As the atmosphere in the table had turned sour after the confrontation, no one had any appetite to eat anymore.
Well, except for Rayen.
After putting himself through a hellish practice marathon for three days, he hadn't been able to eat properly, relying solely on Revitalizing Drink for energy.
Occasionally, Yeo Haru would bring him snacks, but after what had just happened, Rayen couldn't possibly expect Yeo Haru to bring him anything.
So, he gobbled up every last bit of food left on his plate under the watchful eyes of his teammates.
Soon, after he finished gobbling up his food, they made their way to the dance practice studio. The other members were still feeling a bit listless, especially in front of Yeo Haru, who hadn't smiled at all and had swollen eyes after the interim evaluation.
How would this meeting even turn out after what had been said?
Rayen was no longer oblivious to the strange atmosphere, but he didn't know how to fix it, so he let it be.
'Say something, guys...'
Rayen feigned a cough and sat down on the floor, motioning for the other members to do the same. Yeo Haru noticed his silent gesture and obliged, prompting the others to follow suit.
Still, no one spoke.
Since Yeo Haru seemed even more despondent, Rayen was the one who had to start the meeting.
'Why does it seem like I became in charge, all of a sudden?'
They analyzed the lyrics — the most pressing issue the sponsors had pointed out. Binh also searched for the song's direct meaning, which made Rayen's eyes wince.
These people... They just lack imagination!
They were supposed to be artists, but they couldn't even comprehend something without searching it up online.
Well, Rayen wasn't even sure what these people did before they died. Though, he was pretty sure that Binh had been an online streamer — one who'd become a meme sensation.
"It says here that the message of the song was about meeting someone that made them realize there's something more to life..." Binh said while looking at his phone.
However, Liam suggested a different approach. "We need to interpret it ourselves."
"How do we interpret it?"
"....."
'This is going nowhere.'
"Let's probably stick with the original first and think as we practice," Renjiro offered a practical tip.
Everyone agreed. Since nothing productive was even happening, and the group seemed unenthusiastic, no one really objected to anything. It seemed as if speaking up would be accepting defeat.
So, they practiced without anything coming up to mind.
Yeo Haru had to adjust some things in the choreography after they changed back the song.
Scrap the dance break. Scrap Yeo Haru's parts, scrap Binh's, Renjiro's... Scrap, scrap, scrap.
After that, the entire thing had turned so much more lifeless. The music was actually powerful and dramatic, but it felt lackluster for a competition performance song. Rayen couldn't help but feel something missing.
Still, they had no choice but to use it since they couldn't think of anything.
A day passed with nothing productive done. Rayen could only sigh. The team's atmosphere had turned even weirder.
As they mechanically danced, Rayen's mind was working nonstop, trying to think of a solution for how this shitty performance could be salvaged.
Because Yeo Haru's part that he looked forward to the most had been put at the back burner, he hadn't shown any enthusiasm with practicing.
Rayen couldn't help but think that Yeo Haru probably wasn't really fit as a leader, just as Binh and the others had said.
But who was Rayen to say that he was the better fit for the position?
At least for him, when Yeo Haru was still acting as the leader, it felt like the team was a bit more organized.
As for Rayen... He couldn't even cheer the members up!
So, how could he be the leader?
His team skills on his status window seemed glaring to his eyes, but he lacked the information to even level them up. With singing and production, he could probably think of a way to even practice these. But for the team skills?
How? Just how?
For now though, it didn't matter. What mattered was how to fix this situation.
'How do we turn this situation around?'
Rayen listened to the music intently as he danced with the new choreography. Even if Yeo Haru wanted to change it to match the song's atmosphere, they didn't have time to completely change everything.
So now, it seemed as if they were dancing to a different song. The music and lyrics were so melancholic, like a person begging for someone to take them away and breathe life into them, but their dance moves seemed like they were having tantrums.
'Wait...'
The lyrics floated to Rayen's ears.
"Without your breath,
Without your touch,
I'm feeling cold."
The verse transitioned into the chorus.
"Take my hand
Pull me into your arms."
"Pull me... Pull?" Rayen muttered under his breath.
Suddenly, something clicked in Rayen's mind. He didn't even notice that he had stopped moving, causing the formation to break. The dazed Yeo Haru beside him didn't notice either and accidentally bumped into him while turning midway.
Yeo Haru snapped out of his trance and looked questioningly at Rayen, but Rayen was so deep in thought that nothing could faze him.
Slightly annoyed, Yeo Haru stopped the music.
'Brother, if you're going to stop dancing, don't get in anyone's way!' Yeo Haru thought.
Yet, his face didn't betray his emotions. His nature as a camera conscious person was still working in default mode.
As someone who grew up in a country mass-producing idols like factory products, he had watched enough idol shows to know the cruelty of evil editing.
He wouldn't want something like that happening with his life at stake. He'd rather have no screen time at all than be evil edited.
Meanwhile, Rayen was still immersed in his thoughts.
'This... It's probably possible!'
"Guys, I have an idea!" He shouted suddenly.
His next words elicited exclamations from the whole team.
When Rayen explained his idea, even Yeo Haru, who seemed despondent lately, lit up with excitement. His eyes sparkled as he lunged at Rayen with a bright smile.
"Brother, you're really the best!"
'Eh? When did this guy's old personality come back?'