Chapter 29
I had put shackles on Yoo Won for now, but that didn't mean I could let my guard down.
Yoo Won would also know that just because he had the recording, he couldn't easily reveal it. In the end, this was a defensive measure, not an offensive one.
Of course, I had known that from the beginning.
Before going to negotiate with Yoo Won, I went to see Yoojin Kim first to have a conversation.
Since he was 1st place, I thought Yoojin Kim would be leading the team, but he seemed to be struggling more than expected.
‘It's not just a simple vocal stage; we have to show performance too, so I'm lagging a bit in experience.’
Yoojin Kim's team had Woo Jungwoo, the only main vocal from Guk-a, who could be considered Yoojin Kim's rival.
Since Woo Jungwoo had a long trainee period and had even debuted before, he fell behind Yoojin Kim in vocal ability, but seemed to surpass him in performance aspects.
‘I'm trying to match with him as much as possible, but I'm not sure if this will create synergy or become poison to us.’
Not going to the Vocal Trainer Team and going to Team Leo seemed like a challenge for Yoojin Kim as well.
Yoojin Kim said that for now, his goal was to build the stage as a two-top with Woo Jungwoo.
‘By the way, you want to borrow my phone?’
‘Yeah, I have a use for it for a moment.’
I told Yoojin Kim about the suspicions I had regarding Yoo Won.
‘Hmm, so you're also preparing in case you get recorded? But how do you know Yoo Won is setting such a trap?’
‘Military veteran's intuition.’
‘That's... subtly hard to refute.’
When the ultimate move that instantly crushes those who haven't served came out of my mouth, Yoojin Kim frowned and said.
But don't you also have to go to the military? I was thinking that when...
‘Right, I understand recording just in case for now. But you also know that the recording isn't absolutely advantageous for us, right?’
Yoojin Kim was right.
The recording was the last resort. Ideally, it should never be revealed.
‘The moment you reveal it, you'll also take a significant hit. Recording a conversation isn't viewed well in the first place. Furthermore, we are currently idol audition participants. One minor flaw could snowball out of proportion.’
‘Hmm, then what should we do?’
‘For now, setting a trap during the conversation as you said is good. Let's keep that as our final stronghold.’
Yoojin Kim held his phone out to me and said.
I put the phone Yoojin Kim gave me into my inner pocket.
‘But we need to find another method together. One that can naturally get rid of Yoo Won without raising suspicion that you did it.’
‘Is there such a method?’
‘With our power, no. We have to use outside power.’
‘Outside power?’
‘The assigned trainer, and the broadcast.’
Kim Nahee and the broadcast.
But I can't just control that as I please.
‘Create an atmosphere naturally where Yoo Won has no choice but to overdo it. You have 4 people on your side on that team.’
On my side. Baek Siyeon, the Boo brothers... why 4?
‘Park Hanhee is ambiguous to call my side.’
‘I'm not 100% sure yet, but he's someone you can trust. He doesn't seem like someone who would stab you in the back, at least.’
‘Really?’
Did something happen between Yoojin Kim and Park Hanhee that I don't know about?
I'm not sure about that, but thinking about Park Hanhee's appearance I've seen while progressing through the audition so far...
‘Only foolish-looking images come to mind.’
The image of him showing off his goofy charm as Woo Jungwoo's partner kept coming to mind. He seemed like a pure person.
That doesn't mean I'm saying I'll trust Park Hanhee.
‘There's no need to completely exclude him from the plan. Anyway, the moment Yoo Won overdoes it is the opportunity. Completely crush him with skill then. Judge Kim Nahee will give the verdict. You just need to stay still.’
‘Crush him with skill?’
‘Yes, your team is the dance team, right?’
‘I don't have the skill to crush anyone with my dancing, though?’
At my words, Yoojin Kim looked at me as if asking why I was stating the obvious.
‘Siyeon is on your team.’
‘Ah!’
Indeed, with Baek Siyeon's dancing skills, it was a level that could usually win against anyone who came at them in this audition.
‘So you're telling me to push Siyeon and make him a rival to Yoo Won?’
‘You don't necessarily need to step up and make them rivals. Just leave Yoo Won alone and he'll do it himself.’
Having finished what he wanted to say to me, Yoojin Kim, who was returning to his practice room, muttered softly.
‘In the end, impatient people are destined to destroy themselves.’
Yoojin, you... are a bit scary?
***
“I'm sorry for being late. I was briefly discussing the song concept.”
“Ah, it's fine. It's fine.”
“We were also continuously worrying about the song concept.”
When I entered the practice room with Yoo Won, everyone except the two of us was already gathered, waiting for us.
As soon as Yoo Won entered the practice room, he sat down next to Kim Dongsu without a word.
Compared to his nonchalant appearance at first, his current look seemed closer to Yoo Won's true self that I had just seen.
‘He looks very anxious. He can't show it because of the cameras. He must be frustrated.’
Seeing Yoo Won only nodding half-heartedly even at Kim Dongsu's words, I soon felt the gazes of the people naturally looking at me and opened my mouth.
“Alright, shall we all share what we've thought of?”
“Then we'll talk first.”
The first to raise their hand at my words were the Boo brothers.
“You two prepared together. Tell us what the concept is.”
“Our concept is doppelganger. We'll show you with a dance before explaining.”
Like that, the two stood up from their seats and faced each other as if looking in a mirror, taking their stances.
After exchanging signals, the two began to dance with identical movements as if they were one person.
‘It is cool.’
The two, gradually becoming conscious of each other in the mirror, grabbed each other's hands at that moment.
The two, who had been dancing only in the same movements, this time matched their rhythm, exchanging moves as they danced.
The two looked as if they were attacking each other.
And at the very end.
“Pant pant, how is it, isn't it good?”
“There's a story too, pant pant. They say you die if you meet your doppelganger, right? The other person lives on behalf of the one who died. Wouldn't it be cool to use costumes and lighting for storytelling?”
“Wow, it seems like it'll be cool!”
“It's not bad.”
Baek Siyeon and Park Hanhee spoke as soon as the two finished their explanation.
“Lin, how about you?”
“I also thought it was cool.”
I thought the two used their heads well.
With a concept like that, the two of them could naturally take the center positions together.
Naturally, there was no one here who could pull off the doppelganger role better than those two.
However.
“If it's a doppelganger concept, shouldn't the numbers match? We have 7 people, so how are we going to do that?”
“Uh... huh?”
At my words, the two tilted their heads identically as if they hadn't thought of it at all.
Of course, the two could be the mains, but in that concept, there were too few roles for the other five.
“Tha...t's right? No, wait, then we'll be the protagonists and the rest will be like back dancers, passing by people, one two three...”
“Yeah, no. Bring it back more supplemented.”
I subtly revealed my true feelings, calmed the runaway Boo brothers, and looked at the others.
“What did you think of, Yoo Won hyung? Did you prepare it with Dongsu?”
At my words, Yoo Won, who had been lost in thought, raised his head and looked at the people.
“Uh, what we thought of. Adding popping to an intense hip-hop beat...”
He's just talking about doing the same thing he always does.
Well, he was only thinking about stirring up trouble, so he couldn't have properly worried about the concept.
“Could you show us first?”
“Yeah, okay.”
At my words, Yoo Won and Kim Dongsu stood up, briefly discussed with each other, and played the music.
‘This, isn't this what you guys did during the first grade evaluation? Is it a bit different?’
A familiar club sound flowed out.
The two began to dance the prepared choreography.
The dance of the two, who danced without any distinct characteristics until the end, finished.
“Uh...”
“Hmm.”
An awkward air filled the practice room.
The eyes of the four people, excluding the two, turned to me.
“I think it's fine. Let's hear Siyeon's and Hanhee hyung's thoughts and decide together.”
At my words, the other four made an expression saying, 'You think this is fine?', but Yoo Won sat down with an expression that said he had passed a hurdle for now.
“We also prepared together.”
Park Hanhee said, looking at Baek Siyeon.
I had roughly guessed since the two were continuously discussing from earlier.
I don't know how the two got along so well for once.
“Actually, I was watching Siyeon dance, and it looked so good that I jumped in the middle.”
‘This hyung is too honest.’
Sometimes when he talked with a naive expression, I doubted whether this person was really older than me.
“First, the concept is a school musical. Everyone will choose and wear outfits that suit them. For example, teacher, jock, model student. Like that.”
“Yeah, and the most important thing is the group dance. I tried making it by incorporating tap dance into a swing jazz rhythm.”
“You already made a group dance?”
“Yeah, Siyeon whipped it up right away earlier? I haven't fully learned it yet, so I'll just follow along for the front part.”
The concept itself wasn't anything special. It felt like a stage everyone could pull off decently?
I felt like there was a similar stage in the previous season.
However, for some reason, I was looking forward to the choreography Baek Siyeon made.
“Alright, then I'll start.”
Along with the brass sound, a cheerful swing rhythm rang out.
And.
‘It's too good, isn't it?’
I could immediately tell why Park Hanhee latched onto Baek Siyeon right away.
As soon as I saw Baek Siyeon's dance, I felt like I was watching a scene from a musical or a music movie.
No, should I say it was a more refined feeling with a K-pop vibe added?
If everyone danced that as a group dance, the picture that would come out played in real-time in my head.
‘The Novice Choreographer trait in me is telling me. That I must show that dance on stage.’
The section where the choreography incorporating tap dance came out was the climax.
There seemed to be no need to think of anything else.
However.
‘There's no way this will just pass like this, right?’
I could see Yoo Won's face hardening in real-time as he watched Baek Siyeon's choreography.
“We only prepared up to here due to lack of time. There are many parts to supplement. I'd appreciate it if you kept that in mind while watching.”
‘There are more parts to supplement there?’
“Wow, it feels like a scene from a musical is playing right in front of my eyes? It's really amazing?”
“Agreed. Siyeon... are you a genius? This is a choreography you just made?”
After Baek Siyeon's dance ended, the twins spoke with admiring faces.
And when Park Hanhee patted Baek Siyeon's shoulder as if he had worked hard, Baek Siyeon smiled with a pleased expression.
However, the four didn't seem to see Yoo Won's face, which was barely managing his expression.
“I also watched it very favorably. Then let's all gather together for now.”
Sitting around the practice room in a circle again, only then did the others seem to notice Yoo Won's unusual atmosphere.
“If I speak first, creating a good stage is my top priority. For that, I think others need to yield to some extent. Not everyone can be the center.”
Saying that, I looked at the others. And I recalled the advice Yoojin Kim had given me.
‘Impatient people are bound to make mistakes first.’
“Personally, I think Siyeon's choreography is the best, so I'd like Siyeon to be the center for this stage. What does everyone think?”
“I'm the center?”
At my words, Baek Siyeon pointed at himself with a surprised expression.
“Of course Siyeon is the center. I'm for it.”
“Ugh!! It's frustrating, but Siyeon's dance was so good. I admit it!”
“The concept isn't bad either, I'm also for it!”
As the atmosphere settled on Baek Siyeon becoming the center, Kim Dongsu was only glancing at Yoo Won.
And soon, Yoo Won forced a smile and opened his mouth.
“Wait, before we decide the center. Can I say just one thing?”
At Yoo Won's words, the temperature in the practice room seemed to drop by about 3 degrees.
If this scene were to be broadcast.
It would probably be portrayed as 'Yoo Won Asserting Himself Without Reading the Room.'
“We haven't even completely finished the choreography, nor have we gotten it checked by Teacher Kim Nahee. Don't you think deciding now is a bit premature?”
“Hmm, then what do you want to do, hyung?”
At my words, Yoo Won pondered with a stiff expression, and soon, as if he had made up his mind, spoke with a desperate expression.
“Will you all give me one more chance? We'll prepare my choreography and Siyeon's choreography together and show them to the teacher tomorrow. How about it?”
When a person becomes impatient, they cannot see themselves properly.
That's Yoo Won right now.
He probably doesn't know how pathetically he's acting right now.
In this situation where even Kim Dongsu was looking at Yoo Won with a pathetic expression, Yoo Won was starting to look pitiful even to me.
Everyone couldn't bear to say anything to Yoo Won and was only looking at my face.
“Hyung, you know that preparing two things at the same time isn't easy in this situation, right?”
“No, that's true but...”
“Still, if you're going to say that much, it'll be tough for everyone, but let's try it according to hyung's opinion.”
I made a difficult decision with the appearance of a leader suffering from meeting a troll.
The Boo brothers and Baek Siyeon, who knew me well, tilted their heads in doubt at my decision, but didn't particularly express their opposition.
“R-really?”
Perhaps because he didn't think I would allow it, Yoo Won looked at me with a surprised face.
“Yes, since we have to prepare two concepts, let's start practicing right away.”
“Uh, yeah. Got it...”
Not giving Yoo Won time to come to his senses, I immediately gathered the people.
He probably doesn't know right now because he's out of it.
But probably around bedtime, it'll start to hit him? The fact that he has to show his choreography to Kim Nahee tomorrow.
Well, it doesn't matter if he doesn't realize it. Tomorrow will come soon enough anyway.
***
“Who made this choreography?”
“I... made it.”
When we showed the choreography Yoo Won made to Kim Nahee, who visited the practice room the next day, Kim Nahee's cold gaze immediately turned toward us.
“Yoo Won.”
“Yes...”
“What do you think is different about this from the previous stage that you suggested doing this choreography?”
“That's...”
“You wasted all the team members' time, and what kind of choreography did you come up with? Did everyone else agree to this choreography too?”
“No... I gave my opinion...”
With Yoo Won's head dropping lower and lower from Kim Nahee's pouring direct hits, the final death sentence was passed.
“You, this is a nuisance to the team. Don't you think so?”
“I'm sorry.”
‘It's over.’
The moment the word “nuisance” came out of Kim Nahee's mouth, a sound came to my ears.
The sound of Yoo Won's rank dropping in real-time.