Chapter 81
Chapter 81
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 81
Chapter Title: The Choreography Bet
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Team Leader Park, formerly in charge of Answer and now managing Your Girl, was on his way to a dance training session with the group.
"Hey, you better practice like your lives depend on it this time and crush those girls."
"..."
"It's a blind mission, so they won't know. They won't even have time to memorize the lyrics."
"Ugh, I get it. Can you just stop already?"
"..."
Team Leader Park's face crumpled, but he seemed to be holding himself back.
Having arrived at the academy, Your Girl headed up the stairs.
"I still don't get it. Their main vocal was only slightly better than me, and besides Seul-bi, the rest were complete trash."
"Saying it like that just makes it more annoying. You're basically saying we lost to a bunch of nobodies."
The rapper, Perry, retorted irritably at Mi-ji's words.
"Hey, let's stop talking about it. It's embarrassing, and it's over. Besides, this mission is basically a map hack for us."
"Hmph! Let's see them try to memorize a song and dance in three hours."
The Your Girl members snickered as they reached the third floor and met with the waiting choreography team.
"Hey, losing like that is just embarrassing."
"We practiced exactly like you told us to. It's not our fault we lost."
The choreography team and Your Girl exchanged knowing glances.
* * *
Four choreographers, who looked skilled at a glance, each took one of the Your Girl members and went through the dance for Answer's debut song, breaking it down into individual movements.
"We'll dance it again, so watch carefully. Don't look at the other dancers, just focus on the person assigned to you, okay?"
Answer's debut song played again, and the choreography team began to dance.
The Your Girl members stared intently, trying to learn their respective blocking.
*Could this be one of the undisclosed blind missions for the second round?*
*But why here? SJ has practice rooms too.*
If they suspected that one of the trainees I had connections with at SJ Enter might leak the information, then this was entirely plausible.
[Viewing Authority Fulfilled]
In that instant, a clear image appeared in my third eye, as if a lock had been undone.
*It was Your Girl, covering Answer's song in front of the judges with near-perfect synchronization, as if it were their own.*
*These girls were memorizing the entire answer sheet for the test.*
"Okay. That's good. You all got the key points, right?"
"Yes, Unni."
The vision abruptly ended with the words I heard from inside the practice room.
But I was already certain of everything.
Hwang Beom-seok, the main PD, was clearly pushing for Your Girl's victory under the guise of a surprise blind mission.
*It must be a mission where they give us a set amount of time and see who can cover the song more perfectly, or something like that.*
Someone approached me, muffling their footsteps.
It was Seol-ah, who leaned in beside my face, bringing a familiar scent with her.
"What is it?"
"We can't get caught. Let's go."
As I headed down to the second floor, Seol-ah naturally followed.
"The ones practicing our song right now... that's Your Girl, isn't it?"
"Yes."
"But why? Why would they practice our song here when they have perfectly good practice rooms at their own company?"
"It's just a guess, but the theme of the blind mission might be to cover each other's songs."
"Ah! That could be it! But why here?"
Seol-ah, who was usually so composed, sounded surprised.
"Because Gyeon Sang-jin is a very suspicious person."
"Huh?"
Seol-ah asked, looking as if she couldn't even begin to guess.
"Because I'm from SJ Enter."
After a moment of thought, a look of understanding dawned on Seol-ah's face.
"Oh, I see. He must think you have people you could contact there."
"Yes. He probably chose this place thinking he was practicing in top secret."
A rare, sly smile spread across Seol-ah's face.
"That makes sense. He would never have imagined we'd come here."
"Right. And he certainly wouldn't have imagined that Yuri Fox choreographed our follow-up song."
Choosing a proposal from a top-tier choreography team like Yuri Fox for a project that JD Enter's fate hinged on was a stroke of genius.
When we reached the second floor, I saw the other Answer members looking into another practice room.
"Let's go in."
I said to the members, and Seul-bi spoke up with a curious look.
"By the way, why did you go up to the third floor?"
"I'll tell you later when it's just us. It's not something to talk about here."
We had arrived about twenty minutes early for our appointment.
If we were lucky, we might get a little extra lesson time. If not, we figured we could at least gain some experience by watching other choreography teams.
It was a much better call than being late and damaging our image.
"But Yuri Fox-ssaem is doing something weird. Is that virtual reality? I think it is."
I peered inside through the window.
Wearing a white VR headset and holding a controller in each hand, Yuri Fox was flailing about as if dancing or swinging a sword, a goofy smile plastered on her face.
It seemed this was the era when decent VR was just starting to become widespread.
"Aah! That's hilarious!"
"For real. It might be fun for the person playing, but watching is so funny."
Unlike Seol-ah and Ro-si, who were smiling quietly, Seul-bi and Yi-na voiced their opinions without holding back.
When she made confident movements, it looked like she was dancing, but the occasional stuttering, as if she were buffering, was inevitably funny for us to watch.
It was clearly a game where you slice blocks with a lightsaber to the beat.
Her movements stopped, indicating the song was over.
*'Ugh, why aren't there any Korean songs?'*
The moment I read her mumbled words from her lip movements, a great idea to promote Answer popped into my head. For any group, building a core fandom was crucial for creating buzz in the beginning.
What if we could attract the kind of dedicated fans who had the financial means and drive to readily buy a VR machine that cost over 500,000 won?
"...Oppa?"
Yi-na tugged on my collar, snapping me back to reality.
"What are you thinking about so intently?"
"A plan to mass-produce an elite fandom."
I smiled pleasantly and walked inside.
Even though we entered, Yuri Fox didn't notice us, probably because of the sound from her device.
She only took off the headset after finishing one more game.
"...Ah! You scared me! You should make some noise when you come in!"
Yuri Fox said, gently chiding us as she pushed back her sweaty hair. She seemed well aware of how she must have looked to others.
* * *
"You've seen the proposal, right?"
"Yes."
"Then you should know some of it already?"
"..."
No one could answer confidently.
With two choreography sessions scheduled, they must have let their guard down a bit.
"Anyway, I should see a demonstration before we start the real lesson, right?"
The main choreography lesson began, and I set up a camera on a tripod to record it.
A few of the people who had been coaching Your Girl earlier joined Yuri Fox to demonstrate the main choreography.
[Trait 'Star Maker' Activated]
As the trait activated, every phrase and movement of the choreography taught by Yuri Fox's team was copied into my body, as if I were learning it myself.
More important than recording the video was for me to perfectly understand the choreography myself.
While the choreography transfer was included when the proposal was accepted, it was ultimately just a lesson within a limited time frame.
Yuri Fox was one of the best choreographers, whose every minute and second was valuable. She wasn't the type to give free extra lessons just because Answer was slow to pick it up.
"I'll show you one more time."
The main choreography was performed a second time, and then the three members of the choreography team who had demonstrated left the practice room.
⋮
"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight. No, no. When you spin, it's not like you're turning on your own. Yi-na and Ro-si, you need to pull them like you're spinning a top. Seol-ah and Seul-bi, think like ballerinas and turn gracefully."
"Yes."
Yi-na and Ro-si would pull on Seol-ah's and Seul-bi's arms as they moved away from their embrace, causing Seol-ah and Seul-bi to execute a pirouette en dehors, opening their hips as they turned in place. Thanks to Seul-bi's and Seol-ah's excellent proportions and beautiful lines, it would create a stunning picture once they got used to it.
"Again. One, two, three, four. Keep your eyes fixed on one spot. Your eyes, your eyes. Ugh, seriously! Ro-si and Yi-na."
"Yes..."
"Yes..."
Compared to Seul-bi and Seol-ah, Yi-na and Ro-si, whose performance was relatively lacking, became discouraged after being corrected multiple times.
*This isn't good.*
After several more repetitions, Yuri Fox glanced at the wall clock.
The first lesson was already nearing its end.
"Alright, you've got the general blocking down, so let's try it with music."
The demo version of the song, with Seol-ah's guide vocals, began to play. The original couldn't be used carelessly due to the risk of leaks.
Who knew what tricks Gyeon Sang-jin's SJ, who looked for any excuse to cause trouble, would pull.
♪♬
My love is waiting for you.
In this brief darkness
Hold me
♪♬
The two performed their top-like en dehors turns, and then the four reunited, rotating clockwise as Ro-si and Seul-bi took their positions on the left and right.
♪♬
My heart is beating for you.
From this long wait
Save me
♪♬
Seol-ah, who was in the back, spun forward using a chaîné turn. Then, after stopping in place, she did another en dehors turn.
The ballet turns felt out of place with the retro disco club vibe, but they surprisingly suited the atmosphere well.
It was as if it represented the pure inner world of a protagonist, still full of dreams, trying to enter the corrupt society of adults.
I looked forward to the wonderful narrative that could embed a sexy code within its elegance.
Of course, that was a far cry from the members' still-clumsy dancing.
The music from the bridge to the chorus repeated as they practiced a few more times.
"Alright, that's enough for today's lesson."
"Thank you for your hard work."
The members, who had been corrected repeatedly, looked completely drained after just one hour of the lesson.
"There's only one lesson left. You think you can do this?"
"..."
*Can't she just stop?*
Having pride as a top-tier choreographer was fine, but she seemed to have a needless desire to show off. Or perhaps the problem was her twisted affection for Your Girl, whom she was also training.
"Even if it's a difficult dance. The Your Girl kids picked it up quickly. You all need to step it up."
"!"
A flicker of defiance appeared in the members' eyes at the subtle contempt in her voice.
It reminded me of my past life, and I couldn't stand it.
"Excuse me, Ms. Yeo Yoo-kyung."
"...?"
At the use of her real name, Yuri Fox shot me a displeased look.
To Answer, who were receiving the lesson, she was a teacher. But to me, I was strictly the client.
"You haven't been in this industry for just a day or two. Why are you acting like this?"
"What did I do?"
*Does she think she can push me around because I'm young?*
"You know comparing them to other teams is an unwritten rule. Are you trying to gaslight my group, Answer?"
"No... I was just saying it to motivate them."
"Are you perhaps training Your Girl?"
"Ah, no, that's not it."
A look of embarrassment flashed across Yuri Fox's face, as if my words had struck a nerve.
"I'm well aware that the girls you simply sold choreography to can't carry the same weight as the disciples you're training directly. Still, you're a professional. Please act like one."
"That's really not what I meant..."
The arrogant tilt of her chin from moments ago was gone.
"And in any case, my group, Answer, is far better than Your Girl."
"!"
I heard the small, surprised gasps from a few of the Answer members.
"Hoo... Don't you think you've gone too far?"
Finally, Yuri Fox spoke as if she couldn't hold back any longer.
"Are you saying my judgment is trash? No, wait. Are you indirectly saying I'm a bad teacher?"
"...Perhaps."
"Ha! Wow, seriously."
Yuri Fox looked me up and down with a disdainful expression before speaking again.
"If it were the Your Girl kids, they would have learned it all by the day after tomorrow. That's just a fact, so what do you want me to do about it?"
I could feel that Yuri Fox's words had hurt the Answer members' feelings.
If I let this continue, the Answer members' self-esteem could crumble.
"Want to make a bet?"
"A bet? Out of nowhere?"
"What will you do if they come back tomorrow with the choreography perfected?"
"Haha, honestly. It's not that easy of a dance, and besides..."
"So what will you do if they do it?"
"Manager-nim..."
As the atmosphere grew tense, Seol-ah pulled at my arm. I always backed down whenever Seol-ah tried to stop me, but not today.
I shook off Seol-ah's hand and stood my ground.
"Hah... why are you being so childish?"
"If you're scared, then we don't have to."
At my repeated provocation, Yuri Fox let out a scoff and spoke.
"Fine. You want to take this all the way? Okay. If I objectively see that it's perfect, I'll buy each of the girls a pair of sneakers. What about you?"
"I'll give you one million won."
"One million won. Deal. No backing out."
Yuri Fox let out a disbelieving sneer.
"What are you doing, all of a sudden! What are we supposed to do in one day!"
A flustered Seol-ah demanded, and Ro-si, the weakest dancer, turned pale as a sheet.
"I'll trust in your conscience. See you tomorrow."
"Pfft."
Yuri Fox's face was filled with ridicule.
"Goodbye."
I left the practice room first, and the Answer members scurried out after me, as if desperate to escape the tense atmosphere.
*If you want to be treated with respect, act like you deserve it.*
[Sudden Quest: 'Choreography Battle']
Obtain a declaration of defeat from Yuri Fox at the next lesson.
Reward: Random Draw