In the corner of the practice room, Ga-ram sat crouched with his back against the mirror, his laptop resting on his knees, staring at it blankly.
In front of him, Tae-oh was practicing a new choreography that he would perform for an evaluation, showing off a sharp turn. Ga-ram didn’t even glance at him, and Tae-oh paid no attention to Ga-ram, who hadn’t moved for an hour sitting behind him. After the music ended and Tae-oh finished his routine with a clean move, he swept back his sweat-drenched hair and finally called out to Ga-ram behind him.
“Kang Ga-ram.”
“...”
Tae-oh’s deep voice echoed through the quiet practice room, but Ga-ram’s gaze remained fixed on the laptop screen, as if he hadn’t heard him.
“Kang Ga-ram.”
Even after calling several times, Ga-ram didn’t respond, so Tae-oh moved closer and sat next to him. Sitting right beside him, Tae-oh’s broad shoulder lightly nudged Ga-ram. Only then did Ga-ram’s concentration break, and he looked up at Tae-oh.
“What?”
“I asked when you’re going to wrap up.”
“Hmm... just one more hour.”
At Ga-ram’s reply, Tae-oh nodded silently and took a moment to catch his breath beside him. Lately, Ga-ram had been sitting like this in the practice room, glued to his laptop, after taking additional classes on arrangement and instruments. Tae-oh checked the time as he calmed his breathing. By now, everyone else was probably resting back at the dorm.
Time flew by without them realizing it. After getting used to the new weekend evaluations, Deuk-yong had returned to school. Though he only attended morning classes before heading back to the practice room, he still had to go to school, so these days, he made sure to return to the dorm by 10 PM. Recently, he seemed to be contemplating dropping out and taking the GED.
Meanwhile, with Eun-gyeom’s solo activities in full swing, the other members, except for Deuk-yong, got a chance to perform with him on stage in groups of two or three. Of course, Sol, who had Eun-gyeom’s favor, got an extra opportunity. For the members, it was just a chance to gain experience on stage and in broadcasting, but for Sol, it was like walking a tightrope.
Today, Ji-ho and Sol had accompanied Eun-gyeom for his schedule. They were probably resting at the dorm by now. During their first pre-recording session, Tae-oh and Sol had gotten the chance to perform together. Despite Tae-oh’s worries, Sol’s condition was good, and they managed to finish without much trouble. Although it was thanks to the potion, none of the members, Yeong-ho, Eun-gyeom, or the company staff knew about it, and they all praised Sol for doing a great job.
Everything was going smoothly. Despite their individual schedules, Tae-oh and Ga-ram, two close friends, were finally able to spend some time together in the practice room.
Tae-oh called Ga-ram’s name again. He had been too busy taking care of his own affairs and looking after Sol, leaving little time to properly talk with his friend Ga-ram. Ever since the stalker incident, he felt like he had been neglecting Ga-ram, so he called out to ask about his recent life, even just the small details. But Ga-ram’s mind was still elsewhere. In the end, Tae-oh tapped his friend’s shoulder with his own once again.
"What is it?"
"What are you doing? You didn’t hear me calling you."
Tae-oh asked, furrowing his brows slightly, and Ga-ram finally straightened up and showed him the screen of his laptop.
"I was watching this."
On the screen was the YouTube channel managed by their company. Of course, the most played videos were the music video of Eun-gyeom’s solo track and the behind-the-scenes footage of its shooting, but the video Ga-ram had been watching featured Sol.
Although Chae Min-ju had been diligently filming, there hadn’t been any significant updates since the last dance cover video. But as Eun-gyeom started his solo activities, the videos that had been recorded previously were being edited and uploaded gradually. Sol, who only made a brief appearance in Eun-gyeom’s music video, became the center of attention with comments like, “1:24 fairy, what’s your name?” because of his overwhelming visuals.
After the company put out a few planned articles, Eun-gyeom mentioned Sol on his personal social media. He posted a selfie taken on set, featuring a background where they were huddled together and jumping up and down to keep warm during the shoot. Even though Sol’s face wasn’t visible, Eun-gyeom captioned it with a short note, “My cute little brothers,” along with a link to the YouTube video.
It was all part of the script. As the dance cover video gained views, the company began releasing the previously recorded videos one by one, gradually revealing more information about the members. The video Ga-ram was watching was one of those. Since it had been pieced together from various clips, it was hard to tell when exactly it was filmed, but judging from Sol’s neat hair and his interactions with the camera, it seemed to have been shot fairly recently.
The video began with Sol practicing alone, collapsing onto the floor, exhausted and catching his breath. It was an individual lesson time that Tae-oh had never seen before. Other clips followed, showing Sol practicing various things, receiving feedback from trainers, and discussing ideas with his fellow members. It felt like a brief glimpse into his day-to-day routine.
[Hello, this is Sol.]
The camera angle was a mess, likely because it had been filmed with a low tripod. But Sol’s appearance still shone brightly. He had no makeup on and there were no signs of a professional stylist’s touch—he had probably just thrown on some lotion after waking up and put on a hoodie. But it was more than enough to grab attention. As Sol’s quiet voice continued, a small clip of him in Eun-gyeom’s music video appeared on the screen.
[We suddenly had to start filming... The set was really cold, and everyone was so busy. I was scared because if I made a mistake, the shoot would be delayed in the cold.]
The way he said he was scared seemed very pure, and he really looked like he had been frightened. Surely, he must have been scared even when they filmed the footage they were watching now, not just during the music video shoot. Still, it was a huge improvement. When Chae Min-ju's small questions continued, and topics about the members came up, Sol slightly smiled.
[I get really nervous. So I make a lot of mistakes, and sometimes I feel upset, but because I'm doing it with my friends, I think I can stay strong.]
As soon as he said that, it flashed briefly to Tae-oh and Sol practicing their choreography at 3 AM. The memory of that day also briefly crossed Tae-oh’s mind as he watched the video.
To show the typical image of a trainee working hard, several cuts featuring all the members together passed by, and then the camera awkwardly returned to a close-up of Sol, who waved both hands at the camera.
[Thank you.]
To someone unfamiliar with Sol, it would seem like he was just a bit nervous and acting a little awkward. But Ga-ram and Tae-oh knew Chae Min-ju and Sol well and understood how much effort they had put in to shoot Sol in that scene.
Chae Min-ju likely had to almost write a script to capture that terribly awkward moment. However, that didn't mean Sol’s words were just scripted lines. He had merely gotten help to express himself smoothly; the gratitude he felt toward his members was genuine.
When the short video ended, Ga-ram scrolled down to check the comments. Ga-ram still paid close attention to the community's reactions. Among the comments featuring English, Thai, and profile pictures of Eun-gyeom—likely new fans brought in because of him—were messages of support for Sol.
SincerityFan • 8 hours ago
- I’m looking forward to your debut! Fighting♥
YCHeadquartersSpentMyMoney • 8 hours ago
- Sol, let’s debut!!!!
DeathPotionMaster • 8 hours ago
- He’s so handsome. Can’t he just debut already?
Milkis riva • 7 hours ago
- We are waiting for your debut.
-Eungyeoma Let's get married • 5 hours ago
- I just watched the music video, and they’re all insanely handsome, so now I’m binge-watching their videos one by one.
Haochi Haochi • 4 hours ago
- When is the debut...? I’m already ready to fall in love, so please come out into the world soon.
***
The response was great. As Tae-oh scrolled through the comments with Ga-ram, even though the compliments weren't directed at him, he felt a sense of pride. Ga-ram also seemed to be in a similar mood, smiling slightly as he looked at the screen.
“He's really changed since the first time he came here, right?”
“That’s because he’s been working hard.”
Tae-oh nodded in response to Ga-ram’s question. Sol had been more talented and diligent than anyone else, making them wonder what they had been worried about in the first place. The two of them thought about how hard Sol had worked up until now. He had been so dedicated lately that they were beginning to worry about him.
Nodding along to Ga-ram’s words, Tae-oh turned back to stare at his laptop screen. As the mouse cursor hovered over the YouTube search bar, a list of search history appeared below it. All the searches were related to ‘Sol’ or ‘Sung Sol.’ Tae-oh glanced at Ga-ram.
“Kang Ga-ram. Instead of working on your own songs, have you been constantly searching for Sung Sol?”
“Yep.”
“Stop looking him up.”
“Yoon Tae-oh, I like Sol.”
“……”
Tae-oh was a bit startled by Ga-ram’s sudden statement and met his gaze. The mood suddenly shifted, making it awkward to sit next to Ga-ram. His usually unreadable eyes were unusually clear today. Did Tae-oh's gaze sharpen? Ga-ram, returning to his usual relaxed expression, added:
“Ji-ho hyung seems to take good care of Sol too, and Deuk-yong also really likes him. What about you?”
“Oh... well, I do too, I guess.”
Ga-ram’s words seemed just like usual, simply expressing his fondness for a friend. It felt like the way he’d say he liked Ji-ho or Deuk-yong, or even that he liked a dog. Ga-ram was naturally a warm-hearted person. Even though Tae-oh realized that Ga-ram's sudden confession didn't carry any special meaning, he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
“We’ll be able to keep doing well together like this, right?”
Ga-ram asked with a smile, but Tae-oh didn’t respond. He suddenly felt like he had turned into a sharp-edged square object. Why did Ga-ram saying he liked Sol bring him down like this? Instantly, he pictured the two of them, Ga-ram and Sung Sol, constantly hanging out and calling each other affectionately all the time. He even thought of how Sol had been smiling more often lately.
“This time, we’ll really be able to debut, right?”
When Tae-oh didn’t respond, Ga-ram nudged him and asked again. Annoyed, Tae-oh brushed his hand away and got up, speaking in a flat, emotionless tone.
“If you’re that worried, just practice.”
“You’re being so rigid. I saw your video’s up, did you check it out?”
Unfazed by Tae-oh’s monotone voice, Ga-ram chuckled as if he was used to it and played the next video. Tae-oh’s deep voice flowed from the laptop speakers. Glancing down at Ga-ram, Tae-oh bluntly threw out his words.
“No. You go ahead and watch it as much as you want.”
He felt grumpy for no reason.
But Tae-oh 👀 little by little they start to give me crumbs from Tae-oh jealous of Sol it's so nice to see how he doesn't know why he feels that way when Ga-ram told him that he liked Sol 🤭❤
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for the chapter. 🐁✨✨