Chapter 94
The evening of the midterm exam.
After eating a simple meal, we gathered back in the practice room and continued practicing with slight tension.
"You need to step back a little bit more here."
"Oh, like this? "
"Yeah."
Heo Yu-bin, who knew better than anyone that his dancing skills were inferior to those of his teammates, practiced diligently.
He tried to reduce his mistakes by continuously asking Yoo Minha about things he didn't know.
Even though it was obviously physically difficult, he wiped the sweat and repeated the same movements without stopping.
Although Yoo Min-ha faithfully helped the passionate Heo Yu-bin, his gaze was always directed towards the practice room door.
Maybe he's waiting for the one person who isn't here.
"Don't worry, I've already told him everything."
I said calmly as I tied my shoelaces.
Yoo Minha nodded, having already heard the same thing three times, but he still couldn't shake off the worried look in his eyes.
An hour had passed since we practiced like that.
The practice room door opened with a rustling sound.
"Am I late? Sorry, guys."
"Eun-gyu hyung! "
"Hyung-nim!"
"Hyung, why are you so late!"
The leader of the group that everyone was eagerly waiting for, Chae Eun-gyu, has finally appeared in the practice room.
At the warm welcome from his teammates, Chae Eun-gyu was slightly surprised and smiled awkwardly.
"It seems like everyone came straight to practice without eating properly. So I bought ice cream."
"Oh yeah! "
"It was really hot at the time; thank you, Hyung! "
"Thank you, Hyung-nim! "
"...Thank you for this food."
Even Ji Yoon-chul, who had remained silent throughout the practice, gave in to the majesty of ice cream.
He chose a soda-flavored ice cream, looked around for a moment, and then sat down a little way away from me.
When he walked, he barely made a sound, and when he sat down, he did so smoothly and without any particular noise.
Every single action is so cat-like that it's really amazing.
"I guess you like the taste of soda."
"...Yes."
"Is it something you've liked since long ago?"
"I've liked this ice cream since I was in elementary school."
"Oh."
I asked the question because I thought it might be possible to have a light conversation, and surprisingly, I got a good response.
Ji Yoon-chul glanced at me and then began to eat the ice cream, pressing hard on it.
The corners of his mouth rose slightly, forming a satisfied smile.
Meanwhile, Chae Eun-gyu, who had finished sharing the ice cream, hesitated for a moment and then cleared his throat.
"Ahem. Guys, I have something to say."
As everyone looked up at him with bright eyes, Chae Eun-gyu blushed and felt even more embarrassed.
I laughed to myself.
'Just from what you said earlier, it seemed like you'd never experienced this kind of situation before. I didn't know you'd be this embarrassed.'
You've never had the experience of formally apologizing to anyone, and now you have to confess your true feelings to not just one, but six people.
It was a situation that could have been quite burdensome for Chae Eun-gyu, but I was grateful that he made the decision.
"First of all, I want to apologize for not being able to control my emotions despite being the leader. In particular, I'm so sorry for Min-ha. I shouldn't have.... I lost my temper, even though I knew you definitely didn't mean it that way. I'm sorry."
"No, hyung-nim. I should have taken a closer look at the atmosphere before speaking...."
"No. This is entirely my fault, so you have no need to say anything like that."
Chae Eun-gyu held Yoo Min-ha's hand tightly.
At that, Yoo Minha's already large eyes grew even bigger.
He looks like he might cry at any moment.
"I think I was too impatient. Some of my friends may know, but I already had an experience where I failed to debut. I got to the point where I was almost ready to debut, but my agency went bankrupt... Even then, I was already halfway through my training period, so I was really anxious. I had no idea when I would have to find another agency and train again to try to debut."
Everyone held their breath and listened to Chae Eun-gyu's words.
Chae Eun-gyu, who was hesitant to tell his story at first, gradually began to open up about his innermost feelings in a more candid tone.
"I wasted so much time that I got the chance to go on
Chae Eun-gyu took a deep breath and then burst into laughter.
"But the human mind is really strange. The more motivated I become, the more negative thoughts I have. As my desire to debut grew, the more anxious I became that this program was my last chance. I tried hard to ignore it, but there were many people who had negative views about my age. When I looked at it objectively, I thought that if I failed this time, it would be really hard to prepare again. Then, when my ranking actually dropped a little, I think I became more anxious without realizing it. Of course, I knew that my thoughts were wrong, so I tried my best to hide them."
"... Then, after hearing what the judges said today, you burst out."
"Yeah, that's what happened."
Chae Eun-gyu agreed with Kang Dong-hwi's words.
Then he lowered his head and continued speaking in a slightly trembling voice.
"I know better than anyone else. Saying things that hurt others is unacceptable for any reason. No matter how anxious or stressed I am, such behavior cannot be justified. I sincerely apologize for not being able to control my emotions, even though I knew that."
There was a brief silence again.
Although I couldn't see Chae Eun-gyu's expression, his continuously trembling shoulders spoke volumes about what he was currently feeling.
"... I'm really, really sorry."
Chae Eun-gyu's apology echoed softly in the practice room.
And at that moment, Yoo Min-ha quietly got up from his seat and hugged Chae Eun-gyu gently.
"We should have worked harder; I'm sorry, Hyung-nim. We should have practiced harder; I'm so sorry that I put a lot of pressure on you, the leader."
"No, why are you apologizing―"
"I should have known better, Hyung. I'm sorry."
"I, I'm sorry I couldn't practice more. Hoh, heok! I wanted to do better, heok, I wanted to take the midterm exam! "
"It's not your fault, Hyung. If we had just gotten along properly from the beginning, this wouldn't have happened...."
Everyone got up, one by one, and approached Chae Eun-gyu.
I felt warm as I watched the scene.
'Comfort the leader by accepting the responsibility of all rather than placing blame on just one person.'
It is a truly desirable and ideal image of overcoming difficulties as a team.
"... I will work harder. I will share the burden on your shoulders."
After hearing what I said, Chae Eun-gyu shed tears that he had been holding back.
The whole team stood around Chae Eun-gyu and encouraged him.
Baek Si-hwa, who had been hesitating slightly and just observing, also approached him.
Ji Yoon-chul, who had been maintaining a poker face, wrapped his long arms around Chae Eun-gyu's shoulders.
It was a truly rare sight.
"... I want to prove it. That we are trainees who can advance to the finals. I really want to show that we have the power to turn around the things we heard during the midterm evaluations in an instant."
"We too! "
"Let's practice harder! "
"... Don't ever sleep."
"That, that won't do."
Ji Yoon-chul expressed his discomfort after hearing Heo Yu-bin's earnest resignation.
Then all the team members burst into laughter.
"Yubin, I appreciate your determination, but you still need to get some sleep. If we don't sleep at all, we'll turn into zombies."
"Did, did, did I go too far? "
"I want to sleep for 5 hours...."
Chae Eun-gyu opened his mouth, leaving behind Ji Yoon-chul's small voice that seemed to have lost its strength.
"...Thank you, everyone."
Chae Eun-gyu patted Heo Yu-bin on the head and smiled as he glanced at his team members.
He met my eyes one last time and nodded his head very slightly.
Although he didn't make a sound, it seemed like he was telling me thank you.
I nodded at him the same way and smirked.
'I'm glad it worked out well.'
Chae Eun-gyu, who had never revealed his true feelings in front of others, gathered his courage and told us what was happening.
The team members who heard the story and apology understood him and even shared the burden of doing better.
It's a beautiful ending that both sides created with courage.
Chae Eun-gyu wiped his eyes with his sleeve and calmed his slightly choked up voice.
"Ha. Then shall we resume practice right away? How far have we come? "
"Oh, we were reviewing the things we had done before until Hyung came. We thought we had to perfect the choreography that was the most difficult."
"Okay. Then let's start over from there."
"Yes!"
After slightly stretching to loosen up our stiff bodies, we spread out and stood in our respective positions.
Just when we were about to resume choreography practice under the guidance of Chae Eun-gyu and Yoo Min-ha,.
"... I have something to say."
The person who seemed least likely to give an opinion during a practice session raised his hand.
'What is this situation?'
I looked at Ji Yoon-chul, inwardly surprised.
The other trainees opened their mouths wide, unable to hide their surprise at all.
Even Chae Eun-gyu blinked several times and stuttered.
"Oh, Yoo, Yoonchul? Do you have something to say? "
"Yes. I'm not sure if it will work, but... I think it might be helpful for those who have difficulty with the chorus choreography."
"Helpful?"
"To be exact... I think I can teach you how to make it feel alive."
Everyone was enveloped in silence.
I, too, was slightly dumbfounded.
"Is it really okay if Yoon-chul teaches us personally?"
When Chae Eun-gyu asked again, Ji Yoon-chul nodded silently.
"······I'm not having a hard time. I think the most important thing right now is to create a perfect stage······. I want to do my best to help."
Ji Yoon-chul always maintains a poker face.
He also shows no change in emotion at all.
He was a character whose inner thoughts were so unpredictable that he maintained a completely expressionless expression even at the ranking announcement ceremony, where his survival depended on it.
And until now, during practice sessions, he just quietly danced his part and didn't say much.
The first thing he said was that he thought he could teach him how to dance.
Chae Eun-gyu turned this fact over in his head several times before asking his team members.
"Yubin, Donghwi. If Yoonchul teaches you, will you be able to follow along well? "
"I'll tell you as slowly as I can. But······. I'll go into detail and take a long time. Is that okay? "
Ji Yoon-chul added in a small voice.
Heo Yu-bin and Kang Dong-hwi exchanged glances and then nodded vigorously.
"I think it would be a great help if I could learn it."
"Me, me too! "
Ji Yoon-chul nodded slightly after hearing that answer.
"Then I will teach you the chorus choreography in detail."
As he led the two trainees to the back of the practice room, Chae Eun-gyu blankly stared at them and shook his head from side to side.
I still can't believe it.
"Okay, while Yoonchul continues his lesson, let's review the next route. Okay? "
"Yes!"
Even while dancing to the second verse of the song, I still couldn't get over the fresh shock.
'... even Ji Yoon-chul, who would never make the first move, is making a move.'
It is, of course, unknown why he made this decision.
But wasn't there something in Chae Eun-gyu's words that Ji Yoon-chul could relate to?
Like Chae Eun-gyu, Ji Yoon-chul is a concrete floor trainee who is highly anticipated by people.
Since he also had the experience of his ranking dropping, he may have understood the pressure that Cha Eun-gyu felt even better.
'But you made even the guy who always said nothing do something.'
The spark of will created through Chae Eun-gyu's story was burning in an unusual way.
-