Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut!

Chapter 31. First Monthly Evaluation (3)

A week remained until the monthly evaluation.

In a time where every moment of practice was precious, I found myself at a café.

“…Are you under a lot of stress?”

Between handling the Director, managing HR duties, and preparing for the monthly evaluation and survival, Ji Suho, who seemed to have lost about 5 kg, was with me.

“Pardon?”

“I see you just downed an entire iced chocolate in one gulp?”

Ah, did I?

Feeling somewhat embarrassed by Ji Suho’s concerned words as he brought the cake we ordered, I scratched my forehead. As if he had anticipated this, he naturally handed me an additional iced tea he had ordered.

‘I’m not really… addicted to sugar.’

“I was just thirsty.”

“Then can I put away the iced tea?”

“…Thinking again, I might actually be a bit stressed.”

I urgently grabbed Ji Suho as he tried to take the iced tea away. Taking back what he had given was unfair.

With a slightly resigned expression, Ji Suho handed back the iced tea. Then, with a look of understanding and sympathy, he even pushed the plate of cake towards me.

“Well… It’s your first monthly evaluation. I anticipated this, which is why I scheduled this meeting.”

A personal meeting with Ji Suho, who was qualified to judge the evaluation, could have been problematic. However, today’s meeting had an official purpose: a ‘personal interview before the monthly evaluation.’

Although it was called an interview, it was essentially a stage to gauge the trainees’ status and mentality before the official debut survival. For the trainees, this was their first exposure to broadcasting, so there were many things to forewarn them about.

“Is your evaluation preparation going well? I heard you’re the team leader.”

“Well… I suppose it’s going well.”

In response to Ji Suho’s direct question, I stirred the leftover ice in my empty iced chocolate with a straw.

Despite regularly uploading practice videos to the company cloud for consistent feedback, Ji Suho, pretending not to know, asked me again.

“I heard you received a mid-term checkup recently.”

“…Yes.”

“I heard there were many problems.”

See, he knows everything.

Having nothing more to hide, I answered immediately.

“Yes, well.”

“……”

“The mid-term checkup was a disaster.”

Remembering the (terrifying) mid-term checkup day, I downed the iced tea in one shot.

* * *

The mid-term checkup for the monthly evaluation was conducted with all the trainees gathered. The purpose was likely to make everyone feel the tension from seeing other teams get scolded or praised immensely.

Among them, our team was definitely on the side that got severely scolded.

– What, what am I even looking at right now?

– ……

– Hajin, you answer. Can you complete this in a week? You’re the one who suggested it.

The dance trainer’s annoyed voice filled the practice room. The already tense atmosphere became even sharper.

It was understandable. Lee Doha hadn’t even followed half of the dance break, Gong Seok was barely keeping up with the overall choreography, and Yoon Taehee’s live performance skills were far from satisfactory. Overall, our team was incomplete, even in my eyes.

– Why are you guys doing this when you could have just done what you were doing? Doha, why are you suddenly eager to dance? Just do what you were doing. Guys, we’re approaching a crucial evaluation before the survival, who performs like this?

…This is too harsh, isn’t it?

As the trainer’s scolding continued, the atmosphere worsened. I decided against sneaking a glance at the overly angry dance trainer. Meeting their eyes right now would be fatal.

We ended up standing there, getting scolded for 20 minutes for a mere 4-minute performance. Only after returning to our seats did I realize that this was a public scolding meant to set an example, but the other guys’ mental states were already shattered to pieces, even more transparent than glass shards.

– See, I told you it was too much! This is all because of Hajin hyung!

– Are we, are we okay? Should we change the performance now…?

– Ah, everyone agreed to do this together, so why blame now? Let’s just practice harder and show them, right?

After the mid-term checkup, I had a tough time reassuring and getting the guys back to practice.

The silver lining was that Lee Doha, who was the main focus of the scolding, surprisingly didn’t react much.

– Let’s just practice.

– Uh? Doha, but!

– We got scolded because our performance wasn’t complete. So we should practice more instead of wasting time here.

With a visibly bruised ego, Doha quietly took Kim Wonho aside to get personal lessons on the dance break part, leaving the others no choice but to keep their mouths shut.

The one given the toughest task was doing so much, so if they couldn’t keep up, it meant they were lacking in capability.

* * *

Back to the present.

I smiled at Ji Suho, who still looked concerned.

“It’s fine. From the start, the plan was to discard the mid-term checkup.”

“Do you think you can complete it in a week? Especially with Doha handling the dance break, I have concerns. As you might know, Doha has always…”

“I know. He didn’t dance, just rapped. Either stayed at the back or did simple moves.”

“……”

“But isn’t that quite funny? He’s an idol trainee.”

Since hearing about Doha’s special class insertion and deciding to give him the dance break part while choreographing with Wonho, I’d been thinking this.

Is it reasonable for an idol trainee not to dance?

“Until now, maybe they let it slide because they couldn’t afford to lose someone like Doha. But now that we’re entering the debut survival, he needs to graduate from that excuse.”

“That’s…”

“Don’t worry. These guys can do it by the monthly evaluation. I even coached a team that was worse and made them win awards.”

The performance could be achieved if completed. I designed it with that in mind. Ji Suho, looking blank, asked in a dumbfounded voice.

“Hajin, what did you do in your previous life?”

“Well… A bit of everything?”

“You’ve really done everything except being an idol?”

“So I’m trying that in this life. I’ll get going. Need to practice.”

I gave a slight nod to Ji Suho, who seemed deep in thought, and stood up after taking a big bite of the cake with a fork. As I was about to leave, I turned back and approached Ji Suho again.

“But if you’re still worried about us, there’s a more practical way you can help. What do you think?”

“…? Sure, tell me.”

“How about treating us with a card swipe?”

Guys, wait up. Hyung is bringing snacks.

* * *

Wonho was once again helping Doha with his dance practice. Taehee, who had already mastered the dance break part, had gone to the vocal practice room with Gong Seok to work on her lacking vocals.

In the otherwise empty practice room, only the sound of breathing, footsteps, and Wonho’s admiring voice could be heard.

“One, two, one! Jump!”

“…!”

“Wow, hyung! You nailed it again!”

“…Ah.”

Doha could now execute the dance break without any mistakes about one in ten times. Of course, this meant he had only mastered the movements. There was still a long way to go in terms of infusing his style and interpretation, but nonetheless, Doha was doing it! Wonho saw hope in that alone.

‘I’ve never seen him so pleased before.’

Seeing the faint smile on Doha’s usually stony face, Wonho couldn’t help but feel proud and happy as he lay down on the floor.

“Hyung, take a break. Dancing is a battle of stamina. Practicing when you’re exhausted increases the risk of injury.”

“Yeah. …Thanks.”

“Can’t believe I’m hearing a thank you from a special class hyung.”

Doha slowly sat down next to Wonho. Though he didn’t show it, Wonho could easily tell that Doha’s legs were shaking from exhaustion. Wonho handed him a bottle of water and shared a thought he’d had since they started choreographing.

“…Can I be honest?”

“Go ahead. As long as it’s not about me being bad.”

“Hyung, you know how to joke.”

“I’m serious. I might lose motivation if I hear criticism now.”

Seeing Doha’s serious face, Wonho shut his mouth. Hmm. That wouldn’t do. Besides, what he wanted to say wasn’t criticism.

“Seok hyung and Taehee seem to be struggling, so I couldn’t say it, but…”

“……”

“Honestly, I’m having fun. With this stage.”

“……”

“Aren’t you, hyung? Dancing the break is fun, isn’t it?”

Doha paused as he was about to drink the water. Wonho, not expecting an answer, continued.

“I mean, honestly, I was in the regular class. Getting to choreograph to your song is a rare opportunity for me.”

“I’m just another trainee, not an opportunity.”

“But if not for this monthly evaluation, we wouldn’t even be talking like this, honestly.”

“Well. I can’t deny that.”

Doha nodded. It was the first time he had talked so long with someone other than Siwoo and Taehyun from the special class.

“When Hajin hyung asked me to help choreograph, I honestly thought it was ridiculous. I’m not someone like Lee Yugeon or Joo Eun-chan. If it fails, who would take the blame?”

“……”

“But

once we started, I really felt like I was actually being an idol trainee. Even though we got scolded badly at the mid-term checkup, it didn’t even feel bad. No one said the choreography was bad, right?”

Wonho genuinely felt that way. Preparing for the monthly evaluation with Hajin was the first time he experienced this feeling.

Until now, he had always felt overshadowed by the special class, and even among the regular class, he felt pushed aside by the top students. When he first checked the monthly evaluation teams, he wasn’t sad or disappointed, and that was why.

“Honestly, survival or not, we won’t get opportunities. There are so many talented hyungs. I thought so… But preparing for this, it’s like…”

“Like you saw potential?”

“Yes. I felt like I was capable too. So honestly, I don’t mind if we don’t make it to the top 10. Just…”

His words, which had been flowing smoothly, stopped. Wonho couldn’t say, ‘Just having this opportunity is enough.’ Saying that felt like admitting defeat and giving up his dream. It felt like familiar defeat.

Wonho was surprised to realize he had been aware of this feeling all along.

“So do I.”

And even more shocked that Doha, a special class trainee, shared this sentiment.

“I never thought I could dance this well.”

“Pff, hyung. Isn’t that too self-deprecating?”

“I’ve always felt limited in composing because of my inability to dance, but now I realize…”

Doha calmly confessed while wiping his sweat with a towel and stretching before his body cooled down. Wonho followed suit without adding more words. Both were lost in their thoughts.

“Wonho.”

“Yes?”

“I’ll do well in the monthly evaluation.”

“……!”

“Because it’s your choreography. I’ll do my best. Thanks.”

“I brought cake―!!!!”

Wonho couldn’t respond to Doha’s quiet thanks. Hajin had burst into the practice room.

With Gong Seok and Yoon Taehee in his arms and his hands full of cake boxes, Hajin entered like a triumphant general, filling the practice room with lively noise.

Watching Doha rise to join them, Wonho felt an indescribable elation.

This happened a week before the monthly evaluation.