Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Breathing in Sync
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I Debuted in a Group, But Now I'm Left Alone (10)
Three hours passed in the blink of an eye.
[0:00:00]
I glanced at the timer, which had stopped at some point.
'Three hours. I thought it would be short, but it felt like only an hour.'
I wiped the sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and took a swig of water.
I had been so engrossed in practice that I'd forgotten even to drink.
"You pick up choreography so quickly."
After getting help from me once, Lee Ho-jun had started asking for my advice whenever he got stuck.
Knowing how much he wanted to do well, I taught him everything I could.
"You've been a huge help. Thank you."
I managed an awkward smile at Lee Ho-jun's compliment.
I wasn't someone who learned choreography particularly fast.
If the real twenty-year-old me had participated in 'RED CUBE,' I would have crumbled miserably, unable to learn the dance.
It wasn't that I had gained a special ability like a superhero in a movie or that my skills had improved dramatically. I had simply returned to the past, yet it was strange to find myself in a more advantageous position than others.
"We will now slowly move to the location of the first performance. Please return your tablets over here."
After returning the tablet to the production staff, we went back to where we had our grade evaluations.
The set had been changed while we were practicing.
The chairs, once arranged in a pyramid, were now lined up in straight rows, reminiscent of a movie theater. A panel on the far right displaying the grades reinforced that feeling.
The only thing that remained the same was that those with higher grades were seated higher up.
Just three hours ago, I was sitting at the very bottom, at the very end, but now I was in the top row.
Sitting up high, the view was definitely different.
Everything, including the stage, the staff, and the camera equipment, was visible at a glance.
It was like watching footage shot from a drone.
"Please remain on standby!"
As soon as the staff member finished speaking, the judges entered, each carrying a file folder.
I suspected they contained our personal profiles.
They sat down with serious expressions.
A heavy tension began to fill the room.
When I spoke with Wi Yeo-jun after the previous filming, he had a very gentle expression, but in the span of three hours, he had returned like an angry bull, as if something had happened.
His face was even grimmer than when he first watched our performances.
"Hello, RED CUBE contestants!"
The atmosphere lightened slightly when the MC, Wi Yeo-jun, appeared with a bright greeting.
"So, how did practice go?"
"Not great."
"It was too short."
A few contestants answered Wi Yeo-jun's question.
"I understand that reaction. Producer, you're getting more ruthless by the day. Isn't this too much? You might end up being crowned the producer who made the most contestants cry."
The producer simply shrugged at Wi Yeo-jun.
"So you're just going to brush it off like that. I see."
Wi Yeo-jun nodded and flipped over a cue card in his hand.
"I'll keep my comments brief. It's time to see the results of your practice, right? But before that."
Wi Yeo-jun paused for a beat, as if hinting at something, before speaking again.
All the contestants' eyes were fixed on him.
I, too, waited for his next words with a trembling gaze.
"I should explain the judging method, shouldn't I?"
I had been imagining some disastrous new mission being suddenly announced, so it felt like I was on a roller coaster.
He had an extraordinary talent for toying with the contestants' emotions.
"You will be judged on stage with the person you practiced with. And the order is important, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"The order is random!"
Wi Yeo-jun spread his hands toward the screen as he spoke.
Everyone's attention shifted to the screen.
On the screen, which had turned on without anyone noticing, was a transparent glass sphere filled with colorful balls.
It seemed the contestants' names were inside those balls.
"So we don't know when we'll be called."
"I hope I'm as late as possible."
"This is going to be nerve-wracking."
I glanced toward the source of the voices and saw people with their hands clasped in prayer.
It was true that going later was advantageous.
You could review the choreography while watching the others perform.
"Well then, shall we see who our first contestants will be?"
As soon as Wi Yeo-jun finished speaking, the colorful balls inside the glass sphere began to mix rapidly.
A strange tension filled the air.
*Ding.*
With a peculiar sound effect, a single blue ball floated to the top.
The first contestants had been chosen.
*Gulp.*
I heard the sound of someone swallowing dryly right next to me.
It was Lee Ho-jun.
It seemed he, too, wanted to avoid the pressure of going first.
"The first contestants to be judged are..."
The blue ball split in half, and a piece of paper unfolded from within.
[Haru, Kang Ju-hyeok]
"A-Grade's Haru and Kang Ju-hyeok. Could you two please come forward?"
The two whose names were called slowly rose from their seats.
They walked down the steps and stood in the center of the stage.
"I have high expectations, since you both showed such stable performances."
The male judge's voice sounded remarkably cheerful.
"Let's get right to it."
As Haru and Kang Ju-hyeok took their starting positions, the intro music began to play.
I wanted to see exactly how the contestant named Haru danced, so I naturally leaned forward.
"Wow. He's really good."
"Did we really practice for the same amount of time?"
Both of them were incredibly skilled.
Haru was powerful and had excellent control over dynamics, while Kang Ju-hyeok possessed graceful dance lines.
They gave off such different vibes that it was hard to believe they were performing the same choreography.
'I don't know where to look.'
They were both so good that it was a shame I had to keep turning my head from right to left.
But then, the moment I looked straight ahead, I saw a judge frowning.
'They're flawless. What's wrong?'
I quickly tried to figure out why the judge's reaction was so negative.
'What on earth could it be?'
While I was pondering, the performance ended.
A thunderous round of applause and cheers erupted.
The judge clicked her tongue briefly before picking up her microphone.
"You're good."
Contrary to her furrowed brow, her words were praise.
'Was she just concentrating on the stage?'
But her next comment was the important one.
"But we're supposed to be creating a stage together. How can you be so out of sync?"
Only then did I understand why the judge's expression had been sour the whole time.
'Now that I think about it, that's right.'
The theme song mission wasn't about making one person shine.
The goal was for all 51 contestants on this show to become one and light up the stage.
I hadn't considered that intention.
"What are we going to do?"
"Haa..."
I could hear worried voices.
It wasn't like they could fix their synchronization now, so everyone must have been feeling sick to their stomachs.
I was no different.
'Still, we're probably a bit better off than the other teams, so it shouldn't be too serious.'
I hadn't seen how the contestants outside of A-Grade practiced, but at least the ones I saw took turns using the tablet.
One person would learn the song while the other learned the choreography.
The harsh critiques continued.
Because they had tried to force their synchronization, their rhythm was completely off.
It seemed the production team had planned this from the start.
To create a narrative where everyone is full of passion at the beginning but keeps failing, only to improve after gritting their teeth and practicing relentlessly.
'They'll probably keep this up until just before the first eliminations.'
"Sigh... I have nothing more to say. I'm forfeiting my judgment."
It even came to a point where a judge declared they would forfeit.
I could see the faces of the contestants who had just performed turn pale.
I felt sorry for them.
"We're sorry."
"I don't want your apology. As I said during the first grade evaluation, this stage isn't for me."
With tears welling in their eyes, they bowed and returned to their seats.
Once again, the balls in the glass sphere on the screen began to mix chaotically. By now, about half the balls were gone.
'When will it be my turn?'
[Seo Yoon-seul, Lee Ho-jun]
The names on the screen were mine and Lee Ho-jun's.
"That's us. Let's go."
"Okay."
Lee Ho-jun stood up first, and I followed him.
When others walked down the steps, it had seemed so fast, but now it felt strangely slow.
"Let's just do what we've been doing."
Lee Ho-jun's words stuck in my mind.
What we've been doing.
Right. We did well without any issues during practice, so there shouldn't be a major problem.
At this point, just doing an average job would be a success.
"You're right."
Standing in the center of the stage, we exchanged a brief look of encouragement and took our starting positions.
As the intro played, I let my body move to the music.
—My heart, dyed red
I decided to ignore my surroundings and focus only on myself and Lee Ho-jun filling the stage together.
Doing so made my body feel lighter.
—I cast it aside and take a step
The combination of Lee Ho-jun's solid low tones and my own mid-range voice matched incredibly well.
This was despite the fact that we hadn't practiced singing together.
Realizing that made me feel even better.
It had been so long since I'd been on a stage like this.
My heart pounded with a pleasant rhythm.
'How long has it been since I enjoyed matching my rhythm with someone else?'
When I was with 'GANGSTER-M,' specifically during the second-generation lineup, I had never felt this way.
We were on stage together, but we were all individuals.
We were only tied together by a name.
'This is fun.'
I finally felt like a real idol.
—Fly even farther
Though I could have slowly turned on the balls of my feet, I instead mirrored Lee Ho-jun, planting the front of my feet firmly as I turned slowly.
I did it partly because the judge had mentioned synchronization was important, and partly because I wanted to savor this feeling for as long as possible.
—I can't embrace the me of back then
And so, breathing in sync with Lee Ho-jun, we finished our performance.