Chapter 33: First Monthly Evaluation (5)
33. First Monthly Evaluation (5)
The moment Lee Doha took his first step, Kang Hajin thought:
This is it.
"Wow."
"Doha's improved so much."
With Gong Seok's ad-libbed line, Yoon Taehee and Lee Doha's dance break began. True to the song's rebellious theme, their choreography featured intense, combative movements that made it seem like they were fighting.
Since they weren't performing identical moves, Doha wasn't directly compared to Taehee, who had better stamina. But whenever their movements synchronized, their long limbs moved at precisely the same angles.
The exhilarating feeling when every practiced move lands perfectly on beat!
After Taehee successfully executed a flawless back tumbling flip using Doha's thigh as a springboard, Hajin and the remaining members strode forward confidently like triumphant generals to take their positions as the final chorus hit.
Watch me. This dazzling Victory
Filling the shattered moonlight Melody
Our joined hands will shine till the end
At this beginning's end, I'll invite you
Welcome, this is NEW WAVE
The song ended with ragged breaths. The five members held their ending poses for a few extra beats before lining up again at Hajin's signal to receive feedback.
"......"
"......"
Unlike other teams, an unusually long silence lingered. The trainers seemed unable to easily voice their evaluations. As the silence stretched and the other members (except Hajin and Doha) began looking uneasy—
Clap clap clap.
"...!"
"Good work. Well done."
Seo Taeil, who had been quietly observing, broke the silence with applause and brief praise. The team's tense expressions brightened at the senior's positive feedback.
"Your gestures were cleaner than I expected. First time seeing Doha do a dance break. You practiced hard?"
"Ah... Thank you."
"But why Doha? Wonho's a better dancer—it would've worked fine having him continue after the solo."
"......"
"Was Doha really the best choice for the dance break?"
Though asked with a smile, the question carried undeniable sharpness. Another silence fell. In that moment, everyone instinctively looked at Hajin.
Because Lee Doha's dance break was entirely, completely Hajin's decision.
Meeting everyone's expectant gazes in the practice room, Hajin answered with perfect composure:
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Wonho already had challenging moves in the final chorus—adding the dance break would've been too much."
"......"
"Seok-i hyung was busy with ad-libs, and Doha's similar height/build to Taehee suited the duel concept better. He also needed to support Taehee's acrobatics. And—"
Hajin paused briefly, glancing between Doha and the dance trainer before concluding:
"I thought he could do it. Doha could."
The trainers nodded, seemingly without rebuttal. Taeil tapped his pen against the desk thoughtfully before casually asking:
"What about you?"
"Huh?"
"Hajin-ssi. Couldn't you have done it?"
"......"
'What?'
Hajin's previously fluent answers halted. Even Sooho looked puzzled watching Hajin struggle with what seemed like a simple question.
"I—I wanted to do it!"
Doha suddenly raised his hand, breaking the silence. The three hopeless brothers barely suppressed their 'Since when?' expressions—fortunately, they'd learned some social awareness despite their cluelessness.
"Doha?"
"Yes. I asked to try. I also thought Hajin should take the final chorus."
"Really? ...Good ambition. Anyway, impressive preparation."
Taeil leaned back, ending the evaluation. After brief feedback from other trainers, Hajin's team returned to their seats.
"Hyung, hyung! I think we did—"
Wonho started excitedly, thrilled about the praise for his choreography, but trailed off at Hajin's unexpectedly icy expression.
"Ah, did you call me? What?"
"Oh, no... Just saying good work."
"Yeah, you too."
Hajin's belated response remained distant, his face shadowed by something unreadable.
'Why that face after praise?'
Wonho shrugged awkwardly. Hajin kept clenching and unclenching his fists, lost in thought.
"Good work everyone. Results will be posted the day after tomorrow."
"Yes!"
The trainers left amid loud thanks. Hajin finally stood—the first monthly evaluation was over.
That evening, Miro Entertainment HQ conference room.
After evaluations, trainees got three days off, leaving staff to finalize rankings. Everyone involved in the upcoming survival show gathered here.
"These kids are clearly top tier."
"Well, they were debut-ready even without the show."
Discussions moved quickly. Key points included:
"D Team... Wrong song choice?"
"Except Seongwoo, no one handled it well. Disappointing."
"Taehyun seems more confident now?"
"Right? Before he seemed strained... Maybe he recovered."
"Probably refreshed after visiting family."
Honest assessments covered everything from monthly attitudes to today's performances. As the first ranking determining survival show placements, discussions were careful.
"What about A Team?"
Finally, the elephant in the room.
"Well..."
"They did well. But..."
"Hard to evaluate."
Despite generally positive feedback, no one could easily assess them.
'Why? They were amazing.'
Kim, recently transferred from Miro's established group to the survival show team, was baffled. A Team had left the strongest impression during filming.
"Honestly? They did well, but—"
"......"
"—I can't tell if that's their usual level or just today's peak. They don't seem like typical top contenders based on past evaluations."
The usually blunt development team's Yoo voiced what others hesitated to say, sparking a flood of opinions:
"Frankly, I'm not convinced they were that good. Sure, Doha doing a dance break was surprising, but objectively, wasn't it average?"
"More like no one stood out. No clear star."
"Felt like watching any idol group performance."
Amid the critiques, Kim glanced at silent observers Ji Sooho and Seo Taeil—neither objected.
'Do they agree? But they were incredible!'
New to trainee evaluations, Kim grew increasingly confused until finally raising a hand:
"Excuse me."
"...?"
"Isn't performing like an actual idol group... amazing for trainees?"
All eyes turned to junior staffer Kim, who sweated but stood firm:
"Their cohesion was outstanding."
Individually, they might lag behind others, but as a group performance? They'd maximized their potential. This underdog narrative was content gold!
"Having one or two teams like this could make the survival show more interesting..."
Kim's cautious suggestion trailed off as he met Sooho's gaze—then did a double-take.
'He's... smiling?'
"Good point."
Sooho's brief smile vanished as he addressed the room:
"While they might not surpass individually outstanding trainees, we should credit today's achievements."
"......"
"We need to objectively assess whether this was untapped potential or their absolute peak. The top 10 will represent Miro's future."
The balanced approach won approval. Discussion turned to ranking A Team members:
"Doha has to be top tier."
"Obviously. Composing, producing, now dancing?"
"I'd rank Wonho high too—he choreographed this."
"Seok-i... I never knew he could perform like this."
"......"
As varied opinions flowed, Taeil quietly asked Sooho:
"Not advocating for Hajin? Thought you favored him."
"You're one to talk. You dote on him too."
"Me? I'm neutral—it'd be unfair otherwise."
"Same."
Taeil chuckled at Sooho's response, shaking his head. Always so professional—what if Hajin misses top 10?
Sooho smiled. "Doubt that's a concern."
"Huh?"
"Look. It's decided."
Taeil followed Sooho's gaze to the whiteboard:
<20XX February Monthly Evaluation Final Rankings>
The first seismic shift had arrived.