Chapter 75 |
‘This random play dance … if you jump in with a careless attitude, you’ll lose your life!’
While I was breaking out in a cold sweat, I felt Lee Hwayoung’s piercing gaze strike my back. His eyes seemed to say, Don’t lose to someone like that, win and come back.
‘You can only look at me like that because you didn’t see that butt right in front of you, you little brat!’
Queen Daehyun kept glancing at me out of the corner of his eye, wary. There were over ten trainees who had come out to participate in the random play dance, so I couldn’t understand why he kept looking at me like that.
“Ah, Queen Daehyun! He boldly made the first move against the best dancer of our program. As expected, is Han Seungbeom the only one worthy of matching the Queen’s caliber? What is Trainee Han Seungbeom’s reaction to this?”
Regardless of how I felt inside, I continued dancing earnestly. Half-heartedly performing girl group choreography as a joke went against my principles. Feeling burdened by Kim Daehyun and the situation was one thing, but dancing was dancing.
“Even the Queen’s moves don’t seem to affect him! Trainee Han Seungbeom is performing the choreography in his own style without even paying attention. His dancing is flawless! But his expression is way too serious. It looks like he’s about to kill someone!”
As Do Yuda’s comment landed, one of the cameras zoomed in on my face for a close-up.
“Pretty expression! Pretty expression!”
I made a bright smile in response to Do Yuda’s comment. Just then, the choreography involved forming a V with my fingers and bringing it in front of my eyes.
When the trainees saw my face on the screen, they burst out laughing.
“Look at Seungbeom’s expression! Hahaha!”
“Ahaha! Ah, I feel like my sides are going to split.”
‘What’s wrong with my expression?’
Am I the only one who doesn’t get it? Why is everyone else laughing except me?
Even the production team was laughing.
I had made them laugh once, so that’s enough. I went back to my cold face and continued to dance the choreography.
“Aaah, his smile is gone, and now he’s looking down on everyone again. His face looks so disinterested in the world, but his dancing is flawless. It’s as if someone edited just his face into the choreography video. Behold, this is true dancing. No matter how much you shake your butt, I’ll walk my own path!”
“Don’t lose … Queen Daehyun!”
Pow, pow, pow, beep, beep.
As the highlight of the song ended, a countdown sound effect was heard again and the next song started.
“I’m just like this
Let’s do a High five and then leave.”
‘Okay, thankfully this song is a fast-tempo boy group song.’
When I performed the girl group dance earlier, the trainees’ reactions weren’t bad, but it wasn’t enough. Feeling a sense of crisis, I swallowed my saliva and took a step forward, moving to the center.
“Wow, the details are insane. How can he dance like that just from memory, even though this wasn’t a stage he prepared for? When will I be able to dance like that?”
“I don’t know, maybe in 10 years or so?”
“Hey, someone please beat this guy up.”
While Do Yuda and the other trainees who were standing in the MC seats were doing Tiki-Taka1, I prayed for the dance break of the song to come quickly.
‘Why on earth does that guy dance all the choreography like that!’
At some point, Kim Daehyun walked over to my side with a model walk, and started dancing, wildly waving and modifying the choreography in his own style.
“It’s a counterattack from Trainee Kim Daehyun! Looks like he’s not going down easily after all!”
By now, the other participating trainees around us had lost all their fighting spirit and were just staring at us with vacant eyes.
Before long it, the dance break began, and as a high-difficulty move with complex steps came up, Kim Daehyun seemed to not know the exact choreography. He glanced around and briefly stepped back. He was such a burdensome kid.
“Let’s go, let’s go, let’s go, let’s go!”
“Show us, Han Seungbeom!”
“WAAAAH! CRAZY!”
I ended up performing a solo dance break on the empty stage with the overwhelming cheers of the trainees. I wondered if this was something to react this much to, but they were already too excited by the spectacle and had lost their minds long ago.
‘Yuseong-ah … your older brother is working so hard to make money. Life isn’t easy.’
I silently danced, desperately praying that Seo Yuseong would never see me doing this.
.
.
.
The random play dance that took place in such a heated atmosphere ended up being my victory.
Kim Daehyun was someone who was specialized only in girl group dances, whereas I could dance any choreography I had seen before, so it was inevitable.
It was a godsend that PRISM’s performance-centered song came out at the end.
‘I hate myself for even analyzing this result…..’
I really burned out completely. As I thought that and caught my breath, Kim Daehyun approached me and said sharply, “It was a good match.”
Then, he elegantly extended his fingertips in front of my body. I unconsciously raised my hand to support him, and Kim Daehyun, accepting my escort, walked forward like a flamingo. After sending a blow kiss to both the camera and me, he left the stage.
‘I-I was taken advantage of.’
In the end, I had been defeated by Kim Daehyun in the true battle.
‘I feel empty…..’
I was someone who could easily handle a concert lasting over three hours. And since the random play dance only lasted about 20 minutes, it couldn’t even be compared.
But I didn’t know why I felt so drained. When I talked to Han Seungbeom’s aunt, it would drain about 5 energy, but with Kim Daehyun, it was more like 100.
I really really burned out completely.
“Ahahahaha… Huheuk, Hahahah, huff, cough. Heheheheh.”
JJay, who had dropped by the set earlier for fun, now seemed too tired to even laugh. Pointing at me, he let out a limp, deflated chuckle, like air escaping a punctured balloon.
“Now, Seungbeom, who confidently won first place in the random play dance, please come forward. You will take turns choosing members with the second and third place trainees.”
Yang Hajun, who had been holding his phone and filming my fancam the whole time, received the microphone from Do Yuda and started speaking. Then, Jay went over to Yang Hajun and whispered something in his ear.
“Send me the video you took earlier.”
“Okay.”
Seriously, are you guys just playing around? Do your job properly.
“The first trainee to be chosen by Trainee Han Seungbeom, who is it?”
“….I chose Trainee Lee Hwayoung.”
When I answered without hesitation, Yang Hajun opened his eyes wide as if he was a little surprised.
“Ooh, you didn’t choose Trainee Do Yuda? Isn’t this a really unexpected choice?”
“I have a prior appointment with Trainee Lee Hwayoung.”
Since it was the question I had anticipated, I calmly answered. Then, Do Yuda, from the top seat, clenched his fist and shouted, “It’s agreed upon! I’ll overlook it this once, Han Seungbeom!”
The trainees burst into laughter again at the witty remark. Yang Hajun nodded and said the following lines.
“Alright. First, Trainee Nicholas, please come down here and stand next to Trainee Han Seungbeom.”
Following Yang Hajun’s instructions, Lee Hwayoung rushed down the stairs and placed his hand on my shoulder. Unlike usual, his face seemed a little flushed.
“You worked hard.”
“Yeah……..”
Yes, indeed, I had worked hard.
When I loosened up my back, Lee Hwayoung supported my body with his arms.
“Then, I will choose Trainee Do Yuda.”
While this was happening, the trainee in second place called out for Do Yuda. Hearing that, Do Yuda cheerfully ran out and stood behind the trainee in second place.
“Wooooow!”
To be honest, it was truly shocking. I don’t even know why I was so shocked, but it dealt a massive blow to my mental state. I didn’t even have the composure to fix my expression.
It felt like my dog suddenly running up to a stranger and throwing itself into their arms.
‘So, this is what it feels like.’
My guess was, since I had never been the one picking members until now, this was a feeling I had never experienced before, and it seemed to have caused an error in my head.
“…….”
As I was staring at Do Yuda with a blank expression, a bright blond hair and pale face suddenly appeared right in front of my eyes.
“Are you disappointed?”
Startled by Lee Hwayoung’s sharp question, I took a deep breath and, without even knowing why I needed to make an excuse, began to explain myself.
“N-no. Who said I was disappointed?”
“I am here, so why are you disappointed?”
“It’s just that, if we had a main vocalist with a wide vocal range, we’d have more options when choosing songs.”
“More options?”
“It would help with the performance……”
“It would be a help?”
Stop it. My mental strength is already at its limit.
Stop looking at me like that. Don’t your eyes hurt?
I stared blankly into the air, “I was thoughtless. Much too thoughtless.”
“I can do everything you said just as well. I can get more votes too.”
“Okay……”
While I was getting scratched all over, the third place trainee chose Zen. And then my turn came again.
“I will choose Trainee Baek Kiryang.”
“Yes, Trainee Baek Kiryang, please come down and stand there.”
Baek Kiryang, whose name was called, came down the stairs, trembling all four limbs like an animal being captured. And then he cowered behind me, making himself as small as possible.
“Welcome.”
“…….”
As Lee Hwayoung and I turned around at the same time, he became even more terrified, his face turning pale. Do Yuda, who had been watching the entire scene, leaned sideways against Zen, and muttered while giggling.
“A weasel on a team of a tiger and a lion … this is going to be fun.”
“Is this a zoo?”
Regardless of whether Do Yuda was saying something funny or not, the trainee in second place chose Woo Kangwon, and the trainee in third place chose their friend. Oh, by the way, the trainee in third place was Kim Yeoyoung, who had been in the second mission with me.
While the third-place team danced in joy, reminiscing about past memories, I scanned the remaining members and immediately chose the next person.
“I will choose Trainee Lee Danbi.”
“Wow, I got picked by you, hyung! I’m so happy. I’ve been waiting for this, ever since the first mission!” Lee Danbi tightly hugged my waist and spoke.
When I first met him, it felt like he was quite immature, but seeing that his soft facial lines had become a bit refined, I realized that children really did grow up very quickly.
I gently patted Lee Danbi’s back in response to his greeting, and then refocused on Yang Hajun’s face. The member selection still had a long way to go.
***
After the ranking announcement and the team selection for the fourth mission, we were able to enjoy some rest time. We couldn’t practice because the competition song hadn’t been announced yet.
The trainees scattered in all directions to spend their own time, and I was being dragged to the canteen by Do Yuda’s hand.
“Don’t look at your phone while walking. You should look ahead. You’ll trip.”
I finally said something to Do Yuda, who was walking around looking at his tablet while holding onto one of my arms. Then, Do Yuda stopped dead in his tracks without saying a word. Normally, he would’ve responded with something like, “Hey, hyung! I’m fine! I’m being careful!” in a cheeky manner, but something felt off.
“…….”
Even after hearing my scolding, Do Yuda just stood there, staring blankly at his tablet with a pale face.
“What’s wrong?”
Feeling that something was off, I approached him and snatched. the tablet. When I looked at the screen, what I saw was…..
[Trainee Woo Kangwon, revelation of assaulting a junior during his athlete days]
[‘Assaulting a Junior Athlete’ Trainee Woo Kangwon Controversy]
[‘Disciplinary punishment’, Begging for mercy, “Please forgive me” before appearing on the program.]
[Woo Kangwon exposed for assault, the junior presents recording evidence]
“….Where is Kangwon-hyung now?”
“….Outside. Among the public.”
Those who knew Woo Kangwon heard a completely unbelievable story.
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Translator’s Corner:
- Tiki-Taka (티키타카) derives from a football term. It refers to short quick passes to move the ball down the field. In conversation, it means back and forth. The conversation going well between you two as it’s going back and forth. ↩︎
AAARGH here comes the kind of arc I dislike the most in idol story, I DONT FIND THIS STRESSING ARC ENJOYABLE AT AAAAALLLL FREE MEEEE I HATE STRESSSS ONLY HEALING STORIES ALLOWED IN THIS BLOG !!!
and wow Yang Hajun just passed on his MC job to Do Yuda SO HE CAN FILM SEUNGBEOM FANCAM, I CANT WITH HIM ANYMORE?????????? T_T
Since it’s not going to move to the next arc fast I’m just going to prepare my mental first. Ill sleep and go buy some sweets later to decrease my stress level ….. see you…………