Chapter 64: One Step Off

Truly, four was better than two.

Seo Jun-jae and Yeo Hyun-tae, despite having followed him without knowing what was going on, were teaching Park Seo-hu the dance moves quite enthusiastically.

To what extent, you ask….

For about the last 30 minutes, he had been practically treated like an invisible man.

Well, he wasn’t skilled enough to join Seo Jun-jae and Yeo Hyun-tae in teaching Seo-hu, and the moves he was learning were too simple for him to join Seo-hu in being taught by the other two.

So he had no choice but to practice alone, a bit further away.

“Your elbow is too wide.”

“Your knee needs to turn inward.”

Watching Park Seo-hu, who looked quite pained as he continued practicing between the two of them bombarding him with advice, almost one piece for each move, he felt a little sorry for him.

But even if the process was harsh, hadn’t he personally proven that the effect was immediate?

This is all for your future, so bear with it.

Thinking that, he turned his gaze back to his own reflection in the mirror and was about to continue practicing, moving his feet quickly in sequence.

“Jae-seo, the timing of your right footstep is off.”

He stopped his leg at the sudden remark.

Turning his head, he saw Yeo Hyun-tae looking at him.

He was sure he had heard Hyun-tae saying something to Seo-hu just moments ago—when did he start watching him too…?

Leaving Seo-hu with Seo Jun-jae, Yeo Hyun-tae came over to him and demonstrated the move he had just messed up.

Since he was told it was wrong, he tried to follow Hyun-tae’s demonstration, but perhaps because the moves followed too quickly, his timing kept being slightly off.

Frustrated, he stopped for a moment and was about to try the move again when—

“Your leg, like this….”

Yeo Hyun-tae stretched out his hand, intending to physically move Jae-seo’s leg.

And whether it was the usual trick of this crazy perverted psycho game or just an accident, because Jae-seo moved his leg first, Hyun-tae’s extended hand went astray and soon crash-landed on his lower half… no, precisely there.

Both were so shocked and flustered that they froze, unable to move.

“If you’re still having trouble, should I take a look?”

Seo Jun-jae, who had somehow come closer, lightly pushed him, separating the two of them.

“Ah, no.

I, I think it’s better to continue tomorrow morning.”

His acting stat, which he had painstakingly built up, seemed useless in this situation.

Even though his stuttering would sound suspicious to anyone, he couldn’t stop this strange act.

“I’m a bit ti-tired, so I’ll go in first.”

Saying that abruptly, without waiting for an answer, he turned and fled the practice room.

He ran straight into the nearest bathroom.

It was the same bathroom he had once said had a water vein running through it or bad energy, but he had no mind to worry about that now.

He went into the farthest stall, locked the door, let out a deep sigh, and looked down at his lower half.

…f*ck, I’m hard.

How could something like this happen from just a touch of a palm?

He squeezed his eyes shut, feeling utterly miserable.

***

…In the end, he spent another night wide awake.

Of course, having experienced this before, he tried his best not to show it in front of the other team members.

However, acting normally around Yeo Hyun-tae was still a bit difficult.

It wasn’t Hyun-tae’s fault, it was his fault… well, it was this crazy perverted psycho game’s fault, but the self-loathing he felt from his own body reacting that way was immense.

One fortunate thing was that Yeo Hyun-tae also seemed quite flustered by yesterday’s incident, as he was subtly keeping his distance.

No, maybe that was actually unfortunate.

…Maybe he figured everything out from what he felt with his hand, which is why he’s avoiding me.

Just as he was about to sink back into that heavy self-loathing,

“Everyone, hello!”

Son Chae-i and the trainers entered the hall and greeted them.

Son Chae-i, sitting in the center seat at the pre-set table, curled the corners of her mouth and spoke.

“The live broadcast is the day after tomorrow already.

Are both teams prepared well?”

No sooner had Son Chae-i finished speaking than the participants from both teams shouted “Yes!” loudly, as if competing with each other.

Son Chae-i nodded with a satisfied expression at their reaction.

“I’m very much looking forward to it.”

Meanwhile, all the trainers had taken their seats, and Son Chae-i began, saying they would start the final check-up.

“Then, ‘ALL Time’ team, please get ready first.”

At Son Chae-i’s words, the members of the ‘ALL Time’ team stepped forward and began to form their formation, while they moved to the back and sat on the floor.

Soon, the accompaniment for ‘ALL Time’ began to play.

***

“Next, ‘Time Killer’ team, please come out.”

As the final check-up for the ‘ALL Time’ team ended with praise for having prepared so well, without missing a beat, Son Chae-i called for their team.

Getting up, he stretched his legs in case they had stiffened, then went to his spot.

Soon, the intense intro of ‘Time Killer’ began with a synth sound.

The team members, who had been standing with arms entangled as if intertwined, spread outward the moment the first beat dropped and started the fast-paced choreography.

As the sound subsided for a moment, they slowly bent down, then as Kim Woo-hyun’s part began and the beat sped up like a sprint, they busily moved their bodies again.

The choreography, mixing moves with extreme speeds that alternated back and forth, calmed down for the bridge part, then began to accelerate madly again before the final chorus.

By the time they were singing the last part, he wasn’t even sure how he was breathing.

Finally, with the ad-lib he had recorded as requested by the composer, the moves began to slow.

Moving his upper body slowly, he stopped with the ending pose, and the song ended with the same synth sound from the intro.

For a moment, most of the team members held their ending pose, hands on the floor, catching their ragged breath.

After a long while, they managed to straighten up and line up in front of the table where the trainers sat.

Loud gasps and breaths could be heard from both sides.

Perhaps seeing how exhausted they looked, Son Chae-i gave them a moment out of consideration before soon raising her microphone.

“Even as a singer myself, I have to say, how can you sing live with this kind of choreography!

The choreographer was truly too harsh….”

As Son Chae-i playfully drew out her words, teasing Kwak Jinwoong sitting next to her, Jinwoong flattened himself on the table as if performing a ritual of apology and shouted, “I was wrong!”

Shaking her head towards him with a playful expression, Son Chae-i turned back to them and spoke.

“It’s really hard right now, isn’t it?

But, you did really well.”

No sooner had Son Chae-i finished than, at Kim Jae-ho’s signal, they all bowed together and thanked her.

Even amidst the sounds of catching their breath, laughter mixed in at the praise, not just ‘did well’ but ‘did really well’.

“Of course, the vocals weren’t completely steady, but considering the choreography you pulled off, it was very stable.

And that final ad-lib was really, wow….”

“Does Jae-seo have gills or something?”

At Moon Gi-hoon’s joking comment from behind Son Chae-i, who was nodding vigorously, unable to continue after the exclamation, Won Ju-ha let out a small laugh and nodded in agreement, adding another compliment.

“Jae-seo, and also Seo-hu’s high note ad-lib, were really stable.”

After Won Ju-ha’s words, more praise followed for the vocal and rap parts.

“What was your perspective as the choreographer?”

Son Chae-i, who had been quietly listening to the trainers’ evaluations, suddenly raised her microphone and asked Kwak Jinwoong.

“They did well.

But Seo-hu, you were consistently a little late.

You know that, right?”

Kwak Jinwoong pointed out the shortcomings of each team member, one by one, except for Seo Jun-jae and Yeo Hyun-tae.

And when it was his turn….

“Jae-seo, in your part, the timing of your right footstep was off alone.”

The moment he recalled the move Kwak Jinwoong pointed out, he and Yeo Hyun-tae flinched simultaneously.

***

“Wow, shit….”

As a large building began to appear faintly through the bus window, one participant nearly let out a curse involuntarily but quickly shut his mouth.

The identity of the building that drew everyone’s gaze was none other than the indoor gymnasium where the live broadcast of Please Take Care of My Idol Season 2 would take place.

“Daebak, I came here last winter to see a concert!”

As one participant remarked, it was a famous venue where concerts by renowned singers were often held.

That a trainee would get to perform at such an amazing concert hall… someone kept exclaiming in awe, their voice choked with emotion.