"That guy is seriously amazing."
When Kim Se-jun's stage ended, gasps of admiration burst out all around. To be precise, cheers had been erupting at just the right moments even while the stage was going on.
It was so infectious that even the judges were bouncing their shoulders, which said it all.
"Wow—"
But even at hyung's words, I had nothing to say but an exclamation. His skills were even better than I'd thought, and it had floored me.
Just because I've got no talent for dancing doesn't mean I've got no eye for other people's dancing. That said, his singing was a bit of a letdown.......
That was something I'd known from before, so we could work on it bit by bit.
"The dance itself had almost nothing to fault, but the singing was a little disappointing. Trainee Kim Se-jun's grade is D."
Meanwhile, the judges, having finished conferring, announced his final grade.
The vocals really were too much of a letdown, I guess....... Well, it's a shame, but Kim Se-jun won't give up and will keep climbing, so I should worry about myself.
"Wait a moment."
Huh? Why would 'wait a moment' come out here?
But it seemed I wasn't the only one who thought so. When I reflexively turned my head, Jun-hyeok hyung was also looking at me with round eyes.
"Is there some kind of problem?"
In the end, MC Jeong Gyu-won asked, looking flustered, as Kim Se-jun stood in the middle of the stage with his hand still raised.
And Kim Se-jun tilted his head slightly to the side, as if he'd been waiting for this, and answered.
"Yes. I'm curious why I should get a Grade D."
"Uh— so you're saying you can't accept the judges' result?"
The MC asked again, with a slightly exaggerated expression and tone, like the actor he was.
"Yes."
At Kim Se-jun's confident answer, the murmuring among the trainees in their seats began to grow.
With my jaw hanging open, I looked at hyung sitting beside me, and Jun-hyeok hyung's expression was no different from mine. In fact, everyone my eyes landed on wore the same expression.
Even the monitor showing the judges' faces was, quite literally, full of 'shock.'
"Huh?"
But among them, only one was smiling, the corners of his lips drawn up. It was the other dance trainer, Do Hyeon-min, who'd just sucked in a sharp breath.
He picked up the handheld mic beside him and looked straight at Kim Se-jun.
"Trainee Kim Se-jun? Then what grade do you think suits you, Trainee Kim Se-jun?"
"Huh? Can I be honest?"
At Kim Se-jun's immediate answer, the sound of people sucking in their breath came from all around. If I hadn't hurriedly clamped my palm over my mouth, I'd definitely have made the same sound.
Wow— nerves of steel, the kind someone like me couldn't dream of matching.
"Yes. But I'd like there to be a valid reason."
Yet for some reason, the smile didn't leave trainer Do Hyeon-min's face.
Did that mean he liked it, or was he just dumbfounded?
"The grade I think I deserve and the reason, you mean......."
Just then, Kim Se-jun spoke again. What grade on earth was he going to name?
"I think I should get at least a Grade C."
C? Aside from dance, his singing barely stayed on pitch, so how could he be so confident?
The murmuring grew louder. It seemed quite a few people thought the way I did.
Then Kim Se-jun went on, as if he were going to clear up that doubt once and for all.
"Actually, while I was waiting below the stage, I monitored everyone except the two teams right before me, you see?"
"Monitored?"
Monitored? Don't tell me he's saying that, having come here as a trainee, he monitored the other trainees' stages? That's bolder than me, and I'm on my second life.
'It's more that you're way too timid.'
As my words poured out rapid-fire in my shock, Super Strong Dragon finally stepped in. As if to say, right now it's time to hear Kim Se-jun's reason.
"Yes. And I don't think the difference between me and the trainees who got C or above is that big. My singing was a little unstable, but I think my dancing and stage presence alone were better than anyone's so far."
Stage presence.
With that one phrase, the studio was blown to pieces.
Among the trainees already graded, those in D and below looked like it had scratched an itch, while those in C and above, whom he'd singled out, wore somehow uneasy expressions.
Hyung and I, though, just kept our shocked faces.
"He didn't just own the stage, he swallowed the whole studio."
"Yeah. He definitely grabbed everyone's attention, at least."
Nodding to agree with hyung, I threw Super Strong Dragon a question full of conviction.
He regressed like me, didn't he?
'No-o-ot at all?'
Weird. I was almost sure. Then let's drop that for now. Could you maybe show me his stats too?
'Look at how fast you switch gears. Well, no reason not to. But what are you going to do with them?'
I'd tossed that out braced for a lecture about how I should quit if I was going to lean on stuff like that to be an idol, but the answer was more positive than I'd thought. Afraid I'd miss the chance, I pressed right on.
I'd marked him as a member from the start, but the more I see him, the more we click, so I don't want to lose him. You can do it, right? Huh?
Kim Se-jun, age 21
Position - Main Dancer
Visuals C+ / 178cm, 72kg
Vocals D
Composition/Lyrics/Arrangement F
Dance B
Leadership D
Hidden D
A moment later, there was a sheesh— and Kim Se-jun's stats appeared before my eyes.
So even a dragon gives an inch when you flatter it. If anything, I was just thrown by stats that weren't much different from what I'd expected.
I still couldn't tell what Hidden was, but with this much, I felt like a C would've been fine.
'Hey. By that logic, you two should've gotten a B too. Besides, the judges have to evaluate only on the 3 minutes they see on stage.'
Ah. I didn't think of that.
'You always know one thing and miss the next. Tsk, tsk. Please get your act together. So Jeong Jun-hyeok doesn't end up suffering because of you!'
......Yes.
"There's no arguing that he has stage presence. I think the judges need to talk this over a little more. Please wait a moment."
Just then, producer Na Seung-pil took the mic, and the re-evaluation of Kim Se-jun's grade, which I'd briefly forgotten about, began.
Even while the judges talked seriously after that, there wasn't a single trace of anxiety on Kim Se-jun's face.
"What do you think will happen, hyung?"
"If it were me, I don't think I'd raise it....... What do you think?"
Jun-hyeok hyung really is fair and square. But I'm not.
"I think they'll raise it. That's the fun of survival shows."
I couldn't remember Kim Se-jun's grade from before exactly, but you need someone like that for the ratings to come out well. Then, even if it's a stretch, they're obviously going to give him what he wants at least once.
"Oh! An upset has happened. Trainee Kim Se-jun's final grade has been set at C. Congratulations!"
At the end of the MC's slightly excited voice, producer Na Seung-pil looked at Kim Se-jun and left a word of advice.
"Work hard, so that I don't regret my decision."
"Thank you!"
See? My predictions are never wrong.
Having seized a Grade C in the end, Kim Se-jun quickly came up and took the seat next to hyung.
"Hi! You're AP, right? We meet again here."
"We do. You're a really good dancer, aren't you? Show us often."
And when he greeted hyung and me in that distinctively upbeat voice of his, hyung held out his hand and answered.
"Of course. From what I saw earlier, the AP team's singing was the best by far. Way better than KDO. Teach me some singing whenever you get the chance."
Kim Se-jun. His ears are top-notch, aren't they? If he's bringing up singing first, then for us it's dance!
For some reason, the next person didn't come up, and naturally, eyes gathered on our noisy corner.
While hyung froze up, realizing it, I thought this was my chance to jump in and stuck my hand out toward Kim Se-jun.
"Oh! Then teach us some dance!"
"Deal. But when we're rival teams, no mercy."
"Same here!"
Can two people really click this well? Maybe this is, fate?
***
"We'll take a short break here. Lunchboxes will be handed out outside the set, so please everyone wait outside."
How much time had passed? Sitting under such bright lights had dried out my eyes, and my back was screaming from enduring chairs that weren't made for long sitting.
At the staff member's welcome word, lunchbox, the trainees on stage got up one by one, smiling brightly.
"You okay?"
"Yeah. I'm fine. How's your back, hyung?"
"Fine so far. But it's taking a lot longer than I thought. Right?"
As we came down chatting, the lights on the stage dimmed. Thanks to that, I could finally check the clock hanging in the set, and at first I thought I'd misread the numbers.
"Hyung, is something wrong with my eyes right now?"
"Huh? Do your eyes hurt a lot? Want some artificial tears? I'll go get my bag."
"No, no. It's not that. I just can't believe it's already 3."
When I kept rubbing my eyes while looking at the clock, hyung smacked my back as if relieved.
"You should've come prepared for this much. Come on, come on. Let's hurry and eat. Now that my nerves are gone, I'm hungry."
"Ugh....... You've got a point. I hope they give us good lunchboxes!"
And so, without foreseeing the disaster about to follow, I moved with hyung to get our lunchboxes. Seeing even the trainees who hadn't made it on stage yet relax at the mention of lunchboxes, I realized all over again that we were all at the age when you're always hungry.
"Whoo-ah! It still feels good to be outside."
The meal was held outdoors. The fact that the set was surrounded by a park seemed to have a lot to do with that.
"Agreed. Between the lights and so many people, the air was stuffy even with the fans running."
Exhaust fumes and all, no one could argue that this air wasn't way better than the set's. Plus, you could see that blue sky so clearly!
"Everyone got a lunchbox, right? We'll meet back here in one hour. Enjoy your meal!"
Since there were so many people, the lunchboxes had been handed out in order of agency name, and carrying ours, we found a big rock to sit on and looked at the lids with wide eyes.
"Wow— this must be a pricey one?"
"This is my first time seeing one like it too. Usually they'd just order something like Two Pots, but I guess they went to some trouble."
And the lunchbox really was that good. Starting with basic sides like kimchi, seasoned spinach, and stir-fried anchovies, down to rolled omelet, beef bulgogi, chicken nuggets, and doenjang soup, there wasn't a single thing missing.
Having a big corporation involved really does change things, starting with stuff like this.
"But I'm a little worried."
"Why?"
"Feeding us this well, I wonder how hard they're going to run us."
Having lived by a rule that says whenever something good comes along, something bad follows, I couldn't just be happy about it.
'Lying through your teeth.'
Anyway, that dragon really has zero tact. You can't eat, right? I'm going to eat it all!
"You punk— don't worry, just eat for now. You've got to eat to hold out. This is only the beginning."
"Yeah! Thanks for the food!"
With hyung's words, I got my chopsticks moving fast. Somewhere I heard people saying that if you ate it all you'd look puffy on camera, but I shut my ears.
Even to be an idol, you have to survive first!
But why hadn't anyone told me that the real hardship started after this? It's just so sad that my rule wasn't wrong.
"All right— one more time. One, two, three. Jump!"
"Waaaah!"
My knees are shaking now, so please, stop already!