Chapter 56
The cameraman only wore a peculiar smile and didn’t answer Jaekyung’s question. He just pushed the camera closer and acted as if trying to capture real-time reactions.
If you know, just tell me. Though Jaekyung found it petty, he didn’t ask further since that was how broadcasts worked. Instead, he let out a long sigh to relax his tense body. The song had been decided, and all that remained was to check which team he’d be performing on stage with. Jaekyung closed his eyes heavily, then opened them and finally put strength into the door handle, pushing it open.
As the door swung wide open, five trainees sitting in a semicircle came into view all at once. Jaekyung’s eyes quickly scanned their faces. Just as Jaekyung looked at them, they too warmly welcomed the last member to join.
“Wow.”
“He’s skilled. Really skilled.”
“Ah, thank goodness.”
“I expected it, but I’m happy.”
There were some people he’d seen in the last game and some trainees he was meeting for the first time. As he looked at the five faces, Jaekyung unconsciously felt disappointed that Jungwoo wasn’t there.
‘It would be good if we didn’t perform together, so why am I feeling like this.’
When he’d suggested they should drop out, that was one thing, but now he was disappointed they couldn’t perform together – he was being incredibly fickle. But Jaekyung had his own reasons. It wasn’t just any song – it would have been nice to do this particular song together.
Receiving cheers from the five without Jungwoo, Jaekyung trudged inside. He pretended not to hear the cameraman’s unmistakable laughter, letting it go in one ear and out the other. Seeing everyone gathered closely in front of the camera, Jaekyung appropriately sat down at the end. Then the trainee right next to him stared at Jaekyung intently before waving his hand.
“If I’d known this would happen, I should have played that game with you earlier.”
It was the trainee who had approached Jaekyung first during the last game because Jaekyung didn’t want to pair with Jungwoo. He had quickly paired with another trainee because he didn’t want to pair with Jaekyung, yet here they were meeting like this. It seemed destined that they’d end up like this even without pairing with Jaekyung. The guy seemed to have similar thoughts, wearing a slightly embarrassed smile.
“Should I have just teamed up with you? Ah, no.”
The guy laughed cheerfully and put his arm around the shoulder of the man next to him.
“Anyway, since you’re here too, it’s all the same. Right, Seungkwon?”
The guy looked at Lee Seungkwon, who he’d paired with, and said this. The somewhat blunt-looking Lee Seungkwon gave a bitter smile and hung his head low.
“Don’t be disappointed already. You just need to dance prettily.”
“How can someone my size dance prettily? Junghang, you and your positive mindset need to pick the right time and place.”
“What does size have to do with dancing? Do you think I’ll dance prettily then?”
“You… Yeah. You’ll do better than me.”
“Right? You’re not rock bottom though, are you? This hyung will lay down the foundation for you.”
Junghang, who had his arm around Seungkwon’s neck almost in a chokehold, comforted him in his own way with what passed for consolation. From that brief conversation, Jaekyung could get a read on Junghang and Lee Seungkwon.
Watching the positive-natured trainee Junghang and Seungkwon, who was worried but silently accepting, wasn’t boring. Meanwhile, Lee Seungkwon, who had been conversing with Junghang, looked at Jaekyung and nodded, awkwardly offering a greeting.
“I heard you’re the same age as Jungwoo. I was roommates with him at first. I’m 21.”
“Yes, nice to meet you.”
“I’m also 21.”
Junghang, who had been looking back and forth between Jaekyung and Lee Seungkwon, interjected while pointing to himself.
“And Minho over there is 20, Siwoo hyung is 23, and Juhyung hyung is 24.”
Hearing the names and ages, Jaekyung pressed his lips tightly together to keep his expression from crumbling. And that last trainee, Park Juhyung with brightly bleached hair, was a full five years older, making Jaekyung the youngest.
“Please take care of me, youngest. You can specially call me hyung.”
Junghang organized the hierarchy by age and pinpointed Jaekyung’s age. Following Junghang’s laughter, the other trainees also looked at Jaekyung with subtle smiles. Under their gazes that seemed to say ‘you’re our youngest,’ Jaekyung felt cornered.
“Please take care of me.”
Giving up, Jaekyung bowed his head. The team he’d expected to be troubled because of the song was flowing in an unexpectedly bright atmosphere. Riding on that atmosphere, Harang spoke rather triumphantly.
“I may be third from last, but you know I chose this song on purpose, right? There were two songs left, and the other one was too difficult, so I chose this one.”
So that’s why Jungwoo had a chance to choose a different song. Since Jaekyung came to the remaining spot, Jungwoo had some choice too. If only he’d been better at rock-paper-scissors, he could have gone to a different spot instead of Jungwoo…
Suddenly Jaekyung’s thoughts turned to Lee Seungkwon. If Junghang was third from last, then Lee Seungkwon was fourth, meaning he also chose between two songs. And he chose this song, but Jaekyung couldn’t guess why at all.
‘He didn’t seem to want this song either.’
As if noticing Jaekyung’s gaze, Lee Seungkwon glanced at him briefly before naturally looking away.
‘If it were me, I think I would have gone with the other song. Well, it’s not like there were that many songs to choose from anyway.’
Jaekyung pondered why he did that, then erased the thought. He had enough to handle with his own burden without thinking about other people’s situations.
“In that sense, please take care of me, Jaekyung.”
“…Excuse me?”
I didn’t catch that, but what are you asking me to take care of? Jaekyung asked Junghang back, but he didn’t repeat himself.
* * *
“Thank you for letting me be the leader. I’ll do my best.”
Junghang raised one hand while mimicking a solemn expression. Then he looked around and showed himself to the camera. He kept leading the atmosphere, and when Junghang became leader, no one voiced any objections.
“Then we need to pick the most important thing – the center. Anyone want to do it?”
Jaekyung looked on with an expression that said he didn’t care who became center. But no one raised their hand. They weren’t even reading the room – they just kept their mouths shut.
“Oh my, there’s no choice. In times like this, we have no choice but to use the recommendation method.”
Junghang let out an exaggerated sigh and pointed at people with his pen to pick the center. Then Lee Seungkwon immediately raised his hand and said:
“I recommend Seo Jaekyung.”
“Huh? No, I have no intention of being center.”
Jaekyung immediately expressed his opinion, but Junghang waved his pen left and right.
“Since it’s a recommendation system, let’s hear other people’s opinions too.”
“I think trainee Seo Jaekyung would be good too. I remember when you danced during a previous mission. When you ran out and danced to the song.”
It was that mission where Jaekyung had shot himself in the foot.
“I think it would be better for someone who dances well to stably take on the center role.”
“I’m not without ambition for center either, but this time I’ll specially yield to trainee Seo Jaekyung.”
Jaekyung was receiving recommendation after recommendation that he absolutely didn’t want. Everyone was pointing at him, so Jaekyung looked at Junghang with the desperation of grabbing a last lifeline. Reading Jaekyung’s pleading eyes, Junghang wiped away his smile and replied seriously.
“Trainee Seo Jaekyung, who dances best here, has no choice but to be center.”
“Dancing can be practiced though.”
“Well, we can see about that during practice, but right now… it’s only you.”
Going between formal and informal speech, Junghang patted Jaekyung’s shoulder. His expression suggested he’d known Jaekyung would be center. Jaekyung looked around, wondering if they’d planned something among themselves while he wasn’t aware, but nothing had changed.
“I really can’t be center…”
“That’s why I’m telling you to wait and see. You have no choice but to do it. Next, let’s pick the main vocal.”
“Is it by recommendation?”
At someone’s question, Jaekyung felt his heart drop with a thud.
* * *
Coming outside, Jaekyung’s eyes met with Jungwoo, who was just coming out of the adjacent room. Looking at the song title posted on the room Jungwoo had entered, he confirmed which place had remained until the end. So he went in there.
It was powerful with many high-difficulty choreography moves, so he understood why trainee Junghang had avoided it. Anyway, with trainee Junghang ending up with the girl group song, it worked out well for Jungwoo.
“I really don’t understand, so I’m asking…”
At Jaekyung’s weak voice, Jungwoo looked back and forth between Jaekyung and the door he’d come out of. Jaekyung spoke without caring that Jungwoo wasn’t looking at him.
“Usually people want to be center and main vocal, right? Huh? Why does everyone say they don’t want to?”
It had been a time where he couldn’t understand anything from start to finish. This was an audition and survival show where you had to stand out more than anyone else. For someone to rise up, they had to push others down, so the competition to be center should have been fierce.
It wasn’t just center. Main vocal, killing parts – they were all good items for moving up, but until just now, Jaekyung had come out of a meeting where they’d just dropped all of that on the floor with no intention of picking it up.
“Even in games, it’s better to equip items than fight barehanded. Check your status window, wear cooler armor than other people. Right? But why don’t they wear it themselves and try to put it on others instead?”
Before he knew it, Jaekyung was rambling to himself without any thought of hearing Jungwoo’s answer. It was just venting. Since everyone kept saying they didn’t want to do anything, they kept using that damn recommendation system and kept dragging out Jaekyung, who just wanted to stay quiet.
After talking enthusiastically and getting tired out on his own, Jaekyung closed his mouth, and Jungwoo, who had been quietly listening, asked:
“So you’re center and main vocal?”
“……”
Jaekyung’s mouth clamped shut like a clam shell.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
