As I exited the CEO’s office, the manager hurriedly chased me.
“Hoyun, you really…”
“Manager.”
“Uh, yeah?”
“Please don’t tell the other members about what I said there.”
The manager’s eyes shook. Seeing him looking uneasy, I drove the point home once again.
“Saying something like that will only shake the other members’ mental state. What’s important right now is our comeback.”
“… Yeah.”
He still looked at me with worried eyes but eventually nodded cautiously. Satisfied with his response, I went into the practice room.
The members continuously practiced while playing the song they received from Lim Hyeonsu.
Wait, practicing?
How could they practice when there’s no choreography?
When I returned, Jeong Dajun jumped up and greeted me.
“Hoyun-hyung!”
“…?”
What’s with this sudden atmosphere?
Jeong Dajun ran up to me like a puppy. Seong Jiwon also stopped singing and smiled widely at me.
“Hoyun, we’ve planned everything.”
“Already?”
“And we’ve even made the choreography!”
What kind of nonsense was this?
When I made a face, Seong Jiwon watched me closely.
“Didn’t the CEO say he wouldn’t provide any additional funding? And that he wouldn’t support the choreography either.”
“How did you know?”
“Oh, just as expected.”
Oh, just as expected…?
What kind of treatment were these guys receiving?
As I felt uneasy, Jeong Dajun squealed excitedly.
“I only thought of it after Hoyun-hyung left. The CEO wouldn’t give us any money, and how are we supposed to get support for the choreography? So, we just did it ourselves to save time.”
“In just thirty minutes?”
“Seonghyeon-hyung suddenly went wild.”
I didn’t expect that.
Jeong Dajun vigorously nodded his head and pointed at Kim Seonghyeon.
“You have to see it now.”
“Hey, you weren’t kidding either.”
Kang Ichae said while gasping for breath and covered in sweat. Jeong Dajun awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck.
While nodding my head, I observed the atmosphere inside the practice room. It’s good that they predicted it and saved time by doing it themselves, but…
It felt a bit forced, didn’t it?
Jeong Dajun clung to me.
“The more you listen to it, the more you realize it’s a great song. It’s so exciting that we’ve already created the basic choreography.”
“It’s all thanks to Hoyun.”
Seong Jiwon praised me while nodding his head. I rolled my eyes.
Why did they suddenly become so friendly?
It’s overflowing. Sung Ji-won smiled slightly.
Ah… I guess I look like a savior to them.
I understood it roughly. From their perspective, I must have looked like a lifeboat.
At that moment, the system window popped up.
[Seong Jiwon’s relationship with Jeong Dajun is very friendly.]
I tried to gain their trust but didn’t expect it to be this easy.
Don’t count on me too much.
Worry came before a sense of accomplishment. It was fortunate that Kim Seonghyeon and Kang Ichae were quietly waiting.
Kim Seonghyeon, dozing off, asked, “Manager, we still have time before the planning team arrives, right?”
“Uh, yeah, about 30 minutes left.”
“Great. We’ve already talked about the planning, so… Let’s show Hoyun the choreography first.”
“That’s a good idea.”
Kang Ichae smiled.
“Come here. Let us show you the choreography that we’ve made.”
Kang Ichae pulled me towards the mirror. I sat down and watched them while Kang Ichae smiled and played the music.
The beat flowed in a steady rhythm.
“Say it again, we are starting,
I will come back every time,
You don’t need to be afraid,
No need to be afraid.”
Since the parts were not assigned, the choreography was only roughly organized, but even in my opinion, the basic choreography was quite good. They split the trendy movements into smaller pieces and inserted them to match the beat.
I didn’t know, but surprisingly… all of them were good dancers. Jeong Dajun was a bit behind, but he wasn’t bad either.
No, it was rather the other three were too good.
“Let’s leave together now,
I wanna be with you all the time.”
Is it dangerous…?
The more excellent their dance was, the more cold sweat I felt on my back. It was the first crisis I had experienced since joining this game.
That thought hit me hard when Kang Ichae came out in the latter half, stepped on the back, and did a backflip. My expression froze completely.
After dancing until the end, they were utterly exhausted but showed subtle expectations. The manager almost jumped up and down beside me, applauding like crazy.
“You guys are amazing!”
“Wow, wow…”
“You guys are insane. I can’t believe I suggested we do ‘Pineapple’ with you guys…”
Excuse me, did you know that Pineapple sucked?
“Are you okay?”
Yeah, honestly, the members were great. Plus, Kim Seonghyeon, who was supposed to be the main dancer, flew around completely. There were a few things to fix, but I thought there was no need to worry about their dancing.
But…
“…”
When I fell silent, Seong Jiwon, who had been watching me, asked me a question.
“Why, what’s wrong, Hoyun? Is there something you don’t like?”
“No, um…”
I was nervous.
“I like it. I like…”
” It’s okay, just watch! What, are you scared?”
“Well, I…”
“Just come in and try it once. You have to match with me.”
Kang Ichae took my arm and stood me next to Kim Seonghyeon. It seemed like this was where I was supposed to start.
My pupils shook even more.
Why did I have to be next to the flying Kim Seonghyeon?
Kim Seonghyeon glanced at me briefly.
“Just try it once. It’s okay even if it’s roughly done. Just match the movements.”
I was even more worried because Kim Seonghyeon was more considerate than I had thought.
Ah, the moment finally came.
“Play the music! One, two!”
I nodded my head without saying anything. Kang Ichae glanced at me and started the song with enthusiasm. The same beat as before echoed, and everyone started the dance. Amidst it, I also raised my hands and followed them.
“…?”
Kim Seonghyeon slowly pushed my back and taught me the movements. However, the problem was that it got more challenging as we went further into the song. As the song progressed, the atmosphere in the practice room became tense.
Kim Seonghyeon eventually said, “Kang Ichae, turn off the music.”
“Yes.”
Kang Ichae quickly caught on and turned off the music. When I stopped moving and stood awkwardly, Kim Seonghyeon asked me another question.
“Seo Hoyun, why…?”
“…”
“Why are you so stiff like that?”
Shit.
Here it was. The problem finally came up.
I tried quickly avoiding the members’ gaze, but this tactic did not solve the problem.
I’ve never danced before.
Of course not. I’ve only studied to become a PD. I sang to please my superiors, but dancing was not part of the plan. Did any ordinary adult male practice boy group dances?
“Is it because it’s your first time?”
Seong Jiwon cautiously added his opinion, but Kim Seonghyeon was right.
I was a disaster.
Desperately so.
“Let’s play it a little slower and break down the movements. You’ll be okay if you learn it in small steps.”
Despite being a trainee for a long time, Seong Jiwon still had a humble attitude. I silently nodded my head.
Kang Ichae played the song again, and Kim Seonghyeon led the group from the front.
“Here it goes, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump.”
Kim Seonghyeon was accurate. And although Jeong Dajun couldn’t follow as well as I did, he wasn’t as bad as me. I watched Kim Seonghyeon intently and followed him closely.
“Thump, thump, thump. Thump…”
Kim Seonghyeon looked at me.
Oh no…
I wanted to say I was too overwhelmed to keep going, but I couldn’t say it aloud. When the song, which was playing slowly, finally ended, we were completely speechless.
“Why… are you still stumbling?”
Kim Seonghyeon really wondered. Kang Ichae had the same expression.
“Hyung, why are you suddenly so bad?”
“Well, that’s…”
“I don’t think it was this bad in the past either.”
I had nothing to say. I closed my mouth and hung my head like a criminal.
Ah, it’s been so long since I lacked anything to say like this.
“Sorry, I totally forgot.”
“…!”
“Really?”
“Is it because you’re ill?”
“Well, um… I think it’s a post-traumatic stress thing. I forgot all the dance moves.”
Everyone accepted what I said. Kim Seonghyeon seemed a little skeptical, but what could he do if the person was ill?
“This is a serious problem. We have less than a month left until our comeback.”
“Can you improve your dancing skills for this dance within a month…?”
Jeong Dajun asked cautiously.
“Hey, what’s this thing about dancing skills?”
I looked at him, but Jeong Dajun was sincere.
Kim Seonghyeon also considered seriously what to do with me while Seong Jiwon stared at me fiercely.
I’m gonna punch your faces, you sons of a bitch.
“Wait, Hoyun. Let’s try it together.”
“…?”
“You dance first, got it?”
Seong Jiwon looked at me with an ambiguous expression and played the song again to watch me dance.
I followed his lead, and his expression gradually became strange.
He sped up the song.
“What about this part?”
“Uh…”
I stopped momentarily, trying to remember which part he was referring to, but then I quickly danced as soon as I remembered.
“…”
My dance moves were basic compared to the members, but it felt good anyway.
After trying several times with the song, Seong Jiwon mumbled something to himself. Finally, I was able to stop dancing like a puppet.
“Wow.”
“Why?”
Seong Jiwon pursed his lips, but Kim Seonghyeon seemed to have noticed too.
“You’ve memorized the dance by now.”
“…!”
Everyone was surprised. Jeong Dajun stood up in surprise.
“Haven’t you memorized it all, hyung?”
“Uh… Well.”
“How did you do it?”
“I just memorized it by watching it.”
Then Jeong Dajun looked at me as if I were a monster. Kim Seonghyeon nodded his head.
“It was strange. You matched the moves correctly from the second time.”
“So, Hoyun already memorized it when we were practicing?”
“How is that possible?”
Three minutes and forty seconds was quite a long time.
They talked among themselves like evaluating a freshly caught tuna at an auction, leaving me alone.
“Sometimes there are people like that. Those who have been dancing for a long time can memorize it after watching it once or twice.”
“But Seo Hoyun can’t dance.”
“Well, that’s true…”
“Hey…”
Seong Jiwon quietly agreed. It was a valid point, but I was slightly annoyed hearing it from them.
Kang Ichae nodded along with the members’ words and added his opinion.
“So then… Hyung has an excellent memory.”
“That’s right!”
A hollow laughter broke out. The atmosphere was lightened by the joke.
Seong Jiwon took advantage of this and clapped his hands to restore the mood.
“Well, it’s not entirely impossible.”
“Hyung, did you really say that even after seeing Hoyun-hyung dance?”
“Kang Ichae, be quiet.”
Surprisingly, Kim Seonghyeon stepped forward and stopped Kang Ichae. Seong Jiwon nodded his head.
His passionate eyes were fixed on me, which made me feel a little uncomfortable.
“It’s possible for you to do it.”
“Umm…”
I don’t think I can do it.
“Seo Hoyun, you said the same thing before. We’ll teach you well so that you can succeed.”
… I deliberately lit the fire, but the sparks were flying like this.
I kept my mouth shut.
If this scene had been on my program, I could have edited it to create a growth narrative with a soul. It was unfortunate that I wasn’t a PD.
“I’ll teach you, or rather, we’ll all teach you so you can keep up with us.”
Seong Jiwon said carefully.
Korean idols had to do everything well. They needed good singing, dancing, looks, personality, and entertainment skills but also luck to succeed.
As I was now an idol, it was right to follow those rules. I spoke slowly as I watched the passionate Seong Jiwon and the members.
“I don’t know.”
“Yeah.”
“So… Please teach me well. I’m asking you.”
As I spoke, everyone’s eyes widened. The members began to rub their arms as if they were getting goosebumps.
“Wow, this is really awkward…”
“It’s so awkward when you’ve been begging like a beggar for days, and, suddenly, you’re like this.”
“Just tell me what to do, for god’s sake.”
What happened to my image…?
The only one who hadn’t said anything, Jeong Dajun, looked at me and asked cautiously, “Hyung, did you eat something weird…?”
That bastard.
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