As Sol watched Ga-ram's increasingly darkening expression and the concerned faces of the other members gathering around him, he desperately wanted to give a proper response. He tried to calm his wildly beating heart and unsteady breaths, but the more he attempted to regulate his breathing, the more he found himself gasping for air.
As he tried to steady himself, the leather strap clinging tightly to his body began digging into his skin, making him feel uncomfortable. Unable to bear it, Sol moved his hands to loosen the strap. He wanted to quickly assure the members that he was fine and express his gratitude to them. Words of praise and acknowledgment of their efforts were, of course, a given. Yet, as he frantically moved his hands to undo the strap, he couldn’t locate where the buckle was.
The more Sol fumbled with the strap and gasped for air, the darker Ga-ram’s expression became. He needed to say something quickly. As Sol’s movements grew more desperate, Tae-oh suddenly stepped forward, striding up to him. Without hesitation, Tae-oh reached out and slid his arm inside Sol’s jacket. His hand, clammy with sweat, pressed against Sol’s damp back. Feeling along Sol’s back, Tae-oh quickly found the strap and yanked it with force.
With a snapping sound, the fastened buckle broke free and fell to the floor with a loud clatter.
As the strap that had been constricting him came undone, Sol felt an immense sense of relief. Not only could he breathe more freely, but his tense, rigid body suddenly felt loose and relaxed. His previously labored breathing slowly began to steady itself. Sol alternated between looking at the strap on the floor and Tae-oh.
While it was true that he now felt much better, seeing the completely torn leather strap made him wonder if such drastic measures were necessary. The unexpected situation left him momentarily unable to even offer words of thanks to the members or celebrate the successful conclusion of their performance. Above all, he was startled by Tae-oh’s rough actions.
“You could’ve just unbuckled it!”
Sol’s voice, slightly elevated, carried a hint of frustration as he spoke with wide eyes. However, the voice that responded wasn’t Tae-oh’s but Ga-ram’s.
“Are you hurt? Are you okay?”
“I’m fine! What’s with you?”
Ga-ram grabbed Sol’s shoulders with both hands and raised his voice so much that it drew the attention of those around them. Sol was startled by the uncharacteristically urgent outburst from Ga-ram, who was normally laid-back and easygoing. Looking around, he saw the other members gazing at him with worried expressions.
Everything had seemed so joyful moments ago, and Sol had thought they had finished the performance without a hitch. Yet, without him realizing, it felt like something had gone terribly wrong. It should have been a time for celebrating the successful stage and exchanging hugs and words of praise. But it seemed Sol was the only one who felt that way.
Seeing the obviously concerned faces of his members, he felt bewildered and could only keep repeating that he was fine.
“Ga-ram-ah, you’re scaring Sol,” someone finally said.
Ji-ho gently pushed Ga-ram's hand off Sol's shoulder and spoke in a kind voice. While Sol was still catching his breath and his shoulders rose and fell with each exhale, the other members appeared more composed. Sol glanced behind locked eyes with Deuk-yong, who was standing nervously, unable to say anything. Deuk-yong didn’t look too good either. Unable to understand the sudden change in atmosphere, Sol shot a look at Tae-oh, the one who always stepped in confidently during situations like this.
Tae-oh’s brows furrowed ever so slightly when he met Sol’s gaze, and then he stepped between Ji-ho and Ga-ram, creating some distance between them. Turning to Sol, who looked utterly clueless, Tae-oh began explaining the members’ concerns.
“Sung Sol, you weren’t breathing properly. You were even frowning on stage.”
“Me…?”
At Tae-oh’s words, Sol pointed at himself with a finger. Tae-oh nodded firmly, as if to drive the point home. Sol’s eyes drifted to the crumpled, broken leather strap at his feet. It seemed he had made the rather drastic choice to snap it in frustration. But despite everything, Sol remained utterly confused.
He hadn’t frowned during the performance, nor was he in pain. The only thing that had slightly bothered him was that near the end of the performance, he was out of breath, which made it hard for his voice to come out clearly. That was it. Being out of breath was just a natural result of intense choreography paired with singing. After all, even after the instrumental section had ended, everyone had been panting so hard that all you could hear was heavy breathing. It was normal. Sure, everyone had calmed down now, but this wasn’t a big enough issue to warrant such misunderstanding.
“I’m really fine. Totally fine… I was just a little out of breath, but that’s normal, right? Everything was fine.”
Sol waved his hands belatedly, trying to reassure the members of his well-being. Ga-ram asked again, as if to double-check.
“You’re really okay, right?”
“I’m really fine. I’m not hurt or anything.”
When Sol reassured him again, Ga-ram finally let out a long sigh of relief. It seemed he had been seriously worried, as he rubbed his forehead and mumbled, “Sol… your breathing was just….” Hearing this, Sol tilted his head, wondering if his breathing had really sounded so unusual.
“But why did you look like you were in pain? We thought something was wrong,” Ji-ho added, clutching his chest in relief, echoing Tae-oh’s earlier sentiment. Even behind Ji-ho, Deuk-yong’s expression seemed to share the same question. Completely baffled by their comments, Sol could only shrug his shoulders. But little did he know, he would have to face that mysterious question once more.
After greeting the staff and personnel, Yeong-ho rushed over, out of breath, grabbed Sol, and immediately asked if something was wrong or if he was feeling unwell.
Although Sol shook his head, it was only after Yeong-ho and the other members checked that Sol's arms and legs were moving properly that they could let go of some of their worry. With the final stage performance concluded, filming paused temporarily, and they returned to the waiting room assigned to their team. As soon as they stepped into the messy waiting room—cluttered earlier during the rushed adjustments to outfits and makeup before going on stage—the members were handed small slips of paper. The papers asked them to name the most impressive performance and the least impressive one. After some careful discussion among themselves, they submitted their choices.
It seemed likely that the day’s rankings would be determined based on those slips and the judges’ scores. While it was announced that no team would be eliminated from today’s performances, for Sol, elimination was still a reality. Quietly standing behind Tae-oh, he bit his lip nervously. Now that the performance was over, he couldn’t help but worry about the results.
Tae-oh, noticing Sol’s anxious expression, briefly turned his gaze toward him before handing Sol’s broken leather strap to the stylist. As Sol nervously continued biting his lips, Tae-oh spoke loudly, claiming responsibility, saying that he had broken it. Neither Yeong-ho nor the stylist seemed to think much of the incident.
Once the situation was resolved, Yeong-ho went around patting each member’s shoulder, offering belated praise for their hard work. It was only then that the members looked at each other, finally feeling the reality of having finished today’s performance sink in. It had been an intense ten days. In the chaos caused by Sol’s near-collapse earlier, they had temporarily forgotten that. Collapsing into a chair in the waiting room, Deuk-yong raised both his hands and feet high and shouted exuberantly.
“It’s over!”
His innocent display brought smiles to the other members, who finally sat down to catch their breath. Even Yeong-ho, who had closely observed the members’ efforts in preparing for the performance, couldn’t help but agree with Deuk-yong. He had also ended up participating in impromptu "special training" sessions to ensure the camera movements were seamless. Watching the two of them, Ji-ho wiggled his index finger in mock scolding.
“It’s not over until the rankings are announced.”
He was right, especially for Sol. Perched on the edge of his chair, Sol forced a smile at Ji-ho’s words.
“Please.”
Sol had thought that if he poured everything into enjoying the stage and gave it his all, he’d feel relieved regardless of the outcome. But contrary to his expectations, he couldn’t shake off lingering attachments because the performance had been so much fun. Saying that the preparation process hadn’t been grueling or stressful would have been a blatant lie. But the moment of standing under the pouring stage lights—not alone, but together with his team members—was an overwhelming experience, filled with a whirlwind of emotions that left his heart swelling.
Only now did he realize how much he loved dancing, how much he enjoyed being with the members, and how much more he wanted to experience together on stage. He didn’t want it to end here.
“We gave it our all, didn’t we? That’s what matters!”
Deuk-yong slapped his awkwardly exposed abs with his palm as he spoke. While Deuk-yong’s words were undeniably true, Sol couldn’t bring himself to laugh along. With his hands clasped tightly together, Sol nervously stared at the monitor hanging in the corner of the waiting room. Ga-ram silently watched Sol, his gaze steady. Feeling Ga-ram’s stare, Sol quickly unclasped his hands and forced a smile, worried Ga-ram might start overthinking things again.
“You all looked amazing. I was a little thrown off when my voice didn’t come out at the end, but thank you for covering for me.”
“For a second, I thought Sol was going to collapse.”
“I’m not that fragile.”
“I didn’t mean fragile… It’s just… your breathing sounded so worrying.”
As all eyes turned to him, Sol tried to smile brightly but couldn’t manage a truly cheerful expression. He was too anxious, too preoccupied with their ranking and whether they had succeeded in their quest. At the same time, he couldn’t shake the feeling that this moment might be the last time he’d stand with the members to say goodbye. Forcing a smile, he resolved to show a brighter side of himself if this was truly the end. He wanted them to know how happy and grateful he was to have been with them.
“Anyway, thank you all for helping me out. And it was so much fun. We’re amazing, aren’t we?”
Sol looked around at each of their faces, seeking agreement. The other members glanced at one another and chuckled softly.
“We absolutely crushed it out there.”
Half-reclined in his chair, Deuk-yong suddenly sprang up, arms wide, and charged toward Sol. The youngest, with his large build, wrapped his thick arms tightly around the others, squeezing them as hard as he could. Only then did Tae-oh let out a faint laugh, the tension in his face easing slightly.
“Everyone worked so hard.”
Caught in Deuk-yong’s bear hug, Sol and Ji-ho squirmed in protest, only for Ga-ram to join in, spreading his arms wide and flopping on top of them. Having led the overall direction and rearranged the music, Ga-ram took the opportunity to thank the members for embracing his ideas and executing them so well.
“Thanks for listening to me and bringing everything to life so beautifully.”
As the pile of bodies grew, Tae-oh stood off to the side, simply watching. Ji-ho gestured at him to join, waving urgently. Finally, Tae-oh, who had been standing stiffly, spread his arms like Deuk-yong had and threw himself at the group. The tallest and broadest among them, Tae-oh’s weight prompted a collective groan of “ugh!” from the others, followed by bursts of playful laughter. It wasn’t pain or exhaustion that filled the air but the sound of genuine, lighthearted joy.
