32: If You Give Me a Rice Cake, I Won't Eat You (2)
Here was another person whose heart was beating like crazy. With trembling legs, Neoul barely got off the stage and fell to the floor.
When he put his palm near his heart, his heart was beating too fast. The red paint on his hand got all over the place and the color faded as sweat washed it away.
Woo Cheong tried to reduce Neoul's choreography as much as possible for him, who couldn't keep up, but the difficulty was still very high.
Neoul thought he was out of breath several times during practice because the difficulty was much higher than the signal song. He even regretted for a moment that he should have just gone back to the sea.
But now, even though he felt like he was out of breath, he didn't regret it.
'I want to do it again.'
Crazy thoughts filled his head.
It was strange.
It was definitely hard enough to the point of death, but why did he think like this....
'Why is this happening... Am I smiling?'
My mouth kept going up as if it was broken.
Is it because I felt a sense of accomplishment because I made it through without making a mistake?
Is it because the cheers of the people watching the stage were amazing and nice?
That's true too....
'It was fun.'
I felt the same emotions I felt while looking around the new world and sparkling people on the rooftop of the building on this stage.
No, this time it hit me even harder.
'Why is it so fun?'
Will I ever feel this kind of emotion again in my life? It's scary....
Actually, I thought there was a more accurate expression other than 'fun', but I couldn't think of anything else.
Guys! You did great!
Wow!
I came down from the stage, but I could still hear cheers and shouts from behind me.
"Oh my, our team did well! Everyone worked hard!"
"Thank you all, thank you, thank you, thank you! It's the best!"
"Yeah~! Even the hyungs! Woonngu and Raccoon Hyung-nim didn't miss a single thing! We really did well today! Hehe! Woo Cheong, you're great!"
The camera approached Woo-cheong, who was patting his teammates on the back and praising them, and even praising himself. Woo Cheong brought his face close to the camera and excitedly made a V sign.
"Camera director! Did you see our performance? Wasn't it great?!"
The camera director, who was surprised by Woo Cheong suddenly speaking, shook his head and nodded instead of the camera. Woo Cheong seemed satisfied with that and stepped back.
Neoul wiped the sweat from his forehead and quietly smiled proudly as the camera approached. Neoul thought back to the past week of practice that had been like hell.
—ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ'ꜱ ꜱᴏᴍᴇᴛʜɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ꜰɪᴛꜱ ᴘᴇʀꜰᴇᴄᴛʟʏ ᴀᴍᴏɴɢ ᴋᴏʀᴇᴀɴ ɢʜᴏꜱᴛꜱ!
—ᴡʜᴀᴛ?
—ᴄʜᴀɴɢɢᴡɪ. ᴀ ɢʜᴏꜱᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴡᴀꜱ ʙɪᴛᴛᴇɴ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ ʙʏ ᴀ ᴛɪɢᴇʀ, ᴀɴᴅ ɪᴛ ᴄᴏᴍᴇꜱ ᴛᴏ ꜰɪɴᴅ ᴘᴇᴏᴘʟᴇ ɪᴛ ᴋɴᴏᴡꜱ, ᴄᴀʟʟꜱ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴏᴜᴛ, ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴜʀᴇꜱ ᴛʜᴇᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪɢᴇʀ.
—ᴡʜʏ?
—ᴛʜᴀᴛ'ꜱ ʜᴏᴡ ɪᴛ ᴄᴀɴ ᴇꜱᴄᴀᴘᴇ ᴛʜᴇ ᴛɪɢᴇʀ. ʜᴏᴡ'ꜱ ᴛʜᴀᴛ? ꜱᴄᴀʀʏ ᴀɴᴅ ɪɴᴛᴇɴꜱᴇ, ʀɪɢʜᴛ?
After the concept was changed to Changgwi, Woo Cheong revised the choreography. Baek Gi-yeom was in charge of rewriting the lyrics and conveying the direction of the arrangement, and middle school student Go Woon-goo was in charge of conveying the costume concept.
All Neoul had to do was follow them.
However, the dancing was the problem, and just having the team members take turns helping him wasn't enough for Neoul to learn the choreography properly.
It was Baek Namoo who taught Neoul.
Baek Namoo, who was watching while hanging around Baek Yu-ri, came to visit Neoul too, perhaps because he was bored.
Baek Namoo, who was impressed by Neoul's dancing, checked out the choreography video that Woo Cheong had filmed for the team members. Then, in a very kind voice, he extended a helping hand.
—[ᴄᴀɴ ɪ ʜᴇʟᴘ ʏᴏᴜ? ᴍᴇʀᴍᴀɪᴅ ᴘʀɪɴᴄᴇ?]
Neoul nodded in emotion. Baek Namoo turned into a very strict dance teacher as soon as the lesson started.
—[ʀᴀɪꜱᴇ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴇᴀᴅ! ᴏɴᴇ, ᴛᴡᴏ, ᴛʜʀᴇᴇ, ꜰᴏᴜʀ! ʟᴇꜰᴛ! ᴀɢᴀɪɴ! ᴏʜ, ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇxᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ ɪꜱ ꜰᴀʟʟɪɴɢ ᴅᴏᴡɴ! ʏᴏᴜ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ᴀʟꜱᴏ ᴘᴀʏ ᴀᴛᴛᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ ᴛᴏ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴇxᴘʀᴇꜱꜱɪᴏɴ!]
—ʜᴇᴜᴋ... ɪ'ᴍ ᴅʏɪɴɢ. ᴘʟᴇᴀꜱᴇ ꜱᴀᴠᴇ ᴍᴇ.
—[ʜᴇʏ, ᴍᴀɴ! ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀʀᴇ ʏᴏᴜ ɢᴏɪɴɢ ᴛᴏ ᴅᴏ ᴏɴ ꜱᴛᴀɢᴇ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ꜰᴀʟʟ ᴅᴏᴡɴ ᴀꜰᴛᴇʀ ᴅᴏɪɴɢ ᴛʜᴀᴛ! ɢᴇᴛ ᴜᴘ! ꜰᴏᴄᴜꜱ!]
Baek Namoo meticulously coached him, not only by dancing but also by showing him how to act with facial expressions. Although Neoul had no experience acting, he followed along well, as if he had copied and pasted everything Baek Namoo showed him.
—[ʜɪꜱ ʟᴇᴀʀɴɪɴɢ ᴀʙɪʟɪᴛʏ ɪꜱ ɢᴏᴏᴅ.]
However, he wasn't good at multitasking. Whenever his facial expressions broke down because he was focused on dancing, he would get yelled at in a raspy voice.
During the day, he would work on the movement and choreography with his teammates, and at night, he would take lessons from Baek Namoo, and Neoul's skills would improve day by day.
—ʀᴀᴄᴄᴏᴏɴ ʜʏᴜɴɢ-ɴɪᴍ. ʜɪꜱ ᴅᴀɴᴄᴇ ʟɪɴᴇ ꜱᴇᴇᴍꜱ ᴛᴏ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɪᴍᴘʀᴏᴠᴇᴅ ᴀ ʟɪᴛᴛʟᴇ ʙɪᴛ...?
Woo Cheong was surprised and acknowledged it. As a result, he finished the stage perfectly without any mistakes and came down.
After pouring everything out and being exhausted, Neoul just wanted to collapse and sleep.
However, a signal was given to come back up on stage.
***
MC Jeong On-do introduced the two teams that participated in the fourth team match in order.
"The 'Sori ZEALOUS' team that showed a powerful and energetic stage! The song you covered was
"We decided on our team name with the determination to show you a better side by sublimating even feelings like jealousy into enthusiasm!"
"And we also added a double meaning 'Sori!'!"
[*Sori
1. sound; noise
2. words
3. voice
4. rumor]
The team members' introductions continued, and cheers of all sizes followed.
"Hello. I'm Baek Yuri."
Kyaaaah!!
The cheers for Baek Yuri were overwhelming.
The members of Neoul's team were tense and frozen. They seemed anxious that they wouldn't get the same response as the other team. Only the confident Woo Cheong and the thoughtless Neoul remained calm.
"Next up is the 'If You Give Me a Rice Cake, I Won't Eat You' team! The team name reminds me of a tiger, so what does it mean?"
"Yes! It is!"
Woo Cheong grabbed the microphone and began to explain excitedly. Then, while introducing himself, he made all kinds of hearts like big hearts, small hearts, finger hearts, bite hearts, cheek hearts, elbow hearts, etc. and made a lot of noise.
"Hello! Everyone! I'm Woo Cheong!"
Hearts poured out like a vending machine that dispenses drinks without even pressing a button.
Kyaaaaaaah!
When cheers erupted, Woo Cheong laughed so hard that his mouth was wide open. Fortunately, all of the team members who had been worried and anxious all responded well.
Neoul's face turned pale as he watched the young team members making a lot of noise with excitement.
Why are you doing that.....
Do I have to act so shamelessly like that?
Fortunately, the remaining Baek Gi-yeom gave a very short and refreshing greeting.
"I'm Baek Gi-yeom."
He stared at each person sitting in the audience, smiled his characteristically refreshing smile, and waved both hands. His cheeks were dimple-like.
"Hello. I'm Gal Neoul."
Now, as he made the familiar introduction, Gal Neoul followed his teammates and waved his hand.
Aaaah! Aaaah!
Gal Neoul, establish a nation!!
".....?"
At the somewhat intense reaction, Gal Neoul's calm face turned into embarrassment.
"Why are you telling me to establish a nation...?"
Abamama is already the king, so why would I establish a nation?
Anyway, the voting began.
"Yes! Then let's start voting right away! If you liked the stage of the 'Sori' team better, press 1! If you like the 'I won't eat you if you give me a rice cake' team, press and hold the button 2!"
When the team members raised two fingers, Neoul also raised two fingers.
The audience busily pressed the remote control buttons.
When the voting ended, numbers appeared as holograms above the heads of the two teams standing side by side on the stage.
The numbers that had been rapidly increasing from 0 gradually slowed down and the results came to mind.
[229:241]
Kyaaaaaaah!
Waaaah!
The moment screams and cheers erupted from the audience, the participants quickly raised their heads and looked at the numbers.
"Huh...!"
"Wow!"
The 'I won't eat you if you give me a rice cake' team won by only 12 votes.
Neoul's teammates let out silent exclamations and shook Neoul's shoulders, hit his back, pulled his arms, and stomped their feet.
Neoul was glad that he won, but he didn't know why the humans were harassing him, so he just stood there. It didn't really hit him.
Daiki covered his face in excitement and turned around to cry.
"Daiki-hyung, we won, so why are you crying! Don't cry! When someone cries, I cry too, sob, sob, sob..."
Go Woon-goo stopped teasing Daiki and started crying along.
Congratulations, Neoul-ah! You're the best!
Good job, Cheong-ah!
Daiki yaaaa! Don't cry!
Don't cry, Woonngu!
Baek Gi-yeom, you have to debut!
The audience was as noisy as the stage. Neoul looked at each and every one of the audience members who were happy for his team's victory.
They were all strangers whose names he didn't know and whose faces he had never seen before.
'How come they came all the way here to cheer us on?'
A fundamental question came to mind.
And why?
Why are they cheering me on?
No one in the audience answered Neoul's question. However, they were all shouting at the top of their lungs.
Neoul-ah! You did a great job!
The stage was awesome!
When he had finished the stage earlier and left, his thanks were not sincere. His teammates were all doing it. He had just followed along without knowing what was going on.
But now, Neoul's mouth was moving on its own.
I hadn't done anything for them. I still don't know why they cheer me on while shouting until their throat hurts...
"Thank you."
Thank you. This time I meant it.
***
After the first vote, there was an individual vote.
They were asked to vote for the participant who showed the best performance from both teams.
They said that the rewards for the individual vote and the winner would be announced at the ranking ceremony.
After coming down from the stage, Neoul's team members kept their mouths shut and hid their joy.
One of the opposing team members, who had applauded on stage but couldn't hide his dejected spirit, burst into tears as soon as he got off the stage, making the atmosphere solemn.
"It's because of me. If I hadn't fallen, we wouldn't have lost...!"
He was the participant who had made the mistake of falling down on his butt.
Neoul recognized him as the same team member who had previously been swearing at Baek Yuri and causing trouble, saying that no matter how hard he tried, it wouldn't work.
After being completely defeated in the running race with Baek Yuri that Neoul had suggested. He seemed to have calmed down and realized how he had appeared on camera with a slightly clearer head. He also seemed to have disturbed the team by ruining the mood.
Although he looked timid, he showed that he was diligently practicing as Baek Yuri led him to make up for his mistake.
Neoul remembered that Baek Yuri, who blamed himself and was depressed while looking for Baek Namoo, gradually improved his expression.
"It's not because of you. We did well enough. We did our best. The other team did better and got more votes, not because you fell. And next time, we have to do better and win."
Baek Yuri consoled his teammate in an adult manner.
The young contestant sobbed and mumbled in a voice choked with tears.
"But it was only a difference of twelve votes. We did it perfectly during rehearsal... I'm upset and angry because it's regrettable. I'm sorry to my hyungs too. We really, really worked hard. This is the first time in my life that I've worked this hard, as if I'm going to die."
His tone of voice was not the nervousness of when he only tried hard in words, but the regret, resentment, and sadness of someone who really tried hard overflowed.
Baek Yuri said.
"I know you did your best on this stage, and all of our team members know. The viewers will definitely notice it."
Baek Yuri's voice was soft and gentle, but firm. He must have been upset about losing the competition, but Baek Yuri smiled at the young contestant.
"What's important isn't winning or losing right away. What's more important is that your skills have improved a lot while preparing for this stage. Since you did your best to the point of being upset and crying, you'll be able to do your second best more easily."
"...."
"Then, your skills will improve again in the next competition, and you'll do much better on stage. People will notice your growth and cheer you on even louder."
The young contestant nodded as if possessed by Baek Yuri's confident voice.
"....."
"So don't blame yourself, just feel bad for a moment and let it go. Okay? You worked hard, so you can feel good about yourself."
The contestant, wiping away his tears and nodding, seemed to feel much better. It seemed like he felt something from Baek Yuri's words.
"I'm sorry for getting upset and angry before. I shouldn't have done that to my hyung who helped me and led me so hard back then, but I acted badly and made things difficult for you..."
Baek Yuri smiled coolly at him as he apologized.
"Thank you for apologizing. Are you feeling better now?"
"Yes...."
"Okay. Let's go to the waiting room."
Baek Gi-yeom said to Neoul, who was watching them from a little distance, and to the team members who were watching.
"Shall we go too?"
Neoul looked at the back of Baek Yuri's head as he headed to the waiting room with his team members. Baek Yuri glanced at the camera and then turned his head forward again.
After seeing Baek Yuri talking to his brother alone in the practice room with the camera off, Neoul thought that he was weak.
—ɪ ᴛʜɪɴᴋ ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴀʟʟ ᴍʏ ꜰᴀᴜʟᴛ.
—ᴡʜʏ ᴀᴍ ɪ ᴀʟᴡᴀʏꜱ ꜱᴏ ᴘᴀᴛʜᴇᴛɪᴄ ᴀɴᴅ ꜱᴛᴜᴘɪᴅ?
It seemed like he had no confidence and was embracing deep darkness and anxiety.
However, the figure he had just seen was like a strong and sturdy tree that would never break.
If anyone fell, it would be painful. Baek Yuri seemed to be someone who could look ahead and smile without hesitation.
Is that the real Baek Yuri, or a fake?
'If it's an act, it would be very tiring to live like that.'
In Neoul's eyes, Baek Yuri seemed to live wearing a very thick and strong mask in front of the cameras and people. Something that was elaborately and carefully crafted so that no one would know that what they were seeing was a mask.
'Wouldn't it be heavy?'
Always wearing a mask and pretending to have a bright personality....
'Wouldn't it be burdensome?'
Neoul stared at the back of Baek Yuri, who looked calm, and thought of the Dragon King's large back.
The Dragon King also used to act solemn in front of his subjects. With the appearance of a majestic and charismatic monarch.
Looking at that appearance, Neoul thought that Abamama was completely honest with him. He has a foolish son, and he was a bit nagging and always worrying, and sometimes he even lost his temper, but he was very healthy and energetic... the strongest dragon in the entire sea.
I thought that was all....
I never dreamed that he was wearing a thick mask in front of his son, Neoul, to hide his serious illness.
'Wouldn't it have been heavy?'
Pretending to be okay, pretending to be fine, pretending to be okay.
'Wasn't it too much?'
—