Chapter 9

Shin Jae-hoon is a professional dancer and a veteran of choreographing many K-pop idol songs.

He was a dancer before he was a choreographer, and an artist creating art before he was a dancer.

As a man of such beauty, Jae-hoon Shin valued passion above all else.

Based on countless experiences, he had a habit of looking into a person's eyes and knowing what state of mind they were in and what they were thinking.

Eyes without a spark that touched his heart, as an artist who lived by his passion, did not interest him.

That's why Shin was incredibly dissatisfied with Yu Si-hwan's performance on the level test.

To say the least, the look in Yu Si-hwan's eyes at that time was the opposite of passionate.

It was like the ocean after all the typhoons, calm and relaxed, not churning with heat.

I was a trainee with an unknown skill set, but I didn't feel 100% comfortable with Shin, so I threw in my own criticisms.

「 I'm out of breath, I can't hear anything.

Only my heart beats in the dark. 」

"…"

I've been listening to 'HIT' for hours now, but Yu Si-hwan's introduction is quite different.

Crisp pronunciation?

A crisp, fizzy voice?

All good. For other judges, that might have been a turn-off.

But it was Yu Si-hwan's eyes that stole the show for Shin.

"Who is he?"

Shin muttered to himself, his eyes flashing a look that Yu hadn't shown at all during the last level test.

It was like a passionate and intense flame that could swallow the stage.

Shin couldn't look away for a moment from the venomous choreography.

「 Gonna make it hit,

I'm gonna make it hit, I'm gonna shout at you, I'm gonna shout at you with all this hot heart.

Gonna make it hit,

Gonna make it hit, you're the only one who made my heart beat 」

Yu's supple body performed sword-like movements to the soaring beat.

Originally, the dance line itself was perfect. Even Shin Jae-hoon had admitted this during the level test. However, in these few days, even the atmosphere of the dance line had changed.

During his daily training sessions, all he could think about was this.

He wondered why he hadn't noticed this change when he was practicing.

Was it because he had coached so many students that he hadn't noticed?

But I should have seen at least a little bit of this overflowing enthusiasm.

This is Shin Jae-hoon, who lived only for his passion, not for others.

「 Run ahead

I want to hug you tightly in front of me.

Gonna make it HIT

I'm the only one who will catch you

Gonna make it HIT! 」

Shin Jae-hoon's table-mixed choreography with the addictive sabby, requires complex arm movements while maintaining pivots and arms, so even a slight loss of balance can result in an ugly picture.

Animation. The so-called killing point choreography, where a change of direction occurs and the balance has to be connected to the 'HIT' key point choreography, the action of shooting the gun.

Even this part, which should be the most flavorful, was done with just the right amount of tension.

The angles of his arms were perfectly symmetrical, creating a beautiful result, and his pitch never wavered during this flawless performance.

Vocally, Shin Jae-hoon, who is a regular guy, is flawless.

Barely recovering from his initial shock, Shin looked to the side to check on his teammates.

Both Lee Jin-hak and Min Si-hyun, the vocalists, were unable to hide the smiles on their faces.

Lee Jin-hak was so impressed that he pulled his earphones out of his ears to listen.

Not to hear Yu Si-hwan's voice through the speakers, but to enjoy the sound of the scene itself.

After the first verse, Yu's expression didn't change as he entered the repeated bridge section.

This poignancy is transmitted to the judges' seats, which are far away from the main stage.

As if he was determined to give it his all on stage, Si-hwan exuded energy in abundance.

Using just the right amount of force that feels right at your fingertips. The right amount of force without overdoing it gives every movement an edge, and the upbeat bass beat of 'HIT' is a natural fit.

As Shin watched this amazing sight, a word popped into his head.

Beat killing.

Right now, Yu Si-hwan is breaking down the choreography with precise timing without missing a beat.

'I swear, this is definitely the same guy from the level test.'

A week ago, he was just a contestant with very solid fundamentals and a clean dance line.

The same contestant who showed good live skills while executing the challenging choreography of 'Spotlights', but didn't have anything that Shin Jae-hoon could fall in love with.

However, I don't know where he's been practicing, but Yu Si-hwan completely changed Shin Jae Hoon's assessment of him.

Instead of being a trainee with only solid basics.

He was a monster trainee who can utilize those solid fundamentals and go above and beyond.

'That's not an area that can be changed overnight.'

Of course, I practiced like crazy for a week, sacrificing even sleeping hours.

But it takes a lot more experience than 168 hours to pull off something like this.

Shin Jae-hoon thought as he watched Yu Si-hwan reach the climax of the song.

He couldn't help but smile a little as he heard the high notes rise cleanly after such a difficult choreography.

'How many times have I practiced on my own?'

With a final high note that echoed across the set, the accompaniment to 'HIT' ended.

Yu Si-hwan, who hadn't released his ending pose until the very end, lowered his arms and took a deep breath as the judges began to applaud one by one.

"Thank you."

Shin Jae-hoon also applauded, looking into Ryu's eyes the entire time.

'Yeah, I wanted to see those kind of eyes.'

Not the lazy smile you get at the end of a good performance, but the fired-up look you get after you've given it your all.

Feeling this huge difference in mood, Shin Jae-hoon swelled with one emotion.

Satisfaction.

Had any of these young trainees made him feel satisfied lately?

Before these overwhelming feelings could be blown away, he grabbed the microphone and said.

"You all know what position I've been in since 'Asri 1'."

The judge who crushed the mentality of the trainees with his cold-blooded and unwavering evaluation criteria.

Shin Jae-hoon never thought he would say such a thing.

"I feel like my character is about to collapse, but I still have to say this: Si-hwan, you did a great job."

"Thank you."

It was his usual calm thanks, but Yu Si-hwan shared a smile with him that he hadn't shown before.

***

"Anyway, I told you, Si-hwan, you can do this. Now, how about this, you all understand what I mean?"

I smirked at Min Si-hyun, who was rambling on.

I wondered if she liked me a little too openly.

Although it's always nice to be praised by the judges.

But when it's just one person who's praising you, it can look bad.

'At least the producers don't have to pander to the judges, so they'll cut it if they think it's too much.'

"Now that I've seen it, I can see why they said it was okay to keep the last part high. Hey, you can still breathe, come on."

"The dancing was so cool!"

Even when I was testing the level, I was showered with compliments.

But the tone of the praise I'm hearing now is very different.

Whereas before they were a bit lukewarm, today they were enthusiastic, as if the energy of my performance had been transmitted.

I bowed my head repeatedly and tried to put on as tough a face as I could.

After expending this much energy, the least I could do is gasp for air.

As it turns out, it was still the best option.

Against my better judgment, Yu Si-hwan's role in Asri 2 was predicated on Jae-hoon's adeptness.

If he didn't live up to the judges' expectations in the final ratings, it would prove Min Si-hyun wrong for entrusting me with such an important part of 'HIT'.

In order to avoid comments and criticisms like, "It was just beginner's luck in the level test", I had to try to break through this time.

With that in mind, I put my 50 years of experience to work, and this is what I saw.

I wiped the slightest bead of sweat from my forehead and exhaled.

'Well, at least it feels good.'

"So, at this point, may I hear the final rating of the contestant, Yu Si-hwan?"

Lee Jin-hak, still in a trance from MC Ko Hyun-joo's question, grabbed the microphone.

"I'm sure the judges sitting next to me were all thinking the same thing. Contestant Yu Si-hwan's final grade is an A. Congratulations."

"Thank you!"

After giving him a final bow, I walked over to the still-empty A-grade section.

In stark contrast to the other sections, the A chairs were very spacious and made of luxurious white leather. As I sat down for the first time in one of these, I felt a rush of pressure.

'Now that I've made this choice, I'm going to have to be on my toes every minute of every day.'

Knowing that even with the highest rating, I shouldn't look serious, I made myself as comfortable as possible and watched the stage.

'Even if there's still a risk of slipping up or being edited by the devil, at least I've secured a segment,'

"Next up is contestant Kang Sun-woo."

Of the group that practiced with me, Kang Sun-woo was the first to follow me.

Since it was a rap position, his vocals were still not very stable, but he managed to show off his skills well enough and sat down next to me.

"I didn't come too late, did I?"

"I was freaking out because I thought I was getting a B."

"Dude, don't say that, even if you're joking."

After a quick exchange of broadcast tiki-taka, I waited to see what the other guys had to say.

"The final grade for contestant Ma Si-hyuk is an A. Congratulations!"

The biggest twist came during Ma Si-hyuk's turn.

"Me, really? Really? This is ridiculous..."

Ma Si-hyuk remained on stage in disbelief, tears streaming down his cheeks like chicken poop.

'I really didn't expect him to get an A grade.'

Not to mention Ma Si-hyuk dancing, but he still showed weaknesses in his singing, so I thought he'd get a B. I was really struggling until the last practice. Until the last practice, he had really struggled to finish the song.

But as if he had an epiphany, he performed amazingly and proudly earned an A in the performance.

"Mr. Si-hyuk, what have you been doing to improve your singing?"

"Si, Si-hwan taught me so well in every session that I was able to fix my shortcomings, and I think the most important thing was that I practiced until dawn every day."

With tears still pooling in his eyes, Ma Si-hyuk glanced over to where I was sitting.

"Actually, I was really shy. I didn't have a lot of confidence because I felt like I wasn't as good as the other trainees here, but I think my members in Class 3, who I worked hard with for a week, really helped me, especially Si-hwan... Si-hwan helped me a lot."

This is how our relationship was established.

I instinctively notice that all the cameras on set are pointed in this direction, so I quickly mount my empathetic expression.

"Thank you so much for staying up late practicing with me and showing me what to call it here."

"Man, that's some giddy bromance."

It's a shame they had to listen to that judge's bullshit, but I'm sure they'll get some sympathy votes here.

A teary-eyed Ma Si-hyuk then joined the Grade A section.

"Yoo Ha-woon is a B-grade contestant. Thank you for your hard work."

"Oh, I did really well..."

"It's too bad."

"Hehe, but thanks, I'll do better next time!"

Unfortunately, Yoo Ha-woon couldn't get over the hump in the second half of the second verse and made a mistake, earning him a B grade.

After making eye contact with me on the way to the B-grade section, Yoo Ha-woon smiled brightly and made a mouthful.

"I'm fine!"

I wondered what could be okay, with such a forced smile on his face.

Surprisingly, only a few contestants were able to get an A. Despite the fact that there were now noticeably fewer name tags for Ko to pull out, there were still about eight people sitting in the A-grade chairs.

A few minutes later, only the last contestant remained.

"It's time for the final round of grading. Contestant Sung-hwi, please come up to the stage."

I stood still and watched the contestant with an unusual aura from afar.

He looked familiar, and I realized that he had sat in second place during the level test, just below Kang Sun-woo.

'He seems to be pretty good at it.'

I was in a different class, so I didn't get to see him actually practice 'HIT', but based on his previous performances, he looked like he was from a big agency.

Sung-hwi bounced onto the stage and fiddled with the microphone.

"Contestant Sung-hwi, you're the last one up, right?"

"Yeah, I was getting tired of waiting, I even almost fell asleep at one point."

The judges burst out laughing at the sarcasm.

As I stifled my own laughter, Sung-hwi added in a hushed voice, I'm sorry.

"Oh, but I'm glad you enjoyed your few minutes on stage, because I've made up my mind."

"Hahaha, what did you decide?"

"I realized that some of the people who came up earlier were kind of funny."

Sung-hwi turned his body completely to one side, and he made eye contact with me very precisely.

"I think it was Yu Si-haan, and he was really good. It was funny because I felt like my place was being threatened, so I decided I had to crush this stage so I wouldn't be left behind. I definitely have a feeling we'll be seeing each other a lot in the future, so let's do well, shall we?"

My lips, which had been holding back a smile, quickly fell flat.

I looked at Sung-hwi's smirking face and let out another inward sigh.

What the hell is he doing?