Again, Idol 16

Chapter 16

“Isn’t our team too strong?”

Someone complained lightly.

Was it Yoo Minhyuk?

Jaekyung had heard Han Chanhyung mention him a few times. He was tall with thick eyebrows, giving him a strong impression.

“No, starting with his face being unfair and then filming like that…”

During break time while waiting for dance lessons, team members ended up sitting in a circle. Jaekyung didn’t like this seating arrangement from the start, but there was no choice. It was better than sitting in a row in the practice room.

Once they were seated where they could see each other’s faces, those words came out as if they’d been waiting. Though rankings hadn’t been announced yet, there were people who instinctively drew attention.

Among them, Jaekyung noticed that Yoo Minhyuk was conscious of Yoon Hajun and Lee Jungwoo from Team A. Indeed, those two had done the best during the photoshoot.

“How did you manage to pose so well?”

“…What?”

Jaekyung, who had been thinking it took too long to answer, responded with a bewildered expression. He thought the question was implicitly directed at Jungwoo, but Yoo Minhyuk’s gaze was aimed at him. Though he reacted once he realized the question was for him, the gap was too long.

“Have you had photoshoots before?”

“Uh… I don’t… quite remember.”

Caught off guard, Jaekyung responded awkwardly. How did he pose so well? Since returning to age 19, he hadn’t had any photoshoots, so should he say no? Or should he say he had indirect experience? As Jaekyung contemplated, the silence grew longer.

This led to another uncomfortable silence. Yoo Minhyuk looked at the camera positioned in a corner of the practice room and changed his target.

“Yoon Hajun trainee doesn’t seem like someone doing an audition program for the first time.”

“Does that mean I failed all previous programs and came here?”

When Hajun joked with a sad face, Minhyuk belatedly waved his hands saying that wasn’t what he meant. This time, an uncomfortable atmosphere lingered. It was time for someone to fill the audio void again. Jaekyung’s gaze turned to Hajun. The person who could change any atmosphere as he pleased was now quietly sitting for some reason.

‘They say he became the leader because of that personality…’

Leader in the debut group, leader in b-nine. But why was he acting like this now? His narrowed eyes suggested he had something to say. Jaekyung looked at Hajun suspiciously a few more times before turning away. It was his choice whether to step forward here. As Jaekyung was gauging when the trainer would come in, Hajun’s voice pierced his ears.

“Lee Jungwoo trainee, since when have you been so handsome?”

“What?”

“Pfft.”

Jaekyung quickly covered his mouth, but couldn’t completely hide the burst of laughter. Still, it was brief, so others probably didn’t hear it? With a bit of hope, he secretly looked around, but his eyebrows gradually lowered. Everyone was looking at him.

Some were smiling as if they’d heard everything, while others had wide, surprised eyes.

‘I’m done for.’

If only that sudden comment hadn’t hit him so unexpectedly, he wouldn’t have laughed. Now it clearly looked like he was mocking Jungwoo. Sure enough, Hajun immediately added:

“Seo Jaekyung trainee is handsome too.”

“…That’s not why I laughed.”

“Well, I accomplished something. I made Seo Jaekyung trainee laugh.”

Jaekyung raised his hand trying to hide his expression, unable to decide whether to cry or laugh, but lowered it when he noticed his fingertips trembling.

“It felt like telling someone who just ate that they must be full, so I laughed. There was no other meaning.”

It’s obvious that Jungwoo is handsome, so saying he’s handsome was funny.

“Jungwoo is handsome, isn’t he? Jaekyung trainee knows that well.”

“Yes, well…”

I know, that’s why I don’t want to be next to him. Jaekyung just hoped to clear up the misunderstanding that he wasn’t mocking Jungwoo. So he complimented Jungwoo, whom he had pushed away just that morning, telling him not to come near.

“He’s so handsome it’s almost burdensome. Standing next to him would make for an unfavorable comparison.”

“Hmm… introducing yourself.”

“Pardon?”

Hajun mumbled so quietly that Jaekyung couldn’t hear properly. When Jaekyung asked again, Hajun shook his head lightly, saying it was nothing. Then he was teasing Jungwoo with jokes like “Does it feel good to be handsome?”

‘That’s a problem too.’

Since Jungwoo was quiet and not light-hearted, no one had picked on him, but Hajun mentioned him with an expression that said “don’t you know that?” Still, it wasn’t enough to burst into laughter. Jaekyung regretted it belatedly, but the water had already been spilled and couldn’t be gathered back up. With thoughts of wanting to disappear somewhere, he casually tossed out a comment to move past it.

“You two seem close.”

He threw out an obvious statement since they were from the same agency. Thinking there wouldn’t be much to answer, he turned his head away, but Hajun acted puzzled.

“Jungwoo and Jaekyung trainee look even closer to me?”

Ah, fuck.

* * *

As soon as a staff member informed them that the dance trainer would be a bit late and suggested they start practicing, everyone stood up as if they’d been waiting. The trainees, who knew better than anyone the importance of dance in a performance song, brightened their eyes and warmed up.

There was little chance for the 99 trainees to sing individually. To stand out, they had to dance better than anyone else. Perhaps because of this, there was a strong atmosphere of dedication to choreography. Jaekyung watched the people filling the practice room, going along with the mood, then quietly retreated to a corner.

As always, trying not to stand out.

He was more cautious after the profile photoshoot. Plus, the choreography shown on screen had an impact.

‘The choreography difficulty is intermediate.’

It wasn’t too difficult, nor was it easy. The point choreography in the repeated chorus was the most challenging, but the rest wasn’t difficult. He might stumble in a few places, but if asked to perform the whole routine, he could do it.

Having spent a long time as a trainee and often preparing albums under tight schedules, Jaekyung had developed a habit of memorizing choreography in a short time, so he didn’t find it particularly challenging.

“If you raise your arms like this here…”

Already, some were helping each other learn the choreography. As Jaekyung was contemplating how to hide himself better, a shadow fell over his head. Thinking it might be Jungwoo again, he looked up with an unguarded expression, only to be surprised by an unexpected person.

“Excuse me…”

It was Lee Sowoon, standing politely with his hands clasped. The one sharing his room who was 17 years old, was it? Sowoon’s shadow had fallen on Jaekyung because he was sitting.

“What is it?”

“If you have time, would you like to practice the choreography with me?”

Jaekyung tilted his head at Sowoon’s words. Even though they shared a room, Sowoon had been hanging around with Chanhyung. Looking behind Sowoon, Jaekyung saw Chanhyung coordinating with another trainee.

“Wouldn’t Han Chanhyung trainee be better than me?”

“Well…”

Sowoon hesitated, unable to speak easily.

“I’m weak at dancing.”

So what?

“I tried over there, but I kept falling behind, so I said we should practice separately and came out.”

He said he wanted to practice separately, but why come to me?

“Since you haven’t started practicing the choreography yet, I was wondering if we could learn it together from the beginning, if that’s okay.”

Ah… Now it made sense. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to practice with Chanhyung. He moved away tactfully because he couldn’t keep up. And I must have caught his eye. Sowoon had assumed Jaekyung was staying still because he was waiting for the dance trainer to arrive since it was difficult alone.

But Jaekyung didn’t want to practice choreography together. So he tried to decline carefully.

“I’m quite lacking myself.”

“Pardon?”

“But if we help each other, maybe we can improve a little bit, don’t you think?”

“Ah…”

“You don’t have to if it’s burdensome. I can do well on my own.”

When Sowoon smiled awkwardly, Jaekyung lost his words and only made a stupid sound. Unlike himself, who planned to stay quiet and get eliminated, this was a desperate opportunity for Sowoon. Everyone here, including that one person who couldn’t participate because of him, would have bet their dreams on this, and he was being selfish.

“Even though I’ve been a trainee for a while, I… I couldn’t move up from the basic dance class… But if I can get familiar with it a little before the trainer comes…”

“Let’s do it together.”

Jaekyung stood up from his seat.