15: No Night Swimming
The production team put a blue sticker that said '2nd Class' on Neoul's practice uniform. Then, they had him sit on a chair in the area where the 'Business Class' sign was erected.
It was shabby compared to first class, but it was much better than the economy class where there was only a mat.
The purple sticker on Ha On-ha's clothes that was sitting on the first class chair said '1st Class', and the clothes of the contestants sitting in economy class had a green '3rd Class' sticker.
Of course, Neoul only knew that the letters were different, and he couldn't read what they meant. So he watched the level evaluations of the other contestants on stage without thinking much about it.
"Contestant Lee Gal-chae. He's definitely a good fit. His expression is pretty, his delivery of the lyrics is good, and it's okay... but he seems a little overwhelmed."
"...."
"You've been working steadily as a child actor for 13 years, so why did you suddenly choose this path? Of course, you can change your career path because you're still young. I'm curious as to why you took on a new challenge when you have a bright future as an actor."
"I've always wanted to stand on stage since I was in middle school, so I dreamed of becoming an idol... but at the time, my family's circumstances weren't good, so I had to choose reality over my dreams."
He was an eighteen-year-old contestant, the same age as Woo Cheong.
Some contestants frowned or exaggerated when they heard that their family's circumstances weren't good.
Neoul looked around at them, wondering at those people. Why are they acting like that without sincerity?
Lee Gal-chae continued.
"I have some free time now, and my younger sibling cheers me on, so I decided to try it before it's too late. So that I don't regret it later."
Unlike Woo Cheong, who is tall but full of energy, Lee Gal-chae, despite being a little short, had a much more mature and calm vibe.
Neoul turned his head and stared at the participant, who was short and had big hands, on stage.
When he sang, he looked busy because he had to dance along, but when he spoke, his pronunciation was very accurate and his voice was good.
'A voice that even a sea priestess would covet is here again.....'
Lee Gal-chae, who received a business class seat, approached the area where Neoul was sitting, moved to a seat a little away from the people, and sat quietly in an empty chair.
He bowed to people, but didn't say anything. He seemed to be the complete opposite of the sociable dolphin Woo Cheong.
After a few more economy class passengers came out, it was Baek Yu-ri's turn.
"Baek Yuri, you debuted once?"
"Yes. I debuted with Clear when I was nineteen."
"You must have been upset that you disbanded after only six months."
These were questions that tried to somehow draw aggro by talking about the past. The production team expected Baek Yuri to shed tears, but Baek Yuri gave a calm and clean answer.
"There were difficult times, but I'm okay now. I'm grateful that I can take on a new challenge like this. I'll work hard."
"Okay. Then let's go straight to the stage."
After a short conversation about the participants' backgrounds, the stage continued.
Baek Yuri's skills were outstanding to anyone who saw him.
Even while dancing a difficult dance with a fast tempo, he matched the choreography perfectly without missing a single movement. Even so, his vocals were solid and stable. It was a stage where you could feel how much he had practiced.
His voice, which was boyish but also mature, was also attractive. It was somewhat heavy, but clear and clean. It sounded like he didn't force his voice, captivating the listener even more.
However, in order to sing in a way that sounded simple and comfortable, as if you hadn't tried to make it sound like you had done anything, you actually needed more effort and excellent technique.
'As expected... If the sea priestess saw him, she would probably try to steal his vocal cords.'
Baek Yuri, who looked like he had his liver ripped off by Neoul and his vocal cords ripped off by the sea priestess, naturally received a first class grade.
"Thank you!"
Baek Yuri's face, smiling brightly as he came down from the stage, was filled with pride. It was a smile that looked joyful and happy.
However, as soon as Baek Yuri sat down and the camera that was shooting at him turned to the other side, he hid his smile. A deep shadow fell on his face as he lowered his head. It was a very fleeting moment.
When Ha On-ha spoke to Baek Yuri, Baek Yuri spoke with a bright expression as if nothing had happened.
Baek Gi-yeom, who showed off his singing rap, freestyle rap with a sticky flow, and decent dancing skills, also received a first class grade and made a V sign toward the camera.
Kim Ji-rok with empty eyebrows and messy Gye Tae-seok, who showed off their skills together, were in the business class.
They showed high-level skills at first, but Gye Tae-seok fell after trying to do a back tumbling too hard, and both of them were shocked and shook badly.
They were trainees who came from a large entertainment agency, but they were criticized for their lack of coping skills compared to expectations.
Woo Cheong, who showed disappointing vocal skills that were in contrast to his dazzling dancing skills, was also in the business class. It seemed that his score was greatly reduced because he was out of tune.
Woo Cheong jumped down and sat next to Neoul.
"Raccoon hyung-nim! High five!"
"....?"
When Woo Cheong raised his hand, they clapped their hands together.
"Come on! Next time, I'll definitely upgrade to first class!"
The 18-year-old, who had gathered his determination on his own, cheerfully high-fived several other participants.
After the evaluations were completed, there were 11 participants who sat in first class, 25 in business class, and 45 participants who were pushed to economy.
***
After the ratings were over, the signal song
"You will practice for the next ten days and then present the song to the passengers who will board
And the next day, the real training began. From this time, they submitted their smartphones to focus on the training.
Although Neoul received a lot of praise during vocal training, he was criticized dozens of times during choreography training.
Neoul, who was at the bottom of the class in dancing, ended up taking classes in business class, so his poor skills stood out even more. He couldn't keep up with the progress, so they couldn't help but get mad.
"Gal Neoul! Why do you keep looking at your feet? Lift your head! If you don't look at your feet, your legs won't move?"
"You're slow! You're not keeping up with the beat!"
"Can you debut like this? Huh?"
"Why can't your hands match when your feet match, and your feet can't follow when your hands match?"
"Raise your arms higher, higher! Match the angles!"
The choreographer clapped his hands, shouted, and occasionally let out exaggerated sighs and curses.
"Are you a kid? Did you learn how to walk the day before yesterday? How can your hands and feet move together, huh? Let's do our best!"
He learned it the day before yesterday.
"Yes."
Neoul barely managed to answer, dizzy from sweating like rain. His breathing reached the tip of his chin. It was the first time in his life that his heart, which had been beating leisurely at about 25 to 35 beats per minute, had been beating so fast.
Even during the brief break, Neoul emptied a 2-liter water bottle in one gulp and then went back to practicing. The choreography for the signal song
It was difficult because it was the first time he had learned to dance on land, but his height, long arms and legs, and large muscle mass also made his body less agile. His body felt much duller on land than in the deep ocean.
Individual practice time after the first class.
Neoul practiced his dance without stopping, recalling the parts he had been pointed out (in fact, he had been pointed out in almost every part).
'If I can't debut, I won't be able to cure Abamama's illness.'
He couldn't rest even though he wanted to. Even though he wanted to collapse and lie down, he couldn't. If he didn't do it somehow, Abamama will….
The next day, Neoul received many criticisms. However, the number of times he was criticized was less than that of the day before.
Participants who were taking the class in the same business class whispered quietly.
"He couldn't do that move until yesterday? What happened?"
"Did he practice all night?"
That was the right answer.
Neoul danced all night.
He had already been able to walk, run, and dance, and he gradually became accustomed to the buoyancy and pressure-free atmosphere of land. He had also adapted to his new legs.
He felt fun when his body, which had not moved as he wanted, began to follow orders little by little. As he felt fun, he began to learn the dance quickly. He practiced the movements he couldn't do a hundred times without thinking.
Baek Yu-ri and Baek Gi-yeom, who woke up at 4 a.m. without fail, went for a run and practiced their dances, and in between, they would say a few words to Neoul.
They pointed out small and big details, like how he should raise his arms more or how he should look at his fingertips to make it look more natural.
Empty water bottles were piled up next to Neoul, who practiced all day long, sweating except when he was eating.
"Raccoon, you drank 20 liters of water in one day? Hyung-nim, is hyung-nim a hippopotamus?"
Woo Cheong was surprised as he counted the number of water bottles.
While eating his lunchbox, he saw the sun setting outside the window and asked Woo Cheong.
"I don't know what a raccoon and a hippopotamus are, but do you know how to get to the sea from here?"
"The sea?"
Woo Cheong searched for a map on his tablet PC and showed it to Neoul.
"This is the closest beach. Since we are at the pension, go out to the right and from here, go along the road to the left. It only takes 15 minutes on foot."
"Oh. Thank you."
"But why the beach? You're going?"
Neoul nodded. Today was the fourth day that the sea priestess had mentioned.
The day that Sangsang and Stardust had to be sent back to the sea. They had to arrive at the beach before midnight.
Baek Yuri and Baek Gi-yeom, who were strict about their bedtimes, went to bed at ten at night. Woo Cheong had just fallen asleep early, and Kim Ji-rok had gone somewhere and not come in.
'The lights in the practice room went out a while ago?'
Neoul reached out to the sharks that were flapping their tails. He carefully held them in his arms and went out secretly.
He was not used to reading maps, so he got lost for a while, but fortunately, he arrived at the beach before midnight.
He could hear the cool sound of waves. There was no one on the unfamiliar, secluded beach.
Neoul took off the sneakers he had been wearing all the time he practiced and also took off his socks. He felt a faint sense of liberation as he walked barefoot on the soft sand.
Neoul dipped his feet into the rushing seawater. The water rose to his ankles, but his legs did not turn into tails. It seemed that it had to be submerged up to his waist to change back to his original state.
Neoul went a little deeper. It was now up to his calves. Every time the waves came in, the water rose up to his knees.
The two sharks flapped their tails. They seemed to recognize the sea and swim.
"Stardust. Sangsang. I'll go back after getting rabbit liver, so you guys go back to the sea first."
Neoul tried to hug the sharks tightly and drop them into the seawater.
But the water was so shallow that if they changed here, the sharks wouldn't be able to swim or breathe.
Our Stardust is 3m long and big.
Neoul had no choice but to go deeper. Then, someone came running out of breath and grabbed Neoul's arm, shouting.
"What are you doing?!"
Neoul looked back in surprise.
"Don't you know that swimming in the sea at night is prohibited? Or were you trying to die?"
"Sir Rabbit?"
The one who interrupted Neoul was Baek Yuri, whose face was as pale as a ghost.
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