Let's Dance
A Spirit Contractor is an Awakened who keeps nature at their side.
Living with spirits—beings of will born from nature itself—they grow familiar with mana, and that familiarity reshapes the body.
The flesh changes in harmony with nature, and it also changes according to the Contractor’s own will.
Just as a peaceful forest becomes a logging site by human intention, a Spirit Contractor’s body gradually evolves into the form best suited to what they desire.
The reason I bring this up before anything else begins is simple.
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
“One, two, three, step. One, two, three, step!”
“Uh-ta-ta-ta! Uh-ta-ta-ta!”
Spirit Contractors, it seems, are born with the highest possible aptitude for the performing arts.
That is the conclusion I have reached after arriving at this point.
Even with my clothes soaked through with sweat, I kept moving without losing my smile.
This is a lot more doable than I expected.
I am an Awakened who handles spirits that already possess will. Because I walk with nature, and because I instill will into that nature, expressing will through the body feels natural. Letting will flow with the music. Filling every movement with intention and purpose. All of it is simply comfortable and easy.
There is a minor side effect—my body stumbles a little over things that are “unnatural,” like off-beats or dissonance—but even that adapts, as if it, too, is simply part of nature.
Maybe it is because I already hold high-rank power as an Awakener, but even accounting for that, this is a little strange.
“Don’t tell me she saw this coming and made me an idol…?”
No. Impossible. Even I did not know this about myself. There is no way Hyewon could have known.
Which means this is purely a coincidence I stumbled into.
“Producer Kim. Any interest in becoming an idol yourself?”
“Sorry, but I’ll have to pass.”
After the training session for the kids ended, I thought it over in the shower.
“Expression of will.”
And whatever lies further along that line.
I might have to pick up the studies I abandoned after my cadet days.
It feels like I have found a faint clue that could help me break through a wall.
This will probably take a long time, too.
Still, if I keep leading the kids, it will come to me on its own eventually.
Realizations of this kind are better waited for than forced. Effort is dog-type; insight is cat-type.
I finished organizing what I had learned and stepped out of the shower.
What remained for me now was…
“Hello, Instructor!”
“Ugh… the smell of sweat is intense!”
“The smell of sweat… duhyu… duhuhuhu…!”
“Ah, fuck.”
I do not want to do this.
Why is Spirit Contractor talent always linked to being a complete weirdo?
For a moment I even wondered whether pure human naturalness might simply be madness.
Mixing spirit arts into dance was not difficult at all.
“Seiren.”
[Yay! Wave-riding time!]
A spirit moves according to its Contractor’s will. Dance and song are expressions of the performer’s will in the first place, so the compatibility with spirit arts is excellent.
So you planned this after all, Hyewon.
That girl has sharp instincts when you look closely. That is probably how she has managed to avoid being deported overseas so far.
I demonstrated the first-verse choreography to everyone and then lightly dusted off my hands.
“See? You do it like that.”
"""........."""
What?
Why is there no reaction?
I stared at them in silence. Yeonhwa was the first to speak.
“Instructor, did you get plastic surgery?”
“What the hell are you talking about.”
Why is plastic surgery coming up all of a sudden?
Yeonhwa looked me up and down as if something felt off, then shook her head.
“Looking at you now you’re just normal, but earlier… why did you look like that…?”
“So what exactly are you trying to say?”
“If you don’t know, forget it.”
“No.”
Why do only you understand? Let me in on it too.
“When you used spirit arts, Instructor, your presence drew the eye more than usual!”
“Of course it did. A spirit was out there clowning around right in front of you. How could it not catch your eye?”
“That’s not what I meant…”
In the end, it was Seiren’s power, then.
Of course. My face has zero narrative weight on its own.
I exhaled lightly and stroked Seiren’s cheek. Sujin flinched hard and asked, voice trembling,
“E-earlier, th-that… are we supposed to…?”
“You’re the ones who have to dance.”
“……Hieeeeek!”
[…Pihiiiiit!!]
Sujin and the otter both shuddered, then she shot up from her seat and tried to flee.
I silently glanced at the other two. Yeonhwa and Harin immediately seized Sujin’s arms and pinned her in place.
“Nam Sujin. You’re not going to run, are you?”
“Sujin-ah. We’re in this together.”
“I don’t wanna…! I said I don’t wanna do iiiit…!”
People become people by overcoming the things they hate.
Sometimes colliding with adversity and forcing your way through is excellent practice for strengthening a Spirit Contractor’s will.
And besides—
You think I enjoyed any of this?
I am embarrassed and exhausted right now too.
I am only enduring it so that you three will be even more embarrassed later.
I smiled brightly and said to the three of them,
“Shall we practice?”
“Kyaaaaaaaaaah!!!”
[Piiiiiiiiieeeeeek!]
Sujin let out a scream of pure despair as she was dragged over.
That despair-soaked voice was strangely pleasant, like listening to a classical opera.
…
..
.
I said earlier that Spirit Contractors, living with nature and with will, are naturally suited to dance and song that express will.
Right?
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
“One, two, three, step. One, two, three, step!”
“Heu! Heut! Euk, augh!”
That was a lie.
Otherwise how does this make any sense?
“A mating dance?”
Oh. Correct answer.
I nodded a hundred times at Yeonhwa’s words.
This is neither a wave nor a Gag dance nor anything else.
It is simply a mating dance.
The only difference from the male version is that the female seduces with the two enormous mounds attached to the front of her body.
I already knew her chest was large, but today was the first time I realized it was larger than her head.
“Hue… hueeeuugh…”
“…I’m getting dizzy.”
About three hours into practice.
The other two, excluding Sujin, were following along well enough.
Yeonhwa, whose livelihood had always depended on her body, only needed to stop putting in excess force and she was fine. Harin showed clear talent outside of spirit arts; even while still getting shocked on a regular basis, she was the fastest learner among them.
And then, surprisingly—or perhaps inevitably—
“I can’t… I really can’t do any more…!!”
“Assé, gyeol!”
Nam Sujin collapsed flat on the floor.
Her stamina had simply run out and she had crumpled where she stood.
I found it absurd, yet on another level I understood.
She has rhythm.
Probably from all the rhythm games.
But not being able to use her body is a completely different problem.
A Spirit Contractor is an Awakened who expresses their own will. Mana responds to that will and reshapes the body. From that perspective, Yeonhwa, who always stood on the front line, would naturally have developed strong, powerful muscles. Harin, who had only her cadet days to work with, would have built basic musculature just to keep from falling behind.
As for Sujin…
“I can’t! I said I can’t! Just kill me instead!”
Bwaaaah!
She flopped over and wailed.
“I was a hikikomori who got bullied in high school, dropped out immediately, and then locked myself in my room! What more do you expect me to do?! I won’t! I can’t! Impossible, impossible, I said it’s impossible!”
An Awakener’s mana carries the Awakener’s will.
What is Sujin’s will? What is Nam Sujin’s will?
“There’s no way… there’s no way someone like me could dance…!”
“…Yeah.”
She dropped out of school.
She locked herself in her room.
She played games like a madwoman and escaped reality through comics and anime.
When she was forcibly dragged out of that life, her spirit lost its will and she herself lost all motivation.
That is the will Nam Sujin carries.
Because she holds that kind of will, she can display an almost deranged focus when it comes to games, yet the moment her body is required she collapses. It makes sense.
But then why, with a will like that, is her chest so big?
Genetics, probably.
Before Awakening, growth is genetic. Then Awakening layered basic physical enhancement on top of that, and somehow all of it concentrated in her chest…?
If I posted this on some academic board it would be pretty entertaining.
Not that I have any intention of posting it. Research is for researchers. Why would a guy like me bother?
Anyway, at this rate we are not making any progress.
“…Nam Sujin-ssi.”
“Hiiik!? Y… yes.”
As a producer, I had a decision to make.
“There are currently two paths left for you, Nam Sujin-ssi.”
“...........”
She swallowed hard, eyes tense.
I met her gaze and continued.
“One is to clear Dance Dance Hyper Revolution.”
“Huh?”
“If we convert the dancing into a game that matches your tendencies, you will adapt quickly.”
“Ah… then…”
“But you would be taking on another debt to the company.”
“..........”
Debt.
At that single word, Nam Sujin’s face hardened.
By nature, a hikikomori can be strong toward their parents yet weak toward outsiders. Inside their room they are powerful; outside that room, in society, they are frail beyond measure.
“The second method…”
She was going to dodge, exactly as I had predicted.
Which is why I could offer this.
“A method that is fast, certain, painful, but will let you power-level.”
“Huh?”
“There is a way for you to experience a Hyper Burning Event in real life.”
“……???”
“Hmm?”
Neither agreement nor refusal—just pure confusion.
Sujin stayed dazed for a moment, then finally spoke.
“You’re not… going to give up… on me…?”
“Why would I give up?”
“Eh?”
“I am Nam Sujin-ssi’s producer.”
“...........”
Her pupils began to widen.
She stared at me blankly, then flinched and took two steps backward.
“N-no lewd stuff… I think that’s not allowed…!”
“I recommend not saying that. It sounds like plagiarism.”
So, conclusion? Which method will you choose?
“…The second method. I’ll go with that.”
“Good choice.”
For me, a good choice.
For the company, the best choice.
And for Nam Sujin—
Tap. Tap. Tap. Tap.
“One, two, three, step. One, two, three, step!”
“U-e-e-euk?!”
“Wrong again?”
“Ah… aaaa…!”
And then—
“In that case I have no choice! I’ll just have to smash the ‘Kaito Ren 2-head figure’ that was sitting in your figure display case!”
“Kyaaaaak! Kyaak! Kyaaaaaaaak!”
“Blame yourself for not keeping up with the dance!”
Crunch-crack!
“Reeeeeeen!!!”
For Nam Sujin, it was the worst of the worst choices.
She collapsed on the spot in pure despair.
But was she really going to just stay like that?
“Not yet! I still have thirty figures left!”
“I’ll do it! I said I’ll do it, okay, I’ll do it!”
Nam Sujin began thrashing her body like a madwoman to protect her figures.
Watching that will take hold and gradually pull her into the dance, I could not help thinking I might actually be a genius of a producer.
Ah, and for the record—all of those figures had been handed over to me by Sujin’s parents.
They had been extremely enthusiastic about the idea.