What? He's too good?'
I stared at Baek Sihyun dancing.
Baek Sihyun was pulling off the choreography he saw for the first time today so naturally that I didn't know why he was in X-Rank.
'At this level, he seems to be better than Kang Ajin?'
Why couldn't he properly demonstrate his skills during the rank evaluation when he had this kind of skill?
I pushed my curiosity aside and started to follow the dance little by little while watching Baek Sihyun's choreography.
Baek Sihyun seemed to have the ability to dance difficult choreography with ease.
Like a fluttering butterfly, he easily digested any movement into his own style.
'Is this what they call a dance line?'
The word 'dance line', which I didn't know where I heard it from, came to mind.
While I was admiring Baek Sihyun and following the dance like that.
"Ah."
Baek Sihyun stopped dancing, perhaps because he got a move wrong in the middle. And then, seemingly feeling my gaze immediately, he looked at me.
"Sorry, there was a part I got stuck on, but watching you do it helped."
Feeling a bit guilty inwardly, I made an excuse to Baek Sihyun.
At my words, Baek Sihyun pondered as if thinking of what to say, then spoke.
"I don't think it's a problem if you watch and follow along to that extent."
"Thanks!"
After speaking to me, Baek Sihyun started practicing again from the move he just got wrong.
Now that I had permission. I started to follow the moves I couldn't do while watching Baek Sihyun dance.
While dancing like that, I felt a strange sensation.
'It feels somehow easier to follow than before? Is it just my imagination?'
It felt like Baek Sihyun was intentionally dancing the movements more loosely for my sake.
I looked at Baek Sihyun's face.
Since Baek Sihyun didn't show any change in expression, I couldn't know what he was thinking.
'He seems like a good guy for some reason.'
***
Da-da-da-da-dam da-da-da-da da-dam-
Entering the agency—no, the morning of the 2nd day of the training camp dawned.
'Devils.'
Hearing the reveille sound, my eyes opened on their own in 1 second.
"Ugh..."
Looking around, I saw people who hadn't yet woken up from dreamland.
'Right, this isn't the military.'
Looking at the kids who still hadn't woken up, I got up right away to finish preparing first.
As I was heading out to go to the washroom, I saw Baek Sihyun following me.
"You woke up early, even though you practiced late yesterday."
"I don't sleep much."
After going to the washroom with Baek Sihyun like that, no one was left in the room, perhaps because the other trainees had also gone out to get ready.
I changed into the practice clothes given by rank.
The X-Rank practice clothes were black, with the letter X engraved in white on the chest.
After finishing preparations and sitting in the room, I heard a knock on the door.
Knock knock-
"Yes, come in."
At my words, the door opened carefully, and the writer I saw yesterday came into the room holding a piece of paper.
"Not everyone has gathered yet. I'll explain for now, so trainee Seonwoo Rin, please pass it on to the other trainees."
"Yes, understood."
The writer handed me the paper she was holding.
"Rank-based training will start from today. You can refer to the schedule I just gave you for the timetable."
At the writer's words, I looked over the schedule and found something strange.
"Um, writer-nim, I don't see X-Rank on the schedule?"
"Yes, I was about to explain that now. X-Rank is self-directed training."
"Yes? Self-directed?"
"For X-Rank, you can freely choose which trainer you receive training from and which rank's classes you attend."
"So what you're saying is, it doesn't matter whether I take A-Rank classes or D-Rank classes?"
"That's right, it doesn't matter even if you don't attend classes. However, you'll have to take full responsibility for yourself. Are there any other questions?"
I pondered the writer's words for a moment, then asked her about a thought that suddenly crossed my mind.
"Then, as long as the schedules don't overlap, it's fine for me to take all the classes I can attend, right?"
At my words, the writer looked a bit flustered as she spoke.
"Uh... of course it's possible, but will you be able to handle it physically?"
"As long as it's not impossible, I'm fine."
"Trainee Seonwoo Rin, don't push yourself too hard. Condition management is also a skill here."
"Yes, I understand. Thank you for the advice."
"Then I'll be going."
The writer gave a greeting as if she had nothing more to say and left.
"Um, hyung."
"Yeah?"
"Are you really going to participate in all the classes?"
After checking the schedule, Baek Sihyun carefully spoke to me.
"If it's possible, wouldn't that be good?"
"Still, it seems like it would be too hard..."
Was he worrying about me because we practiced together yesterday?
It was a side of Baek Sihyun that seemed quite different from his first impression.
"It's fine, let's try it once and if it seems too hard, I'll just stop."
Of course, that wouldn't happen, though.
***
"Alright, that's it for today's class. Everyone worked hard."
"Thank you!"
When Song Youngjun spoke, the A-Rank trainees all vigorously bowed at a 90-degree angle together.
"Wow, it was really too hard. Is everyone okay?"
Shim Sungha said to us as she slumped onto the floor.
Excluding Eugene Kim, who didn't come because she said her condition wasn't good, the four of us in X-Rank took the A-Rank class together.
"Still, it was great. Teacher. You teach well."
Wi Cheonwoo answered with a smile, and Baek Sihyun nodded next to him.
As Wi Cheonwoo said, Song Youngjun was definitely amazing.
As it was an A-Rank class, the trainees' level was high, but Song Youngjun, who caught every single problem and told them the solution even for such trainees, was indeed a pro.
"Then shall we go back to the room now? I think I need to rest a bit."
Shim Sungha stood up, leaning heavily on the floor.
Seeing the other two trainees also getting ready to follow Shim Sungha, I spoke to the three of them.
"You guys go ahead, I'm going to take the D-Rank class."
"Huh? D-Rank? When does it start?"
"Very soon."
After checking that time was tight, I left first.
"See you guys later."
Saying goodbye to the kids who looked a bit dumbfounded, I headed to the D-Rank practice room.
'It'd be a big deal if I'm late.'
Fortunately, the D-Rank practice room wasn't far.
The teacher hadn't arrived yet even by the time I opened the door and entered.
However, the D-Rank members just stared at me, who had suddenly entered, with eyes that were half curiosity and half wariness.
I quietly entered the practice room and took a spot in the very back.
The D-Rank practice clothes were white; I felt that I, alone in black clothes, stood out, but it didn't bother me much.
I felt it keenly while taking Song Youngjun's class.
That in order to increase my skills quickly here, I had to go and take any class without discrimination.
All the trainers were skilled beyond my expectations, and I needed their help.
"Is everyone here?"
At that moment, the practice room door opened, and Trainer Kim Nahee came inside.
"Hello!"
The D-Rank trainees gave a loud greeting, but Kim Nahee just scanned the trainees one by one with an expressionless face.
And that gaze reached me, who was at the very back.
"Seonwoo Rin."
"Yes!"
"Why did you come to my class?"
"I came to learn because I want to be good at it."
"Really? Okay."
I was surprised that she pointed me out from the start, but unexpectedly, Kim Nahee didn't say much and moved past my answer.
"This is D-Rank, right?"
"Yes. That's right."
"You all must have practiced like your lives depended on it, right?"
"That's right!"
"Then show me."
It was an unannounced start.
Kim Nahee stood at the very front of the practice room, looking at us.
As the trainees frantically finished preparing, the music started right away not long after.
The beginning seemed to be barely passing.
But as the song transitioned into the chorus, trainees started to stop dancing.
-JACKPOT for you
It's just the beginning
We'll be together forever!
When the chorus ended, most of the trainees gave up, and the few remaining trainees weren't dancing properly, but showing a level where the expression 'floundering' would be more accurate.
"Stop."
From the moment the song started until now, Kim Nahee's expression had always been the same.
She didn't show any signs of disappointment or anger.
"Seonwoo Rin."
"Yes!"
"Come out to the front."
"Understood."
At Kim Nahee's sudden words calling me, the surroundings became quiet.
"Do you want to try doing it alone from the beginning here?"
"Yes, understood."
A sudden request.
It was flustering, but I didn't have time to think about this and that.
As soon as I got ready, the song started immediately.
Passing the intro, as the lyrics I had listened to all night flowed out, my body naturally remembered the choreography.
And, the dance break that I had practiced with Baek Sihyun's help.
I continued the dance, recalling Baek Sihyun's movements as much as possible.
"That's enough."
Kim Nahee, who had been watching my dance without a word, suddenly made me stop.
The practice room was silent.
It felt like only Kim Nahee and I were in this space.
Kim Nahee, who was thinking for a moment without saying a word, suddenly spoke.
"You made it this far in just one day."
"Yes."
At my answer, Kim Nahee nodded and said.
"Even when given the same amount of time, some practice desperately and make it their own, while others settle, thinking this much is enough. Everyone remember, I only acknowledge people who put in the effort. I don't acknowledge those who try to gain something without effort. Got it?"
"Yes! Understood!"
The D-Rank trainees answered vigorously, but Kim Nahee's expression didn't change at all.
When everyone was holding their breath, just waiting for Kim Nahee's mouth to open.
Kim Nahee looked straight at me again.
"Seonwoo Rin."
"Yes."
Kim Nahee's expression as she called my name softened for the first time since coming here.
"Well done."