“Understanding alone doesn’t make everything okay.”
“It’s really okay. And we still don’t know how the evaluation this weekend will turn out.”
Sol, who had been flicking his fingers lightly, trailed off in his words. It was truly uncertain how things would turn out.
“Oh, you’re doing fine, hyung. Even I was a real mess at first, just like Garam hyung. If you’re at this level, you’re already good.”
“That’s right. It’s only been a few days, and you caught up quickly.”
Sol’s voice trailed off, and he shifted his gaze uneasily. The atmosphere, which had been filled with light chatter, suddenly grew heavy. Despite his lack of confidence from the outset, both Deuk-yong and Ga-ram offered words of encouragement to Sol, whose face had suddenly darkened.
“Yeah... I’ll give it my best shot.”
“If you keep hesitating like this, you won’t be able to continue. Ga-ram hyung, you start first.”
When Deuk-yong nudged Ga-ram’s side, he nodded his head.
“First, try to speak more comfortably.” (T/N: Ga-ram is telling Sol to not use formal language when speaking.)
“Uh... yeah. Okay, Ga-ram?”
“Yeah. Sol. I’ll call you Sol.”
“Yes. No... uh, yeah. I’ll call you Ga-ram too.”
Awkwardly, Sol couldn’t properly look at Ga-ram and Deuk-yong and instead glanced around the dark alley.
“Hyung, can you just call me DK? Without the Deuk-yong.”
“Call me whatever you’re comfortable with.”
“Okay.”
“Ga-ram hyung, are you really going to keep calling me Deuk-yong, even on the broadcast?”
At Deuk-yong’s request, Sol nodded. What’s so difficult about it? Ga-ram walked with a sluggish expression, as if he was sleepy, and nodded his head lazily. Seeing this, Deuk-yong, once again irritated, nudged Ga-ram with his shoulder as they walked down the dimly lit alley, where only a few streetlights were on.
The dormitory with the lights on came into view as they neared it. As they turned the corner, for some reason, a somewhat familiar figure passed by the three of them as if brushing past. Approaching them while walking, a passerby deliberately passed by the three of them as if barely avoiding touching their sides in the quiet alley.
At that moment, Ga-ram flinched and sidestepped, avoiding a collision. Sol was equally startled. Due to the unfamiliar person getting too close, Deuk-yong looked at the two who had stopped walking with a puzzled expression.
“What’s going on...?”
“Let’s go inside quickly.”
When Deuk-yong’s expression suddenly changed, Ga-ram pushed him forward.
“We’re back.”
As soon as they entered the dorm, Deuk-yong greeted the empty air like a high school student returning home. Just then, Ji-ho, who had just finished showering, greeted the three of them. Sol noticed that Tae-oh’s shoes were still missing among the scattered shoes by the entrance.
‘He’s not back yet.’
Sol looked at the disorganized shoes and thought, ‘It’s quite late....’ Ga-ram lightly tapped his shoulder, noticing he was lost in thought and not bothering to remove his shoes at the entrance, just staring at the scattered shoes.
“Sol, do you want to shower first?”
“Is it okay?”
“You look tired. Go ahead and shower first and rest.”
When Sol looked up at Ga-ram, Ga-ram spoke in a casual tone.
“Then after Sol hyung, I’ll go next!”
Though Deuk-yong quickly raised his hand to intervene, Ji-ho ignored him and alternated between looking at Ga-ram and Sol.
“What’s going on...? Are Ga-ram and Sol now speaking casually?”
“That’s what we decided.”
“When did you become so close? Feels like I’m being left out.”
Ji-ho looked at the three of them with a smiling face. Though he seemed to be smiling brightly, Sol felt uncomfortable looking him in the eye and averted his gaze.
“What, I’m feeling a bit hurt? We’ve been together for years, and you’re still speaking formally with me, but suddenly you’re speaking casually with Sol after just a few days?”
“Because Ji-ho hyung is still an older brother, that’s why.”
“We would have done it if Hyung told us to do it first.”
At the words of Ga-ram and Deuk-yong, Ji-ho smiled even wider. Despite smiling, his gaze towards Sol, though brief, made Sol turn his head completely to the side. Ji-ho’s smile somehow felt uncomfortable. It was undoubtedly a wide, friendly smile, but there was an underlying discomfort to it. Ga-ram and Deuk-yong casually passed by Ji-ho, not seeming to notice such discomfort.
“Really? Okay then, go ahead. It’d be weird if you only used honorifics with me.”
“Really!... Right?” (T/N: “진짜!…ìš”?” (Jinjja!…yo?) - this is what DK said. The Korean character “ìš”” (yo) is a polite ending particle often used in informal speech to add politeness or softness to a sentence.)
Deuk-yong blurted out and added ‘ìš”’ at the end, poking Ji-ho’s arm.
“I already told you that you can speak informally, but it seemed that you still can’t.”
“I will, Ji-ho hyung.”
“We’ve been trainees together for years, but now you’re finally letting go of speaking formally.”
“It wasn’t for any particular reason. I just called you ‘hyung.’ If you were the same age as Sol, I would’ve done it sooner.”
“Yeah, you’re the oldest hyung.”
“Am I considered old now?”
“Phew. It’s hard to play with an old hyung.”
“Hey! Kim Deuk-yong!”
Ga-ram calmly explained his reasons to Ji-ho in his usual relaxed tone. Deuk-yong teased Ji-ho and then leaped onto the living room sofa, lying down.
Finally, Ji-ho gently patted Ga-ram and Sol’s shoulders in turn, saying quietly, “It’s just a joke. But seriously, speak comfortably.”
As Ga-ram nodded in understanding and went into the bedroom, Sol, who had been avoiding eye contact until then, found himself facing Ji-ho alone.
Unlike Tae-oh, Ga-ram, and Deuk-yong, who he had gotten to know of, Sol still felt awkward around Ji-ho. He wasn’t intentionally teasing Sol or saying anything to provoke him, but there was just something about his words. At the moment Sol tried to slip away into his room, Ji-ho grabbed his arm.
“Did I make the kids uncomfortable? Sol, what do you think? Do you feel that way?”
“No.... I’m fine.”
Sol bowed his head like a scolded student and answered Ji-ho’s question.
“...Still, I’m glad. It seems like you’ve become a bit closer to the kids.”
“Yes. They all treat me well.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes... You treat me well too, hyung.”
“But Sol-ah, feel free to speak comfortably.”
Sol raised his head and looked at Ji-ho. The other had known Ga-ram and Deuk-yong for a long time, so it was understandable. But Sol, whom he had only known for a few days, was different. There was a subtle tension in Ji-ho’s eyes.
“Is that okay, though?”
“Then, if everyone else speaks comfortably and only you don’t, it’ll make me feel awkward.”
“Okay then.”
“Use informal speech.”
“I’ll do that...”
“And?”
“Ji-ho hyung?”
“That’s right. You must be tired, right? You should go wash up and get some sleep. You need to wake up on time tomorrow, too.”
Ji-ho, like an eldest brother taking care of his younger sibling, even finished his advice in a tender tone, and then finally released Sol’s arm. Sol was able to enter his room only after he craned his neck and nodded. When Sol finished showering and returned to his room, Tae-oh, with a tired complexion, was already there.
Knowing his circumstances, Sol suddenly felt closer to him, but ironically, he couldn’t say a single word in front of Tae-oh. Sol felt unsure about what to say and uncomfortable with the idea of suddenly feeling close to Tae-oh because of this situation, which made him feel sorry as well.
With a noticeably tired expression, Tae-oh gathered his clothes and headed to the bathroom, leaving Sol alone again. He lay on his bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. Exhausted, with his limbs heavy and eyelids gradually growing heavier due to fatigue, Sol’s brother fell asleep without waiting for Tae-oh.
The awaited day finally arrived. Sol checked the contents displayed on the system window with a determined expression.
<Let’s pass the first weekend evaluation!>
[The first week as a trainee. Get a grade of B or higher in the first weekend evaluation!
*D-Block - Hot Trick Dance Proficiency 100%
[Current Fatigue Level 53/100]
Success grants 2 Potions of Stability
Failure results in System Shutdown (or equivalent pain).]
It was just in time on the morning of the weekend evaluation day that the proficiency reached 100%. The singing was still a mess, but having solved one problem, a sigh of relief naturally escaped. Sol, who had moved from the usual practice room 2 to the larger practice room 1, looked around at the black chairs lined up along the mirrored wall.
Seeing the chairs arranged, it finally hit him that he would soon be evaluated in front of several people. His heart began to pound, and his breathing became heavy. Since only the dance proficiency was displayed on the system window, he couldn’t gauge how his singing was. Unlike the objective score displayed for the dance, the vocals, where an objective score couldn’t be confirmed, made him anxious, so he had been practicing alone since the day before yesterday.
Tae-oh and Ji-ho occasionally watched, and by yesterday evening, he even got confirmation from the vocal trainer that he wouldn’t receive any scolding if he continued in that manner. Compared to the preparation period, even excessive praise felt insufficient. However, despite that, he couldn’t easily shake off his anxiety.
Sol stood awkwardly in the middle of the practice room, repeatedly clenching and unclenching his fists. His palms were damp with cold sweat. Sol wiped his palms on the hem of his shirt.
“...Are you okay?”
“Yes....”
Tae-oh, who had been watching Sol’s actions closely, asked. When Sol nodded and replied, he didn’t inquire further.
“You don’t seem okay, Sol.”
“Hyung, is it hot? Why are you sweating so much?”
“In this weather?”
Starting with Tae-oh’s question, several people crowded around Sol. As if everyone had been waiting to speak to Sol, they glanced around, each saying a word.
“Haha, did I practice too much? I feel a little hot.”
“Sol-ah, it’s below zero outside right now.”
“Should I turn off the heater?”
“No, it’s okay. Maybe I moved too suddenly. I’ll probably feel better after resting a bit. It’s going to be cold for everyone if you turn off the heater.”
As Ji-ho said, it was below freezing outside. Despite being indoors, there was a chilly atmosphere, and the cold air didn’t help with moving around. It wasn’t particularly hot either. Sol wiped the sweat from his forehead. When he touched the slightly faded bruise on his forehead, he felt a little pain.
“Hey, guys. The trainers are coming.”
As the practice room door opened, Yeong-ho poked his head in. Actually, it seemed harder than expected to see the manager’s face. When he asked Ga-ram about it, he explained that it felt like the debut was at risk of falling through, with hardly any concrete schedule in place. Despite there being no clear reason for the debut to be canceled, it seemed like they were desperately trying to form a debut group somehow.
“Remember, the Representative is coming today, right? If you show what you’ve prepared today, the Representative will support you. Um... you guys know you’re already behind schedule, right?” (T/N: Representative = CEO)
“Don’t worry, Yeong-ho hyung. We’re all practice bugs here.”
“Yeah, yeah. We know you guys always work hard. But let’s do even better. Sol, it seems like your bruise has faded a bit today.”
“Yes, I kept applying the ointment.”
With Tae-oh, who was also an icon of diligence, not just Yeong-ho, but also other managers weren’t too worried about the debut group, even though there had been several occasions where they stumbled. Sol nodded as he thought of Tae-oh. He was leading the group, managing almost everything.As Yeong-ho finished speaking, the trainers, whose faces had become familiar over time, entered the practice room one by one and took their seats.
need more dramaa
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