Around 9 at the X-Academy, which is a subsidiary of Genesis Entertainment, the dancers were practicing their choreography on the top floor's exclusive training room. Here, the students aren't allowed and are generally used for practice purposes regarding the comebacks of some singers.
The leader of this particular group was popularly known for her celebrity looks, often compared to that of an idol.
Along with her, ten more were participating in the choreo, of which one of them is a male who is currently a stand-in for Jun. There are two more male dancers but they only have a small part.
After they were done for the nth time, everyone took a break.
"Jihye-yah, did you hear anything from Jaewook-Oppa?" One of the dancers asked their leader.
The latter shook her head, "nope. It looked like the management is going to be very secretive."
Her original name is Noh Jihye, 96 born, just a year older than Jun, stage name is Noze. She and a few members of her dance crew WayB were used to be backup dancers for Taemin.
But, for now, they were going to act as backup dancers for Jun.
They were talking about the possible singer they were prepared beforehand. None of them knows about the viral video featuring Jun's busking. So, they could only guess a few names.
There are millions of people even in South Korea who don't listen to Kpop songs. So, it's no surprise if they don't know every little thing happening in Korean Entertainment Industry either.
"If it is Taemin-Oppa, they would have told us, beforehand." A dancer named Kim Jinhee voiced her opinion.
Another dancer named Chong Ran said, "If they are this secretive, I bet it might be a new debut."
Maknae of the group, 18-year-old Nam JiEun spoke, "It might be that person from Treasure Campus. What is his name, again? Ah, that's right. Kang Daniel. Is it his debut?"
"Maybe, it's Cha Eunwoo's comeback?" The second prettiest of the group, Kim Heebon also joined the conversation.
Noze lies on the floor and lets out a sigh, "it doesn't matter either way."
Jinhee then grinned, "Why wouldn't it matter. If they chose our team, specifically with you on the team, I bet he will be a handsome guy, or else, they could only hope to make us wear masks. Noze's too pretty that she will easily attract the viewers with... OMG." Her eyes widened as she stared at the entrance.
"Everyone…" A familiar voice was heard from the direction this 24-year-old was looking at.
There was a familiar figure, their CEO Lee Jaewook. And standing beside him is none other than Jun who came to meet his colleagues.
As everyone stood up and greeted their CEO, the latter introduced each other, "Guys, meet Han SungJun, our upcoming idol. And Sungjun-ssi, this is your backup dance crew. In the upcoming weeks, you will be working with each other. Try to get along well."
Jun bowed to them, feeling a bit shy to be in the presence of so many girls. "Hello."
A few of them were awestruck by his clear skin and all. Meanwhile, Lee JaeWook said, "You know I would want to say that take your time to get familiar with each other but we don't have time for even introductions. We'll get to the practice, right away."
The tenth member, who practice choreography as Jun's stand-in until now, became his mentor and taught him the moves.
The others just rest in the corner and became spectators as Jun was practicing. He might be a vocalist but still, his dancing still currently stands at 7.8 points.
While he was still behind other geniuses in creating choreography all by himself, whether his learning speed or whether it is catching up to the beat, the present Jun was no less talented than any of the members in the room.
This was the thing that they realized.
Since she was too free, Noze also became busy by searching his info on the internet to see if there was something. To her surprise, his profile was already created on the Kprofiles website. From his date of birth, height, and weight to his hobbies, everything was listed in it.
In the end, she could only shudder for a second, mumbling to herself, "Netizens are scary, indeed."
"But, then again, I didn't expect he would have such a life filled with unfortunate incidents." A trace of pity could be seen on her face as she looked at Jun who was sweating down hard as he repeatedly practice the moves to perfect the choreo.
By the time it was lunch, Jun was already practicing with the dance crew. The only issue is that they were only dancing to the music. So, Jun decided to perform in his head while his body dances to the music.
Meanwhile, Lee JaeWook was watching carefully.
At around 50 seconds, the four girls on the left and the four girls on the right leave the space and the two boys enter. It was the first verse after the post-chorus.
"The scent of a flower
Girl, is this yours?
Jasmine hovering around you
It's kind of familiar
Do you also fall asleep with the scent?"
Jun continued to sing while doing flexible movements for about 15 seconds. It was then the boys left and four of the girls entered.
At this part, there's a bit of skinship between him and the female dancers.
Nam Ji Eun grabbed his right arm that was stretched while looking away. Kim Heebon grabbed his left shoulder while facing him. Chongran put her hand on his chest for a fraction of a second as he was doing this chest movement before placing it on his right shoulder and finally, Kim Jinhee put her arm on his abdomen from the back before all of them were collectively supposed to turn him around.
Jun felt embarrassed about the sudden touches and stopped dancing.
"I'm sorry…" He apologized as he walked to the corner. As the music was stopped, he went to reach the water bottle and drink about a few mouthfuls of water.
Before they asked anything, he gave an excuse, "I was singing inside and felt the throat dry. I'm sorry. Let's do it again."
Lee Jaewook narrowed his eyes and eventually nodded. "We'll resume from the one-minute corner, okay?"
Jun nodded and get to the position again.
After half an hour of practice, they decided to take a break.
Looking at the time, Lee Jaewook announced, "Okay, we'll resume after lunch. Everyone, since it is first-time SungJun-ssi here, let's have lunch outside, my treat."
In an instant, cheers erupted from everyone. After a sheer amount of practice from the dawn, they felt rewarded during such little moments.
"And of course, SungJun-ssi, you too join us for lunch." He added in the end.
As Jun nodded, the CEO of the academy looked at the dancers, "Okay, let us meet at the parking lot in about 15 minutes. Jihye-yah, Haesong-ssi, both of you drive a car, right? Split up in three groups then."
After everyone left the training room to freshen up and change from their usual training outfits to casual wear, lee Jaewook talked with Jun.
"Your performance is great but you seemed to be struggling with the movements even with a little bit of skinship," He said to him before asking, "Should I alter the choreo, a bit, or is it alright with you?"
Jun waved his hands in a hurry, "no, it's alright. I'm trying to get used to it. I'm not a professional like them. So, it's a little bit hard but with enough practice, it won't be an issue."
"Well, if you say so." Lee Jaewook shrugged his shoulders, "You can go straight and take right, there's a Men's restroom. Next to it, there was a changing room. After getting changed, come to the entrance hall."
While walking away with his backpack, Jun thought to himself, "Man, it's really not easy at all."
He didn't tell him earlier, but every time more than two girls touch him during the dance practice, Jun kinda had these episodes where he remembers the previous owner's past, in which, he was annoyed by getting surrounded by several girls every day. So, every time they do that, just following the choreo, Jun just felt like he was inappropriately touched and get uncomfortable all of a sudden