[Shouldn't I be doing at least something at this point with all this practice? If I mess up on stage like this… If I get pushed out again, I'll end up eliminated even here....]
From the Yoo Chan-hee crouched on the floor, anxious thoughts poured out nonstop.
[If I get pushed out even here, I'm done for real. I have to maintain my rank… Keep my character, show a reversal, be versatile… But… damn it, how the hell am I supposed to do that....]
"...."
[I have to pull it off somehow… If I don't debut this time either… there's no telling when I'll ever debut... What if the company decides to drop me...]
Those thoughts kept spiraling on and on—until suddenly, they cut off.
"…Ha."
Yoo Chan-hee let out a deep sigh and stood up.
He stuffed the lyric sheet back together haphazardly and staggered out of the practice room. And he didn't return for the rest of the night.
***
"Hyung, did you pull another all-nighter?"
"Yeah."
I brushed off what Cheon Se-rim said as we met during breakfast and shoveled food from my tray into my mouth. Next to us, Do Ji-hyuk, who was eating with us, asked with a shocked expression:
"Yuha, didn't you say you didn't sleep last night either?"
"Yes."
"So that means you've stayed up two nights straight…?"
Following that, Yoo Min-seong, sitting beside us, asked, and Cheon Se-rim shook his head and thumped my shoulder.
"Hyung, you're really gonna collapse at this rate. You need to sleep."
"…There's a lot I need to work on. I'm managing it in my own way."
…With Woohwangcheongsimhwan.
"But where are Yeong-oh-hyung and Yoo Chan-hee? I don't see them."
If this topic dragged on, I felt like I'd get nagged even more. So I changed the subject and brought up the two who were absent.
Since we ate by teams after practicing together daily, it was impossible not to notice missing people.
"Ah, Chan-hee-hyung and Yeong-oh-hyung left early. Said they were going to practice."
The one who answered was Yoo Min-seong, who shared a room with them.
"I think Chan-hee has a lot on his mind. Looked like he called Yeong-oh for help with vocals."
I gave a noncommittal nod and didn't add anything more. Then, on the way to the practice room after breakfast, I asked Cheon Se-rim:
"Hey, do you know anyone from DIO?"
"…I mean, not nobody, I guess?"
He gave me a questioning look, wondering why I was asking. Since honesty was more effective with Cheon Se-rim than trying to hide something, I lowered my voice without hesitation.
"Do you know why Yoo Chan-hee was dropped from the debut lineup?"
"…That's unexpected. You're curious about that? So hyung's finally going to deal with Yoo Chan-hee properly? Karma vs. DIO showdown?"
"...."
Do I look like I would?
I didn't say it aloud, just stared at him flatly. Se-rim snickered mischievously, slowed his steps, and let some distance grow between us and the others ahead.
"He got blindsided, apparently?"
"What?"
And once we were far enough, he finally told me what I wanted to know.
"There was an unofficial trainee who joined mid-way, and I think he overlapped positions with Yoo Chan-hee. Supposedly he had some kind of connection with someone high up at DIO. Thanks to that, he got slotted straight into the debut lineup, pushing Chan-hee out."
"…And the consolation prize was appearing on
"That's probably it. They said the new guy 'grew fast' or 'fit the group's concept better' or whatever. Sounds like they gave some official-sounding excuse to justify the decision."
But apparently, rumor had it the unofficial trainee was actually worse than Yoo Chan-hee in skill—meaning DIO likely slapped together a justification just to insert him into the debut lineup.
It wasn't unheard of. Trainees with family ties to higher-ups often slipped into debut teams as "unofficial trainees."
"It makes sense he'd be on edge. His skills weren't lacking, but he still got pushed out. And now he's in
Only after hearing that did I finally get a sense of why Yoo Chan-hee held such hostility toward me.
'He's taking it out on me.'
To him, I must've looked like the shadow of that DIO unofficial trainee.
'…I mean, I get it, but still.'
From his perspective, that guy and I probably looked the same.
A trainee from a major label, receiving spotlight from the start, getting obviously favorable screen time, and looking like I lied about being a "growth-type" for narrative drama.
Whether it was an actual misunderstanding or not didn't matter—
My existence alone was poking at his trauma.
It was unfair for me, but—
'Whatever. Fine.'
Now I knew why he was hostile. And since it wasn't my fault, I no longer had any reason to hesitate.
***
"Oh, Team 4?"
"Wow, what's going on with this lineup? Rank 2, 3, 8, and 10? The top ranks are all in one place. Is this the Avengers?"
As time passed and the mid-evaluation day arrived, our team stood with Team 6 before the mentors.
Just like the mentors said, compared to Team 6, our lineup was ridiculously strong. Four out of our six members were ranked within the top 10.
"Reverse positions are… Ji-hyuk, Yuha, and Chan-hee? I'm allowed to expect something good, right?"
"With this many high-rank members, you know, right? Don't disappoint us~."
Which meant the mentors warned us in advance they would be stricter with the evaluation.
And after we finished the performance with the rearranged track—
"Did you all actually practice?"
…We got harsh criticism—exactly proportional to the high expectations.
"Yeong-oh, are you doing a solo stage?"
The first to speak was the vocal mentor, Do-Min.
Her first target was Hwang Yeong-oh, who held the main vocal position. As he stared back nervously, Do-Min sighed.
"Didn't I tell you this during the first mission too? The more fired up you are, the more you need to control your emotions. You're standing out way too much— you're not blending with the team at all. This isn't your solo stage, Yeong-oh. It's a group battle."
"Yeah..."
"If you want to perform alone, why are you doing a group performance? You think just singing however you like because you're talented is enough? Yeong-oh, get your head on straight. You're not fulfilling your role as main vocal right now."
"…I'm sorry."
"Same goes for you, Chan-hee."
"…Sorry?"
Yoo Chan-hee lifted his head with a frozen expression and looked at Do-Min. With a cold face, Do-Min instructed him:
"Sing the part right before the first chorus."
"...."
He hesitated, then forced himself to sing with a stiff expression. The line right before the chorus climbs gradually in pitch—requiring technique because of the subtle melodic shifts.
And Yoo Chan-hee failed to sing it properly, his voice cracking noticeably.
"…Ah."
Seeing him bow his head, Do-Min let out a long sigh.
"I know the reverse position is difficult. But Chan-hee, do you realize you're using your throat completely wrong right now? You won't be able to sing anything if you keep doing that. You're not singing—you're just squeezing sound out by strangling your throat."
"...."
"I told you how to use your throat during the re-evaluation. You were good at it then, so why are you back to square one? Didn't practice?"
"Practice, I..."
He seemed on the verge of saying something defensively—then flinched and closed his mouth again. Do-Min, seeing that, simply ended by warning him not to slack off and stepped back.
Next came the evaluation from the dance mentor, Rio.
Surprisingly, the dance portion was not heavily criticized. The group choreography and formations put together under Do Ji-hyuk's lead matched the rearranged concept well, and the direction of the remix too, earning praise as the only clearly positive feedback so far. Center Cheon Se-rim was also complimented for embodying the vibe well.
However, Jane pointed out that Hwang Yeong-oh still hadn't fully mastered the choreography, and that several members' placements felt slightly off, requiring more practice.
Additionally, despite being assigned the dance break, Yoo Min-seong was being overshadowed by Do Ji-hyuk—she advised he work to show more presence.
Finally, rapper mentor Briddy took the mic.
"Yuha."
And she called my name immediately.
"Yes."
"Your lyrics were good. You've got some sense."
"Thank you."
"But."
Expecting the shift in tone, I shut my mouth and straightened my shoulders. Briddy shot me a sharp look and said bluntly:
"Compared to Ji-hyuk, your diction keeps getting chewed up. You should work on articulation more. I can tell you've practiced rap copying a lot. But that's it. You need to figure out what feeling you want to give this song. No one else can find that for you."
"Yes."
"You weren't hoping I'd say something like 'You did great for just a few days,' right? Honestly, I wouldn't want to get on stage with rap like this. You don't want people calling it a kindergarten talent show."
She jabbed at the infamous "kindergarten talent show" insult several teams got during the first mission. I nodded silently.
"And there's one thing I'm curious about…"
Briddy glanced slowly over our team members.
"Do you guys not help each other?"
"...."
Instead of answering, we all exchanged awkward looks with one another and with the mentors. Briddy tilted her head.
"You've got someone good at rap, someone good at vocals, someone good at dance—so why does it feel like none of you are using each other?"
"Yuha."
"…Yes."
My name was called again—this time by Cha Mina. She gave a quick look toward Yoo Chan-hee before speaking:
"Have you two tried helping each other?"
"...."
"You basically traded positions, right? One of you was main vocal last round, the other was main rapper. You should know how the other needs to practice. But right now it looks like you two are completely separate. Didn't you try practicing together?"
Yoo Chan-hee kept his lips sealed stubbornly and stared at the floor. Watching the cameras zoom in on him, I stared straight ahead without offering excuses.
Whether I explained or accepted blame, either way the broadcast wouldn't edit it in my favor.
The mentors observed the two of us quietly, then left one final piece of advice:
"Make use of each other. Right now it looks less like a team and more like a bunch of soloists sharing a stage."
We were then instructed to sit along the wall and watch Team 6's performance. I glanced at my teammates.
Do Ji-hyuk and Cheon Se-rim looked relatively calm.
Yoo Min-seong looked miserable.
Hwang Yeong-oh looked irritated.
And Yoo Chan-hee didn't even need to be mentioned.
'…Tonight's practice is going to be long.'
In fact, this next rehearsal might be the first real one.
I took a breath, set my tangled feelings aside, and looked forward. Team 6—the team we had to beat—was forming their positions.
And among them, I finally saw Joo Dan-woo for the first time in days. After teaming up with Park Woo-jae, a fellow See's Label trainee, his talkativeness had sharply dropped.
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