Chapter 13
Chapter 13
“…Dance?”
The choreography for ‘Into the New World’ started with movements that blended ballet and modern dance.
It was poignant and ethereal, but as expected, it lacked intensity.
“It’s pretty, but…”
Gold 1 trailed off as he spoke.
There was a limit to how much they could modify the choreography. In other words, this dance meant the difficulty of the arrangement had just skyrocketed once again.
The team probably felt even more hopeless, thinking that keeping it as-is wouldn't suit an audition program.
After being hit with a double whammy—first the lyrics and now this—the team began learning the moves in an atmosphere as gloomy as a funeral home.
“Let’s just try to pick it up as fast as we can!”
“Right!”
Perhaps the bleakness of the road ahead acted more as a sense of crisis than despair; everyone kept their mouths shut and worked hard, making the practice surprisingly pleasant.
It seemed they realized that venting useless complaints might be broadcast as disparaging remarks about the song.
‘It’s nice that it’s quiet.’
I also continued practicing in silence.
Since I had zero experience with any kind of choreography anyway, struggling was a given, so I didn't feel particularly discouraged.
“If you grab the arm here and turn like this…”
“Mhm.”
“Oh, that was close.”
And I waited for the right timing.
Now that the atmosphere was set, the important thing was to create an impactful scene that the editors wouldn't want to cut. How the arrangement process was portrayed on the show mattered just as much as the performance itself.
The opportunity came two days later, during the trainer check-in.
*
“You guys must have worried a lot after receiving this song.”
The team members laughed awkwardly at the choreographer’s remark. They couldn't exactly say they had postponed their worries and just focused on learning the moves.
The choreographer didn't seem to particularly like that reaction, but he let it slide for now.
“Let’s see what you’ve got so far.”
“Yes!”
The team, including myself, finished the choreography for the first verse without any mistakes.
“Phew…”
The guys around me were visibly relieved that they hadn't messed up.
“……Well, okay.”
The choreographer tilted his head. It was a very neutral gesture.
“At least everyone memorized the moves. Who picked up the choreo?”
“Uh, the members who are more familiar with dancing all worked together….”
“Yes. We all did it together!”
Keun Se-jin added to Gold 2’s words.
While it was true the four Gold-rankers took the lead, Seon A-hyun was actually the one who did the most. It turned out he was a dance major.
Well, since he hadn't done it entirely alone and Keun Se-jin had become the main dancer, it seemed they were going to gloss over it like this.
The choreographer just nodded.
“Yeah, must’ve been hard work. But…”
The choreographer cracked his neck.
“No one catches my eye.”
I heard Gold 2 gasp beside me. You’d think he’d seen a ghost.
“What am I supposed to do with this? Just saying, ‘Oh, they’re dancing. They’re doing this move, now that move’—that kind of feedback is a compliment at a high school talent show. Didn't you guys come here to make a living out of this?”
The team members flinched with every word he spat out.
“There’s nothing worth watching.”
It was a natural result since they had avoided interpreting the song and just mechanically memorized the moves, but the choreographer lived up to his reputation by delivering advice like a verbal assault.
“Some of you are even below the basic standard.”
He glanced pointedly at the actor Lee Se-jin. Lee Se-jin kept his head down.
Actually, I had barely managed to memorize the dance myself, so should I be glad he was acting as a lightning rod?
The feedback continued at a level where it wouldn't be strange if someone started sobbing.
The choreographer gestured dismissively with his chin.
“You, Seon A-hyun.”
“Ye-yes…?”
“I heard you majored in modern dance. So why is your expression even weaker than Moon-dae’s?”
Seon A-hyun’s face turned deathly pale.
I had a strong feeling that this specific comment would never be edited out.
This balding jerk… he’s using me, the guy who can’t dance, as a comparison just to shock him, isn't he?
“He’s even a good singer. You’ve only had decent reviews so far because this is an audition. Do you think anyone will care about your ‘circumstances’ after you debut and say, ‘He did well enough for someone with his story’?”
For an industry where storytelling is everything, he sure talked as if it were a place judged solely on cold, hard skill.
He was the same as ever. Regardless, it seemed to have dealt a massive blow to Seon A-hyun; he looked like he was about to sink into the floor.
‘This is a bit problematic….’
The guy already had that strange status effect on him; it would be trouble if it worsened and he couldn't pull his weight.
“Anyway, your current level is just that of an amateur who practiced a bit. Think about what you want to express in this song and come back in a watchable state next time.”
“Thank you….”
The team members, who had been torn to shreds in an instant, trudged out of the evaluation room. They looked like they had zero HP left.
However, a similar situation unfolded during the vocal feedback that followed.
“Guys. What is it you want to do?”
Mudie tapped the keys of the keyboard as if she were frustrated and sorry for us. Since she actually seemed to want to give advice, she poured out specific instructions instead of personal attacks.
“The concept of this song is a flower fairy. It’s a song you have to sing clearly and prettily. But you guys are just singing the notes. There’s absolutely no sense of beauty or poignancy. Are you embarrassed to sing like that?”
“…….”
Aside from the fact that the song wasn't suitable for an audition program, I wondered if there was a single member who hadn't thought exactly that. They were all around high school age, after all.
But since they couldn't honestly say it was embarrassing, this was the answer that came out.
“Since it’s an audition, we wanted to arrange it with a stronger feel… but the song’s concept is so distinct that it was hard to naturally change it in a powerful direction.”
“If you thought the arrangement would be difficult, you should have at least thought about staying more faithful to the original.”
“…….”
Mudie waved a hand with a pitying expression.
“Guys. We need to set a direction first.”
And so, with the production staff’s intervention, an impromptu team discussion began.
Cameras were clustered right in front of us, and the staff were sitting there watching; it was a terrible atmosphere where words wouldn't come out easily.
But someone had to break the ice, so the guy wearing the leader's armband spoke first. It was Keun Se-jin.
“Um, we worked really hard for the past two days. Thanks to that, we picked up the choreo quickly, too. I think if we use that momentum to immerse ourselves in the song from now on, we can definitely create a high-quality stage.”
It was a natural encouragement, as if he had prepared it. Look at this guy.
“Let’s not hold back and really try to bring out the original song’s vibe! It might be a bit cringey, but if we do it shamelessly well, wouldn't it feel a bit like… a hit song from Malang Dalkom sunbaenims? It could be fun.”
“Ah, like what Moon-dae did?”
“Exactly! If we’re innocently cute but with a bit of humor, it’ll feel fresh. How about we speed up the beat a bit and make it exciting?”
In the end, he was suggesting we shamelessly overact a pure girl group song to make it like the "bizarre-cute" concept from Malang Dalkom’s heyday.
‘…He definitely prepared this.’
I realized it at that moment. This guy had been waiting, just like me.
‘He intentionally left things alone until the trainer feedback.’
Because if he had suggested going pure like the original from the start, some people would have definitely protested.
He also blocked the possibility of the main dancer position going to Seon A-hyun, the dance major who suited the original better.
And by getting this discussion on camera, he secured his "leader" impact.
He was no amateur.
But too bad. No matter what grand plan he had drawn up, it wouldn't matter.
Because my idea was better.
First, let’s lay the groundwork.
“The idea is good, but if we’re not careful, won't it look like we’re mocking the original song?”
It was a song by a senior idol group, after all. If we crossed the line even slightly and looked ridiculous, there was no telling what people would say.
Of course, Keun Se-jin had likely anticipated this counter-argument, as he countered with a smile.
“We just have to do it well so it doesn't look like that!”
“Moon-dae hyung, aren't you being a bit much?”
“……?”
Suddenly, Choi Won-gil flared up and jumped into the conversation.
“Uh, Won-gil?”
Keun Se-jin looked uncharacteristically flustered.
This was an interesting development where I, the one being attacked, benefited more than the one being supported.
I could hear the sound of Keun Se-jin’s grand plan crumbling.
Choi Won-gil poured out a series of increasingly angry remarks at Park Moon-dae. He seemed to be gradually forgetting that the cameras were there.
“Do you have any better ideas then, hyung? You might be at ease because the trainers like you, but you should think about the other members’ feelings too. If you just blindly oppose everything like this….”
Oh, that’s actually a surprisingly valid point.
“Ah, of course I have one. My opinion.”
“Huh……?”
“I’ve thought about it, and I think there’s a way to keep the original vibe while still being intense.”
“……?”
“Is there such a thing?”
The other team members made bewildered noises at the sudden idealistic claim.
While Choi Won-gil looked momentarily frustrated as the tension suddenly dissipated, Keun Se-jin instead rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.
This guy really is something else.
“It would be great if that’s true, but…… what is it?”
I said with a smile.
“Let’s mix in some horror.”
“……!”
Let’s not just be flower fairies; let’s be flower fairies that have crossed over to the other side.
After a brief silence filled with exclamation marks, the reactions exploded.
“Oh, oh! That sounds good!”
“Hey, if we add a horror concept to this choreo, it’ll be seriously creepy!”
“Oh…….”
From Gold 1, who was shouting "Eureka!" while waving his arms to the memorized moves, to Lee Se-jin, who looked like this was at least better than being "bizarre-cute," the reactions were mostly positive, though varying in intensity.
I figured that aspiring idols of this age would rather do something cool like horror than something silly.
Keun Se-jin also let out a short exclamation and nodded. He immediately pivoted after seeing the public opinion.
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this right after my own idea…… but Moon-dae’s opinion, I like it.”
“Wow, he abandoned his own idea and jumped ship!”
“A true leader indeed!”
The atmosphere brightened in an instant. Beyond the noisy team members, I could see Mudie with a satisfied expression.
Given that the camera was catching Mudie too, they’d probably use that shot…. I hope it gets cross-edited well.
However, there was one person clouding the newly heartwarming scene.
Choi Won-gil… was barely avoiding being that person.
Now that he had come to his senses, he seemed worried about how his outburst would look in the final edit.
He was trying his best to hop onto the mood, but his pride was too wounded to apologize to me, so he was struggling to even make eye contact.
If it were me, I would have already used this atmosphere to say I went too far and end it there.
The current mood is one where the other person has no choice but to accept it, so I don't know why he’s acting like that.
Maybe it’s because he’s young; he doesn't know how to navigate social situations.
Then who was the real culprit? It was Seon A-hyun.
“Ghosts! Let’s go with ghosts! There are flowers with stories about people dying, too.”
“Is this a horror movie? That’s so intense. Oh! Like the movie Black Swan, if we go with that kind of eerie feeling….”
“Wow, the choreo would be really scary if we do it like that.”
In the middle of this situation, which felt like the "happy ending" version of a group project, Seon A-hyun was huddled in a corner with a gloomy expression.
“…….”
It seemed he hadn't recovered from the mental blow dealt by the choreographer.
I briefly hoped Keun Se-jin would step in to get a "True Leader" shot, but there was no sign of that.
He was probably leaving him alone so that Seon A-hyun wouldn't snap out of it and claim the main dancer spot with his "major" buff.
The rest were either airheads or socially inept, so in the end, was I the only one who could speak up since our positions didn't overlap and I didn't need to keep him in check?
How annoying…. I felt hollow at the thought of having to play "mental guardian," a role I never asked for.
Regardless, we were at a point where every bit of stage quality mattered. Let’s at least say something.