Chapter 49
“When are you going to sleep?”
Jaekyung asked Jungwoo, who was still sitting up, as he lay down on the bed. Even though he had finished washing and preparing for bed, Jungwoo still had his phone and practice notebook on his lap.
“I should sleep.”
“You can’t change anything right now anyway. If that’s the case, do it tomorrow with a refreshed mind. You probably didn’t get enough sleep as it is.”
Jaekyung threw out words with barbs. Then Jungwoo, who had been scribbling something in his practice notebook, turned his head toward Jaekyung.
“You probably couldn’t sleep because you got up at dawn to film my face. But how did you find the hidden cam?”
“Because I saw you hiding it.”
Jungwoo answered nonchalantly as if it was nothing.
“I woke up for a moment and happened to see you putting it in the corner of the drawer. I looked because I was curious what it was.”
“If you found it, you should have put it back. Why did you film me?”
Jaekyung got increasingly excited and lifted his head from the bed.
“Because it looked fun.”
“Wow…”
Jaekyung lost the energy to argue further at Jungwoo’s shameless answer. Well, he had also filmed other people without permission, so he couldn’t say much more.
“You knew from the beginning that I was the mafia?”
“Yeah.”
“How?”
“Just.”
“Don’t you want to tell me?”
Jaekyung asked in an annoyed tone at Jungwoo’s attempt to brush it off. So Jungwoo brought up something else with a calm smile.
“Sleep well.”
Jungwoo’s greeting sounded like a threat that he might not be able to sleep well starting tomorrow. Jaekyung thought about pretending not to know everything and just learning the changed choreography later, but let out a long sigh.
“We haven’t worked out the details yet. Originally we were going to work on details for a week and pay attention to group choreography too.”
People who had practiced individually enough would help others, and while doing that, everyone would match up together. However, it was only about checking movement and confirming the choreography sequence. While Jaekyung and Jungwoo, Taeyeon and Hajun had completely made it their own, Choi Wooju and Yang Chaejun weren’t quite at that level yet.
“We don’t necessarily have to transform it into different choreography. I’m not against changing one movement like you said.”
Even as Jaekyung wondered why he was saying such things, his mouth kept moving.
“There are many ways to bring out the atmosphere. There are costumes, expressions, and arrangements too. Since we danced without smiling, even just a small smile would make it much softer.”
Jungwoo listened to Jaekyung’s words intently, not even noticing his phone sliding off his lap.
“Maybe going with this concept is more fitting. We’re all teenagers.”
Even Hajun, who’s 20, is 19 in Korean age.
“That’s right.”
Of course, if Jungwoo didn’t agree, it would just be Jaekyung talking to himself. Jaekyung had just said it to reduce the work even a little, but the choice was up to Jungwoo.
“I’m going to sleep.”
Jaekyung pulled the blanket over his head because Jungwoo’s piercing gaze felt burdensome.
“You, by any chance…”
Just when Jungwoo was about to open his mouth as if he had something to say to Jaekyung.
“I want to sleep here today.”
Taeyeon burst in holding a pillow. At his fuming face, Jaekyung half sat up. Taeyeon held the pillow against his stomach as a cushion and dove onto Jaekyung’s bed. Jaekyung moved back so he wouldn’t be touched as Taeyeon thrashed around in that position.
“We can’t communicate. I’m going crazy because we can’t communicate.”
Taeyeon looked at Jungwoo and let out a deep sigh as if to complain.
Knowing who he might have problems with, Jaekyung quietly got up from the bed. He left the room while half-listening to Taeyeon’s words.
“Yang Chaejun really…”
Taeyeon’s gossip echoed through the closing door gap. It had been Jungwoo’s decision to form this team. Having three people from JT Enter was entirely the team leader’s prerogative. The fact that none of the rest overlapped in agencies probably wasn’t Jungwoo’s intentional doing either. Even so, people from the same agency meeting to badmouth other trainees was really not right. Jaekyung’s expression visibly darkened.
He should forget, but why did memories of performing with them as a team keep coming back?
– Hyung, I’m sorry but please don’t talk to me.
Taeyeon had even hated Jaekyung coming near him. Of course, it wasn’t only Taeyeon’s fault. There were no members who would welcome Jaekyung who had entered through connections. So it would be good to just let it pass, but he kept seeing himself in Yang Chaejun.
Jaekyung dragged his heavy feet into Taeyeon’s room.
“Ah, I’ll call back.”
Yang Chaejun, who had been on a call, saw Jaekyung and quickly finished his conversation.
“Sorry.”
“No, I was about to hang up anyway.”
Yang Chaejun casually threw his phone and stood facing Jaekyung as if it was fine. Seeing how he couldn’t even sit anywhere despite it being his own room, Jaekyung sat on an empty bed.
“It’s your room, why are you standing there so uncomfortably?”
“Oh… right.”
Yang Chaejun scratched his head and sat down awkwardly with an embarrassed laugh. When the conversation stopped again, Jaekyung and Yang Chaejun looked in different directions.
“Ah, did Taeyeon go there?”
“Yeah.”
“Ah… I thought so.”
Yang Chaejun nodded as if he had expected it, then pulled over a pillow and hugged it. Yang Chaejun, who had been fidgeting with the pillow unnecessarily, glanced at Jaekyung before speaking.
“We had a bit of a disagreement about changing the choreography this time. When I said I would ask Jaekyung hyung for help…”
Yang Chaejun muttered while glancing at Jaekyung, but his voice gradually got quieter.
“It reminded me of how Taeyeon used to teach me before but left because he got frustrated, so um, since he’s someone who choreographs, he’s a little…”
Once Yang Chaejun started talking, his words didn’t stop as if he had been holding it all inside.
“It’s not that I don’t want to do well, but at times like this I wonder if I shouldn’t have participated. The hyungs from my agency all got eliminated this time, so it’s hard to endure alone.”
Jaekyung showed no sympathy or pity for Yang Chaejun’s words. But he hadn’t ignored them either. He just quietly looked at Yang Chaejun’s face.
“Ah, I said unnecessary things. I’m sorry, hyung.”
“Chaejun. What agency are you from?”
“I’m from dp.”
If it was dp, it was a place Jaekyung had briefly attended. Of course, it wasn’t for long, and it was a place his mother had forcibly dragged him out of, saying he wouldn’t be able to debut for several years since a boy group had just debuted then.
That was during middle school, but he couldn’t remember more details. However, when Jaekyung heard dp, something else came to mind. Jaekyung briefly pushed aside that thought and spoke to Yang Chaejun.
“Let’s sleep for now.”
“You’re sleeping here?”
“Taeyeon is in my room.”
When Jaekyung got under the blanket, Yang Chaejun looked at him with a face that had more to say, then turned off the lights as if there was no choice. At Yang Chaejun’s good night greeting as he returned to his bed, Jaekyung responded lightly and lay down with his back to him.
When the group first formed, seeing Yang Chaejun had triggered a memory of seeing him somewhere before. But it was just a fleeting impression that didn’t come to mind clearly, but after talking with Yang Chaejun, he realized.
* * *
Gathering early in the morning, they sat in a circle as usual. Even Jaekyung sat because he felt he should sit like that, but he felt a slight skepticism about why they had to sit like this.
“First, we’re going to change this entire section.”
Seeing the part Jungwoo pointed to, Jaekyung sighed as if asking if he had finally chosen that spot. He hadn’t touched the repeating choreography in the hook, but wanted to change the bridge part leading to the second verse. The original choreography was mainly composed of gentle movements to provide a break because of the rather rough movements before it.
“And I’m thinking of keeping the rest as is, what do you think?”
Except for Taeyeon, who seemed to already know Jungwoo’s thoughts, everyone fell into thought. Hajun was the first to answer.
“How are you going to change it?”
That was the most important thing. Just when Jaekyung was also curious, Jungwoo got up from his seat as if to demonstrate.
“Jaekyung, help me out.”
“Me?”
Why me when you could do it with Taeyeon, Jaekyung thought, but he obediently got up. Thanks to Hajun thoughtfully playing the music, Jungwoo immediately demonstrated that part.
“What!”
Of course, Jaekyung, who had stood up without knowing anything, was flustered.
Jungwoo, who suddenly closed the distance and approached, stood right next to Jaekyung. Then he spun around with Jaekyung as the center. It wasn’t really dancing, but seemed like they were just exploring each other.
Jaekyung felt Jungwoo’s gaze, which never left him, like a camera. So he stiffened his expression, but was surprised by Jungwoo’s smile and his eyes widened. Contrary to perceiving it as a camera, Jungwoo’s expression had softened gently. Unable to take his eyes off that smile, the one section that had felt long quickly came to an end.
“How was it?”
Taeyeon asked Jaekyung, who was just standing still. Jaekyung recalled how the gaze hadn’t left him, reflected on that smile, and answered.
“It felt like greeting.”
Jaekyung told the others who couldn’t understand exactly what he felt.
“It just felt like greeting each other, getting to know who each other was.”
If it were through a camera, it would only be about showing himself. But Jungwoo had clearly let him know that he was a living human being. So Jaekyung had summed it up in one word.
Of course, Taeyeon, who heard that answer, burst into laughter and fell backward.
“Ah, this is driving me crazy.”
The more Taeyeon’s laughter grew, the more Jungwoo’s reaction could be felt flinching.
“Jungwoo hyung clearly said it was seduction.”
At Taeyeon’s words, Jaekyung looked at Jungwoo as if he had heard strange nonsense. Jungwoo, perhaps finding it absurd even to himself, just let out an incredulous laugh without saying anything. Meanwhile, Taeyeon finished it off.
“What seduction. Nice to meet you. Pleased to meet you. They exchanged greetings.”
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
