DECEMBER 28TH.
Finally, the day of the long awaited end of the year evaulation has come. Huddling inside the Starex, we swallowed our saliva. (Starex, a type of car)
My whole body trembled even though I was tightly wearing a padded jacket, scarf, and hat. The others were dealing with the tension in different ways, such as shaking the hand warmers without uttering a single word, suffering with dry lips, or biting their nails.
I was sitting in the passenger seat warming up my hand with hand warmers.
It was cold in the car due to them not turning on the heater even in the middle of winter afraid in case our vocal cords would get dry.
I talk to Seokhwan who was driving.
"This atmosphere is just like when your taking the college entrance exam."
"Are you that nervous?"
"I have a feeling it'll be fine."
"Wait a minute."
Yoon Seokhwan narrowed his eyes.
"Didn't you miss the exam?"
"Ah, that's right."
We stared at each other and burst out into laughter. On the other hand, unlike the pleasant atmosphere up front, the back was quiet.
Wouldn't it be amazing along with terrifying if the youngest, who's normally chatting with excitement, is quiet?
"Hey Kim Bijoo. What should I do? I have to do well this time."
"Why?"
"My dad is bringing my grandpa. Even the villagers are renting out a bus."
Kim Junghyun, who's always at ease, did a deep sigh.
Well. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to sleep a wink at night if the villagers rented out a bus.
"Cheer up." said Bijoo.
"I was nervous since my older sister was coming, but it was nothing."
"For me, my younger siblings are coming."
"I think my whole family will probably come over. My dad may be too busy to come, but please, I hope he won't."
Listening to the younger members chatting away with their stream of consciousness, I thought differently. Come to think of it, we've been excitedly practicing together for a month, and yet we don't know anything about each other.
No, I was the only one who didn't know much, unlike the others who knew about the situations between themselves.
Seokhwan glanced at me.
"What did your grandma say?"
"Mmm?"
"Will she show up?"
While I was checking for my grandma's messages on my phone, Bijoo stuck out his head to the front seat.
"Manager.", said Bijoo, "Who'll be our judge?"
"Well, I'm not exactly sure. I think Yoon Chanhyuk will be there from our agency and. . . WHITE ENTERTAINMENT said that Jang Sowon will be there?"
"Jang Sowon seonbaenim?"
"Why?"
"We're in trouble."
It was like a sign of destruction. Seokhwan was worry about the kids. He looks at me. I reply back to the look to confirm.
"One of the songs I chose for the end of the year evaluation was from Jang Sowon."
"Goodness, you must be having a hard time."
To anyone that has watch an audition program will know that singing one of the judge's song is everything. The judge is a professional singer who sings for money. It's not easy to sing a song that the person knows best in front of an expert on singing.
Simply put, singing in front of Jang Sowon with one of her songs was like a situation where an undergraduate has to do a power point presentation with his specialty in front of a professor who received a Nobel Prize in Economics.
Damn it.
Thinking about this was making me nervous too. I shook my head and stretched out my crouching shoulders.
Anyhow, it was Jang Sowon.
Come to think of it, I sang her song during the audition. Even though I was nervous, I was slightly excited to see the main character of, 'RED MOON' that I sang for the audition.
Jang Sowon.
Back when I was in high school, she was a member who debuted in the girl group SUGARFISH. Jang Sowon, a former member of the now disbanded group, is still active as a singer-songwriter.
She's one of my favorite singers because her melodies are so good. The choice of using her song as one of the performance song from the beginning was a reflection due to one's preference.
I can't believe I have to preform in front of the singer I like. It was a nervous, yet pleasant excitement.
"Well, I have something to tell you guys."
Yoon Seokhwan said as if he had thought of something.
"It's not that big of a deal. K-NET sent me an official letter of cooperation to film a reality show today."
"Fliming?"
Seo Rihyuk, who was at the back of the seat, knitted his eyebrows.
"What fliming?"
"You already know it, don't you? A boy group that's going to debut from DNS called STREET BOYS. They're apparently filming a reality show and they're going to be shooting a few scenes here. You don't have to be so nervous since they're filming with a single camera. Haha."
The expressions of the children becoming statues in real time was spectacular to see. There was no Agrippa that I saw in the art room. (I didn't do much research, but Agrippa is a long time ago Roman person. . . correct me/add)
Seokhwan was embarrass and cough saying, "This is nothing?"
"Do you want me to turn on the radio?"
The hand pressing the radio button sets the FM frequency up and down.
[ It's a story from, 'FAN ID 5289'. Hello, I'm a listener who's been listening to TBC BEAUTIFUL MORNING for 3 year now. It's was winter when the cold wind blew, I keep thinking about my first daughter who's abroad. ]
A calm voice read the story.
Inside the Starex, which was tense like a tight string, the atmosphere was slightly relaxed.
[ And so, I heard that my daughter is taking an important test today. You (my daughter) may not be able to hear me due to taking the test right now, but I would like to borrow this radio and talk about what's been in my heart. My dear Sungeun, your mom knows how hard you've been working. It's not the best, but you just have to do your best until the end. Don't feel pressure. Mom believes in you. ]
We were nervous because of our families.
It was the moment when Sungeun, who was abroad, became emotional.
Everyone was stiff due to the heavy speech from the MC.
[ FAN ID 5289's song request, FAMILY PICTURE will be played. . . ]
Seokhwan turned the channel to AFN and an intense rap flowed out, but the atmosphere was already heavy enough to be heavy. At the same time, the panoramic view of the high school began to be seen from afar.
". . ."
What are we going to to with the mood seriously.
* * *
TAEHWA HIGH SCHOOL'S AUDITORIUM.
There was a chill in the empty auditorium. Seeing that no was here, we seemed to be first.
"Wooo."
With heavy deep breaths, the trainees began to warm up.
Kim Bijoo approached me stretching.
"Wooju hyung."
"Mmm?"
"I'm worried. Will out performance be successful?"
Even after practicing countless times for a month, it seems inevitable that anxiety remains.
Well. We planned the performance together, but the whole arrangement was entirely done by myself. I wasn't sure about it.
"It'll work out. Don't worry."
Actually, I wasn't completely sure either. That's because on stage, there are so many unexpected variables that it's impossible to predict what kind of situation will unfold.
I'll just do what I can.
However, I couldn't say that to those who were anxious.
Contrary to his true feelings, he had a confident smile.
"Come on! Let's set on the stage ahead of time."
The reason for why we came so early was to work together on the stage platform in advance. As I dance and hum the song, my stiff body gradually relaxed.
At first, I couldn't show off my skills since it was an unfamiliar environment, but the more I repeated it, the more natural I became as if I was doing it in the practice room.
I wish I could come out like this in real life.
Thinking about that, it was time to moisten my throat with warm water in the thermos bottle.
Rattle.
The auditorium door opens and a bright light leaks in. A group of boys came in with a roar of laughter. Their fashion was full of hip-hop vibes such as loose oversized clothes and gold necklaces worn standing out.
There was no need to say who they were.
STREET BOYS.
It was the boy group that's coming out from DNS MEDIA and a rival we consider to be a competitor against in this year's end of the year evaluation.
The STREET BOYS, who were laughing and laughing among themselves, seem to have soon found us.
". . ."
In the air, the eyes of the trainees from the two agencies were intertwined. The cold air was felt on my skin. For 0.5 seconds, a sharp exchange of eye contacts took place.
"Hello."
"Yes, hello."
Politely greeting and passing by each other.
If anyone expected a war of nerves, it would have been disappointing, but the reality couldn't be like this. I didn't know if it was survival program with a script to it.
It was difficult to develop hostility without knowing each other's faces. Since the agency are in a competitive relationship, should I say it feels like I should beat them?
While we were practicing in the corner of the auditorium, they built a nest nearby. The atmosphere there was quite different from ours. Perhaps it was because they were a nine member group.
It was lively.
Not only was the audio never going to be empty due to the large amount of people, and the mood was relax somehow.
I think it was overkill.
It probably was because of the K-NET production team that came along with them.
A young ENG cameramen, PD, and writer.
During practice, they would act cute or wink at the camera and our expressions, who were watching the entire time, were being watched in real time, non-broadcast.
"Hello every fan."
A pink hair member stood in front of the camera.
"STREET BOYS are here at TAEHWA HIGH SCHOOL for the end of the year evaluation performance."
"Wowww!!"
As the members filled the audio with their own applause, the writer held up a notebook that asked questions.
"What's the end of year evaluation?"
"Ah, the year-end evaluation. It's a month ending evaluation conducted by 5 agencies, including ours. It's an event where the company staff members and families are invited to the performance. We'll do our best to show you a great performance today. Please look forward to it!"
In line with the leader's last words, the other eight members drew a, 'V' to the camera and shouted a slogan such as, 'Peace!'.
"GO STREET!"
When it was time to shout the slogan altogether, I felt the NEW BLACK member's morales were plummeting through zero and into the negatives.
Was it because of their trauma or the qualifications over the failure of their previous debut?
I clapped my hand together to call the attention of the other members who were constantly getting smaller.
"Guys, get a hold of yourself."
"What?"
"We have to practice. Are we going to play around?"
"Ah, yes."
We continued practicing again, but it felt a bit depressing. The more the other group talked and laughed, the more my members became aware of it.
A vicious cycle of repetition.
What should I do?
It was time where I was thinking about what kind of solutions to offer.
While slowly checking out the choreography movement, I felt a sudden change. I wasn't saying any nonsensical remarks, but our skills had suddenly changed.
They're doing great.
Up until now, I was the only one who was passionately practicing, but the rest of members started to do it as it.
Kim Bijoo was doing a great job with the choreography. Kim Junghyun's hand movement became flashy in the rap section. Seo Rihyuk's voice suddenly was projecting out 3 consecutive high pitch notes after each other. And the youngest, who's full of overflowing cuteness, was dancing with 120% effort.
As expected, my team members are amazing.
That's right. I knew this would happen.
While laughing with satisfaction, I blinked at what was happening nearby.
What? Over there. . .?
STREET BOYS.
They were also practicing their choreography twice as hard as before with a smile on their face.
Just what is happening? How come they were like that?
A three consecutive pitch high note ad-lip was being sung all over the place, and a messy dance break unfolded.
Did they get steam pack as a group together? (iffy on this sentence)
The question to this mystery was soon resolved.
It was because they were being watch along with the people who were entering the auditorium.
Unlike me, who was immersed in practicing, everyone else seemed to notice.
LEMON and DNS were like the same. It hasn't even been 30 minutes yet, but the trainees, who pretended to be cool by wiping their sweat as if they've been practicing in the scorching sun, greeted the new guests in the auditorium.
"Hello!"
"Hello."
Was it WHITE ENTERTAINMENT?
They were female trainees from another agency. Every time they walked with their legs elongated, the others stared as if they were possessed.
The female trainees giggled among themselves.
". . ."
I laughed at the boys who were acting like idiots.
Should I abandon them and just do this by myself? It was a genuine concern. (He's just joking lol)
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