LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 39
Chapter 39
After deciding on the team name and slogan, we each sat or lay down on the floor to take a break.
I could feel some trainees watching my expression. I didn’t even want to know what they were expecting.
It was at that moment, as I absentmindedly stared at my reflection in the mirror in front of me.
Ripples formed in the mirror as if a stone had been thrown into a pond. Then it began to reflect a completely different image from what I had seen before.
– “Hey, did you hear?”
…It was the male trainees from True.
Not only Oh Hyun-jin, but also Han Do-kyung and Lee Eun-kyu, whom I had met after the recording last time, were visible.
The unfortunate thing was that their conversation was not particularly wholesome.
Their vulgar and crude talk made them laugh among themselves, which made me frown involuntarily.
I rolled my eyes, wondering if ‘On Raon’ was also among them, and found him stretching in a corner of the practice room, far from the group of True trainees.
– “Damn, he’s so annoying. He acts up just because the teachers take care of him. What if he debuts with us?”
– “How can a guy who can’t even speak properly debut?”
– “Hey, they can hear you.”
– “So what? Let them hear.”
…With those words, I suddenly snapped out of the illusion as if I had been forcibly pulled out of cold water.
Ban Yo-han grabbed my hand and pulled me up, lifting my dazed self.
“Did you doze off? It’s time to get up.”
Even after standing on my own two feet, I was still in a daze.
‘What… was that just now?’
I felt nauseous.
Not only I but the other team members were also getting up one by one. In this state, there’s no way we could practice.
“Excuse me, but I need to go to the bathroom quickly.”
“Go ahead.”
“Do you need someone to go with you?”
“…”
“Alright. I understand. Don’t get lost and come back safely.”
I smoothed my face, which had been scrunched up by Ban Yo-han’s excessive concern, and left the practice room.
From behind, I heard Han Da-hoon muttering that there couldn’t be anyone in the world foolish enough to get lost in a place where they had trained for three years. Ban Yo-han’s reply, “He is a fool,” seemed to reach my ears too, but for the sake of my mental health, I decided to pretend I hadn’t heard it.
Fortunately, I managed to find the bathroom quickly without becoming an actual fool.
I collected cold water in my hands from the sink and splashed it on my face several times. My bangs seemed to have gotten thoroughly soaked.
“…”
I made eye contact with myself in the mirror as I checked my appearance.
The moment I thought I was doomed, the mirror rippled again.
– “Ugh…”
‘On Raon’ was reflected in the mirror with only his back visible, retching into a toilet.
Clear liquid, presumably because he had nothing in his stomach, flowed from his mouth.
He continued retching for a while, then turned his head and looked at me with wide eyes.
Or perhaps he was looking at someone behind me.
“!”
I was pulled out of the damned illusion once again.
“Ah, damn…”
“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”
At some point, Oh Hyun-jin had come over and placed a concerned hand on my shoulder.
I had to muster all my lifelong patience to restrain myself from instinctively cursing at his brazen face.
* * *
I wasn’t sure how I finished the practice.
Every time I blankly stared into the mirror, the surface would ripple and ‘On Raon’s’ past would suddenly come to mind.
Was this what the quest description meant by ‘memories floating to consciousness from time to time without compromise’?
Of course, there wouldn’t be any compromise.
It wasn’t just that memories surfaced; they seemed to be forcefully crammed into my brain!
As a result, I became wary of anything that reflected my image. I didn’t even want to look at the rearview mirror in Gwak Sang-hyun’s car or well-polished windows.
To prevent any mishaps, I squeezed my eyes shut and slumped in the backseat, listening to the whispers of Gwak Sang-hyun and Ban Yo-han from the front seat.
“What happened in there? He doesn’t look good.”
“Nothing special, but… something was strange.”
I fell asleep quickly, perhaps because my fatigue had accumulated a lot.
During the Pick Heart training camp, managing fatigue was difficult, so I had set my sleep mode to fatigue recovery mode. But recently, I switched to normal mode to feel like I had slept properly.
Sleeping in fatigue recovery mode never felt like actual sleep.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, a thought crossed my mind.
I forced my eyes open and said,
“Hyung. From today on, I’ve decided to respect Representative Ban Ga-eul.”
“Suddenly?”
“I think she has foresight…”
You reap what you sow.
I liked that saying very much.
“Just… screw… everything…”
“Is On Raon asleep?”
“He seems to be. Yo-han, let him sleep.”
“Okay, let him sleep.”
* * *
After returning from True, I felt the need to be even more vigilant.
‘Doing things halfway won’t get me anywhere.’
I couldn’t lose to Oh Hyun-jin, no matter what.
The day after returning from True, I doubled my efforts in the cozy underground practice room at Seed.
However, it was impossible to achieve anything on my own. Tomorrow was the rehearsal, and the day after was the main show.
So, I asked for help from those around me without hesitation.
My target was Sae-bom Jung.
“I’ve never knelt before anyone in my life.”
“What are you talking about out of the blue! Do you think I’ve ever knelt before anyone?”
This hyung’s face was really scary when he frowned, looking like a thug, and I was afraid he might hit me.
My HP still seemed fragile, dropping to zero if anything happened.
But I, On Raon, a true man, did not back down.
I knelt down immediately.
“This knee is that precious! I’ll give my first to you!”
“Are you crazy?! Speak properly! And my first will be given to…”
“Hyung! Please accept me!”
“Use a clear object!”
“So demanding. Please accept me as your disciple!”
At that moment, Ban Yo-han, who had been lounging on the sofa in the practice room, made a very annoying comment.
“Hyung. It’s not an object, it’s an adverbial phrase. And that person isn’t interested in you. Even if you offer, they won’t accept.”
Ah, I could hear it. The sound of Sae-bom Jung getting angry.
“Raon, I’ll accept you. Bring that brat over too.”
“Ban Yo-han, what are you doing? Come here quickly.”
“Are you speaking to your hyung…”
“Ah, Yo-han hyung, come quickly. I don’t want to be the worst among us the day after tomorrow… Ouch!”
Ban Yo-han, who had approached with big strides, bumped into me, causing me to fall sideways. He looked surprised as if he hadn’t expected me to fall over completely, then caught me just before I hit the ground.
“You’re like a piece of paper…”
“Shut up!”
Normally, I would have immediately retaliated, but I held back.
Today, I needed to conserve every bit of energy.
Perhaps my earnestness was recognized.
“On Raon Raon, I’ll teach you the song!”
Like a scene from a musical, Kang Ji-woo burst through the vocal practice room door, waving his arms dramatically.
“Ji-woo hyung, you’re the best!”
“I’ll help with the rap.”
“Thank you, Geol hyung. But I don’t have any rap parts.”
“…”
Was it just my imagination? Seo Moon-gyeol looked a bit sullen.
“Then help me with facial expressions instead.”
“Seong-ha is better at that.”
“I don’t like him.”
Despite his refusal, Gyun Seong-ha couldn’t ignore the burdensome gaze from Kang Ji-woo and the genuine trust in Seo Moon-gyeol’s eyes, and eventually, he helped me with my facial expressions, though his attitude was as if to say, ‘This is the difference in our levels.’
Despite his arrogance, Gyun Seong-ha’s expressions were really good, except when talking to Seo Moon-gyeol.
I couldn’t help but be genuinely impressed.
“Wow, you’re really good.”
“!”
“How do you make such expressions?”
“What nonsense…”
“Wow, our Seong-ha likes it. Our Seong-ha really likes compliments.”
Kang Ji-woo teased Gyun Seong-ha, smirking unpleasantly.
“That’s not true!”
As it turned out, Gyun Seong-ha was the most promising trainee in acting among Seed trainees.
Ban Yo-han hinted that Gyun Seong-ha’s younger sibling was an actor, which might have influenced him.
Anyway, all the humiliation and suffering I endured paid off, and I greeted the rehearsal day with a completely different appearance from two days ago.
During the rehearsal, mentors came to watch and provide feedback on the trainees’ performances.
Park Shin-woo, a member of the debut group from Season 1, Upon, was also among the mentors.
There were quite a few teams that received harsh criticism for poorly chosen centers or main vocals,
leaving them in tears.
‘They… should go easy since the performance is tomorrow…’
Of course, all this was being filmed without exception.
“TOXIC Team 1, please get ready.”
“Yes!”
Muk Hye-sung, who seemed to have received feedback from Joo Yeon-ho last time, was unusually lenient today, but his expression changed immediately as our team got on stage.
[Muk Hye-sung of Chronicle is particularly watching you closely to see how well you did with his song.]
Of course, he wouldn’t just sit back and watch his song being performed…
As our team got into the starting formation, Jena smiled with interest.
“Oh, Raon is the center?”
“Yes!”
“You must feel a lot of pressure with Hye-sung watching.”
“Oh, really? I don’t feel any pressure.”
As I said that, I made a stern and serious face, causing Jena and some other mentors to chuckle.
‘But I think I’m more nervous than last time during the mentor evaluation.’
Actually, I wasn’t sure if I was nervous or not. If it was hard to tell, then it was probably right to say I wasn’t nervous.
At this point, my understanding of TOXIC’s choreography was about 60%, and my understanding of the song was about 65%.
Given my lack of stamina stats, this was my limit at the moment.
“…”
The rehearsal started with the prelude I had heard countless times.
I consciously looked for the cameras with red lights on.
If I didn’t practice looking at the cameras now, when would I?
* * *
“Huff… Huff…”
The music ended, and our team stood in a line, catching our breath and waiting for the evaluation.
“It’s neat. On average, you’re the best I’ve seen so far.”
For the first time, the team members, who usually lacked teamwork, all smiled.
After the general review, individual evaluations followed.
“Raon, you’ve developed a fierce look in your eyes. I was worried because your image was too gentle for this concept, but you showed it well as the center.”
“Thank you!”
I would love to feed poison to some bastards if I could.