While looking at Sol’s wide smile, Tae-oh pulled out a tissue and casually handed it to him, saying, “Here.” Sol roughly wiped the remaining moisture from his face and neatly adjusted the corners of his mouth. The sounds of faint music and brisk footsteps could be heard in the corridor. It seemed like today’s conversation had reached its conclusion.
When Tae-oh made a gesture of agreement, Sol raised his eyebrows slightly in a positive gesture, then left the restroom. After roughly tousling his damp hair with his hand and turning the corner, he ran into Deuk-yong. The sound of purposeful footsteps likely belonged to him.
Upon spotting Sol, Deuk-yong quickly grabbed his arm. Sol flinched momentarily at the unfamiliar touch. It was surprising, but not as uncomfortable or unpleasant as before. Nevertheless, he felt a sense of accomplishment despite sweating and being in disarray.
“What’s wrong? Hyung, your expression looks strange.”
“My expression?”
“Why are you smiling like that? It’s suspicious...”
“Huh?”
As Deuk-yong was about to say something else, he suddenly made a strange expression when he met Sol’s gaze. Deuk-yong’s face looked even stranger as he commented on Sol’s odd expression. Sol pressed his face with his palm in response to Deuk-yong’s words. It seemed that without realizing it, he had been smiling after the conversation with Tae-oh.
“No, that’s not it, Hyung! Have you seen Tae-oh hyung?”
“What about Tae-oh?”
“No, I’ve been waiting for him to come to practice the choreography for the evaluation song, but he hasn’t shown up no matter how long I wait.”
“Oh, he’s in the restroom....”
“Never mind. We can go ahead and practice with you, hyung.”
“With me?”
“Yes. With you.”
Sol pointed behind him with his hand, and his eyes widened at Deuk-yong’s subsequent words. His eyes, already large, couldn’t get any bigger. Sol moved his finger from pointing at the path he had come from to in front of his own face, looking shocked.
Despite Deuk-yong’s confirmation, Sol continued to point at himself and ask, “Me?” repeatedly. Deuk-yong nodded each time as if to say, “Why do you keep asking the obvious?” Sol looked around, appearing bewildered by Deuk-yong’s expression.
“Tae-oh will be here soon. Wouldn’t it be better to start together with Tae-oh?”
“Forget about Tae-oh hyung. You catch on to choreography quickly too. If you learn it first and teach me, that’ll be fine.”
Who was he, someone who couldn’t even keep up with basic moves, supposed to teach? Despite Deuk-yong’s firm words, Sol continuously shook his head. Deuk-yong seemed to have accepted him and embraced him fully as part of the team, which made Sol happy, but more than happiness, worry prevailed.
“Well, that’s true... But still, Tae-oh would be more accurate than me...”
“I want to do it with hyung first. Quickly. Let’s hurry. Ga-ram hyung has been waiting for us.”
As Sol hesitated and continued to shake his head, Deuk-yong cut him off decisively. Then, making sure Sol couldn’t escape, Deuk-yong linked his arm with Sol’s and strode purposefully. With Sol trapped within Deuk-yong’s larger and more imposing frame, he was dragged in the direction of the practice room.
“If it’s okay with you, I’ll do my best...”
Sol murmured softly as he was led by Deuk-yong, almost inaudibly. Sol’s cheeks turned slightly red, but Deuk-yong didn’t notice the change. As Sol was dragged along by Deuk-yong, he suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“By the way, what’s our evaluation song this time?”
He had no memory of the evaluation song. At Sol’s sudden question, Deuk-yong turned around as if he were a malfunctioning robot.
“They told us this morning.”
“I was distracted...”
The morning had been a blur, lost in a haze of empty memories and a muddled mind. He had clearly listened with one ear and let it pass with the other.
“It’s <Dreamer> by Starlight. At least it’s a calm one, which is fortunate. <Hot Trick> was too intense.”
“...”
“...”
It was a completely unfamiliar singer he had never heard of before, and the title was likewise unfamiliar. Deuk-yong appeared truly relieved as he smiled and spoke, but when Sol didn’t react at all, he abruptly halted and looked at Sol with a sense of tension in the air. Sol didn’t say anything, but Deuk-yong seemed to catch onto something from his reaction. Even dull people could be perceptive in moments like this.
“Let’s just listen first. You’ll understand once you hear it.”
At that moment, the system window that had been silent suddenly appeared anew before Sol’s eyes. Mint-colored letters loomed solemnly over Deuk-yong’s face, where the usual traces of laughter had disappeared.
<Steps Towards Debut, Let’s Get Properly Evaluated!>
[This time, a real weekend evaluation! Achieve at least Dance Grade A and Vocal Grade B or higher in the weekend evaluation.
*Starlight - Dreamer Dance Proficiency 0%
Vocal Proficiency 0%
Success grants Stability Potion x2
Failure results in system shutdown (or equivalent pain)]
Now, perhaps realizing that the Stability Potion was the key, the rewards for success appeared in Sol’s eyes before the penalties for failure. There weren’t any significant differences in the mission compared to the one received during the first evaluation last time. The only additions were the dance and vocal grade requirements and proficiency, which were not present before. Likewise, failure this time meant death.
The pain of that day flashed before Sol’s eyes, and he trembled and shuddered. Startled by Sol’s sudden shaking, Deuk-yong released his grip on Sol’s arm. When the quest didn’t appear, the silence brought anxiety, but once the quest actually emerged, even greater anxiety set in.
Leaving Deuk-yong standing in place, Sol now walked towards the practice room. This time, since it was an unfamiliar song, Sol knew he would need more time than the other members. Sol dashed into the practice room, leaving Deuk-yong behind. Deuk-yong’s voice called out from behind, “What’s wrong, let’s go together, hyung!” But Sol didn’t turn back. He was in a hurry.
***
Sol lay sprawled on the cool floor of the practice room. Taking a rest to reduce the accumulating fatigue, his behavior had become much more natural and comfortable compared to the times when he used to sit curled up in a corner of the practice room. The coolness of the floor, touching his heated body from the dance practice, was just pleasantly refreshing, and he didn’t feel bad at all.
Beside Sol, Ga-ram stealthily crept over and lay down next to him. Following Ga-ram, Ji-ho and Deuk-yong also discreetly stretched out, resting beside Sol’s legs.
[Fatigue Level: 69/100]
[Attention to fatigue management! Penalties occur if fatigue exceeds 70.]
Sol wiped his chest because his fatigue level had risen dangerously close to the penalty threshold. As Deuk-yong had mentioned, their current evaluation song ‘Dreamer’ was a refreshing tune with a relatively slow tempo. The choreography itself wasn’t highly demanding, but due to its lively feel, there were quite a few jumping moves and cooperative actions that all members had to perform together.
Since the day Sol collapsed due to penalties and the members broke down barriers, and as they continued to coordinate their movements, the five men have grown noticeably closer over the past few days. Sol, who used to avoid physical contact, now accepted the current situation without hesitation.
By showing a diligent effort, Sol helped dispel misunderstandings among the members, and they approached him. After spending time together and sharing stories with Tae-oh, Sol no longer pushed the members away. As a result, their relationship naturally improved over time. They couldn’t help but grow closer as they slept, ate, spent all day together, and worked tirelessly towards the same goal, burning their feet towards it.
“Oh, it’s cold!”
“Ow, my head.”
Sol, with a flushed face, closed his right eye and was focusing on his breathing when he suddenly felt something cold on his cheek. Startled, Sol let out a surprised cry as he sat up abruptly, causing Ji-ho and Deuk-yong, who had been leaning their lower bodies against his head, to groan in discomfort. The identity of the cold object was a water bottle handed over by Tae-oh.
“Water.”
“Thanks.”
Accepting the water bottle handed over by Tae-oh, Sol smiled faintly. It was still a somewhat awkward smile, but Tae-oh nodded as he looked at Sol.
“You look tired. Let’s try one more time and then let’s return.”
“Just a little. Let me rest a bit more.”
“Yeah, just lie down for a bit, Tae-oh-yah.”
“Take a breather, hyung.”
As Sol looked at the window, blinking due to the fatigue that was still overwhelming, everyone, including Ji-ho and Deuk-yong, chimed in. Tae-oh was the only one standing on both legs. Perhaps unable to withstand everyone’s demands, Tae-oh plopped down next to Sol with a wry smile. In fact, he was just as exhausted. When Tae-oh sat down, Ga-ram, who had been lying next to Sol, turned his body around to look at him.
“Yoon Tae-oh, isn’t today the day you’re going to the hospital?”
“Uh....”
Upon Ga-ram’s words, Deuk-yong made a strange sound for a moment. It was a sound of energy draining away, like slipping on a glass window. Instantly, everyone’s gaze, except Sol’s, was fixed on Tae-oh. Meeting the collective gaze of the members, Tae-oh shrugged his shoulders.
“Sol knows too.”
“Oh? Did you mention it?”
Upon hearing Tae-oh’s indifferent voice, Jiho, who was still lying on the floor, suddenly sat up and responded. It was a question filled with surprise. Instead of Tae-oh, Sol answered Ji-ho’s question.
“I happened to find out.”
“Is there no secret at work?”
“We didn’t deliberately keep it a secret, Sol-ah. Anyway... “
“I know.”
When Ji-ho and Ga-ram tried to make excuses with embarrassed looks, this time Sol shrugged his shoulders. Just a while ago, Tae-oh’s actions resembled theirs. Ji-ho, Ga-ram, and Deuk-yong were actually not comfortable telling Sol about Tae-oh’s situation. Because they didn’t want to casually expose others’ pain and make it a topic of discussion. Of course, their defenses crumbled, leading to the same mistake happening now.
When everyone’s attention turned to him this time, Sol smiled as if to say he was really okay.
“Sol hyung, can’t you fix your smile for real? Your face is too precious...”
“I guess I need to practice properly later.”
“Still weird?”
“Well... I think it’s better than before... but something feels a bit stiff?”
“Sol is our visual member. If you want to be an ending fairy*, you need to practice your expressions.” (T/N: In K-pop, the term “ending fairy” refers to the member of a group who is chosen to close out a performance on music shows. It’s the one where the camera focused on them.)
