Eun-gyeom’s eyes widened greatly at Sol’s continued response. Lightly, as if listening to a colleague’s complaint, Eun-gyeom continued the story, recalling his own experiences, and looked at Sol with trembling eyes.
Sol, who had stopped crying unnoticed, was now looking at Eun-gyeom with a more composed expression than expected. Seeing him no longer crying, Eun-gyeom lightly scratched the edge of his eyebrow and smiled. Even though the pitiful crying had stopped, the way Sol, for some reason, responded with a bitter smile was more poignant. When Eun-gyeom and Sol’s gazes met, Eun-gyeom impulsively blurted out without realizing it.
“Shall I be your friend?”
“What?”
“Talking like this on our first meeting is funny and strange, isn’t it? So, let’s be friends. It might be presumptuous of me, but...”
“Suddenly?”
“If we’re friends, it’s not strange for us to have this kind of conversation right now.”
“It was a bit strange.”
“Yeah. I did it without realizing it...”
As he said, it was strange. He might have resembled Seo Ju-hwan, but not entirely. Ironically, Sol, who couldn’t bring himself to say such things to Seo Juhwan, was saying them now. Yet, looking at Eun-gyeom, who was smiling at himself, Sol also smiled slightly. Suddenly, embarrassment rushed in, realizing how strange it was to laugh and cry, receive impromptu serious counseling, and feel anxious about the future. It was clear that they were not in their right minds.
The two who faced each other and laughed, turned their heads at the subtle and awkward atmosphere. Sol also felt his face warming up, pressing his cheek firmly with his palm. His cheeks and the area around his eyes were completely dry from the tears. Watching Sol’s actions quietly, Eun-gyeom folded his laptop and approached Sol.
“So, what can I help you with? Since we’re friends now, tell me.”
In response to Eun-gyeom’s question, Sol glanced at the phone screen he was holding in his hand. The YouTube search bar had ‘D’ entered. Normally, Sol would never have mentioned it, but now that it had happened and considering he wasn’t in his original world anyway, an impulsive thought occurred to him.
“Um... well, there’s a weekend evaluation, so I need to familiarize myself with dance and song.”
“Weekend evaluation? Not the end-of-month evaluation?”
“Yes. It’s for the debut group. Until we have specific concepts or anything like that, we have weekend evaluations.”
“It’s for the debut group?”
“...Yes. I started from yesterday.”
“What? As a trainee?”
“Yes.”
“Did you receive training somewhere else before?”
“No. This is my first time. Oh, but I’ve been doing dance for a long time. Modern dance, ballet, Korean dance.”
“I see. It must have been tough. It’s scary even for someone who knows and has been preparing for a long time.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, especially during the debut phase, the trainers can be really intimidating. Everyone ends up shedding tears.”
“Rather than that... I just don’t want to cause harm to others.”
Eun-gyeom poured out unexpected questions. Someone who has never undergone training entering the debut evaluation for the debut group. Even trainees who had gone through tough evaluations for a long time would struggle with their mental state once they entered the debut group. It wasn’t about creating an individual, but rather a product.
When you have to produce something to be sold, the evaluations become brutally critical. And starting as a trainee from yesterday meant there were no members to trust and rely on. Only then did Eun-gyeom understand why Sol said he had no friends. Friends? It was fortunate that enemies hadn’t appeared instead.
“So, what’s the evaluation song?”
“Um... just a moment.”
Sol hurriedly showed the phone screen he had in his hand in response to Eun-gyeom’s question. As Eun-gyeom stared at the screen, muttering ‘D?’ to himself, Sol checked the phone screen again and exclaimed, “Oh!”
The next word after ‘Day’ didn’t come to Eun-gyeom’s mind for a moment. Frowning heavily, Sol, with a reddened face, answered in a hesitant voice.
“D-Block sunbaenim? The song is <Hot Trick>.”
Eun-gyeom’s face was puzzled as he heard Sol’s hesitant answer. After stroking his eyebrows a couple of times, he raised his well-shaped brown eyebrows. Sol found that he had a habit of touching the edge of his eyebrows whenever he was flustered. It was a small gesture, but seeing him, who skillfully laughed, display discomfort made Sol feel a bit more comfortable in this awkward situation.
“Sol-ssi, don’t you know me?”
As if there was something to say, Eun-gyeom hesitated for a while before spitting out the words. Sol thought that if he hesitated a bit more, Eun-gyeom’s eyebrows might wear out from the contemplation. Eun-gyeom pointed at his face with his finger and turning his left and right.
“Yes?”
“It’s a bit embarrassing to say this with my own mouth, but do you really not know who I am?”
“Tae Eun-gyeom... ssi?”
“...We agreed to be friends, but addressing each other so formally is a bit funny, don’t you think? I’m twenty-four.”
“I’m twenty.”
“I’m older than you. Just casually call me ‘hyung’. I’ll do the same.”
“Sure... hyung.”
“Good.”
Seemingly satisfied, Eun-gyeom nodded his head. The title of ‘hyung’ felt awkward, but surprisingly, it flowed naturally from Sol’s mouth. The way he looked at him was so gentle, it felt so much like an older brother. The kind of supportive older brother that the twenty-five-year-old Sol didn’t have. Although Yoo-chan was a good friend, he was different from Eun-gyeom. If Yoo-chan saw Sol’s current state, it might have hurt his feelings.
“Also, since you really seem not to know, let me introduce myself again. I’m Eun-gyeom, the leader of D-Block.”
“Ah!”
“I’m quite popular, though. Haven’t you seen me before?”
“I don’t watch TV much.”
“That’s possible. I’ll have to work harder.”
Eun-gyeom laughed loudly, as if it were no big deal. Sol, who had no interest in idols or the latest songs, didn’t remember unless someone became widely popular nationwide with their music. Moreover, Eun-gyeom was a character in a game. Considering that D-Block, his group, didn’t exist in real life, it was natural for Sol not to recognize him.
“Anyway, it’s our song. I’m glad! At least I can help with that.”
“...But didn’t you come to the practice room because you had work to do?”
“I just came to hide. I’m working on a song. It’s a bit embarrassing, but it’s not going so well.”
“It’s not because I’m keeping you busy, right? Maybe it would be better if I give you some space...”
“No! It’s just that my song writing was not going well, so I came here to be sentimental and think about ‘how was I before my debut.’”
“It’s okay if you don’t help. You’ve already helped a lot.”
“No, no. It’s better this way. I wanted to do it myself.”
Eun-gyeom’s offer was appreciated. Despite feeling lost on his own, the opportunity for the original artist to become his mentor seemed like a great chance. However, Sol couldn’t readily accept his help. It wasn’t just a lack of skill in dancing; even with a good mentor, it seemed futile to him. His mind was tangled with thoughts of what to do.
Sol raised his hand and wiped his eyes. The tears had long dried, leaving his eyes stinging and stiff. Whether it’s for better or worse, handling it alone seemed preferable. Sol silently selected and reconsidered his words of refusal to Eun-gyeom. Just as he was about to speak, the quiet quest notification window appeared before his eyes.
<Pass the first weekend evaluation!>
Your first week as a trainee. Receive a grade of B or higher in the weekend evaluation!
* D-Block - Hot Trick Dance Proficiency 0%
Success: Stability Potion x2
Failure: System Shutdown (or equivalent pain)
Sol’s face twisted in confusion. The emotions that had momentarily subsided surged back, and instead of sadness and fear, irritation took over. Anger boiled up at the notification window that incessantly pressed him to confront himself without giving him time to evade. In an act of futile defiance, Sol glared at the bright mint-colored notification window. Eun-gyeom, misinterpreting the sudden seriousness of Sol’s expression, smiled widely, stood up, and extended his hand to him like a scene from an enthusiastic youth comic.
Frustration bubbled up in Sol as he stared intently at the unyielding notification window. Through the mint-colored window, he was startled by the sudden appearance of Eun-gyeom’s hand. Perhaps due to his resemblance to Ju-hwan, he didn’t feel a strong aversion to holding the other’s hand. Alternating between the owner of the hand and the notification window, Sol eventually grabbed Eun-gyeom’s outstretched hand without hesitation.
In this world, anyway, Eun-gyeom was his senior, so he might be of some help. In fact, the conversation they had just had was quite informative. It wasn’t much of a story, but sharing a bit of his inner thoughts had lightened his heart considerably.
“Get up. First, let’s check the basic moves before delving into the choreography.”
As Sol grabbed his hand, Eun-gyeom pulled him up forcefully. Despite sitting for a long time and having sore legs, Sol stood up effortlessly. Naturally light and agile, even the simplest movements seemed like part of a choreography. Moreover, Eun-gyeom, who seemed gentle and soft, turned out to be a stricter instructor than expected.
“I’m the center for this song. I’ll let you know the attributes. Let’s take the center role.”
“I don’t think that’s necessary.”
“What are you talking about? You’re learning directly from me. If you’re not the center, I’ll be embarrassed.”
Usually, when hearing such words, one would feel motivated to work hard, but somehow Sol felt his body succumbing to lethargy instead. In a moment of vulnerability, hastily accepting his help now felt regrettable. Practicing together, Eun-gyeom would undoubtedly grow tired of him. Sol would show a level of concentration that could potentially undermine the efforts of the person teaching him diligently and then repeat actions that would test the person’s patience.
Coming to this place and making a friend for the first time, the thought of eventually losing them made his mouth bitter. Like others, they would probably find him frustrating and pitiful. It was an expected occurrence, so he didn’t feel particularly upset about it. In the end, it was his own doing, his mistake, so what was there to feel bad about? It was just unfortunate that the image of Eun-gyeom overlapped with Ju-hwan, making it more bitter.
“You said you’re scared of being on stage and dancing, right?”
“...Yes.”
“To what extent? Is it to the point where even thinking about dancing makes you feel that way?”
Their friendship is so cute! It's healing my heart from the early chapters
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