"What are you thinking?"
As I expected, Yoo Chan-hee came to the practice room that very night.
After entering, he checked that all the cameras were completely off and that no microphones were installed, and then he let out his frustration in a low, irritated voice.
I answered calmly,
"What else would I be thinking?"
"Are you seriously saying that? I'm the one asking you right now."
I set down the lyric sheet I'd been holding. The rap I practiced with Do Ji-hyuk all afternoon still wasn't sticking to my mouth.
Even though I was pressed for time with practice, I planned to give up the room to Chan-hee tonight.
"Didn't you say during the first evaluation that you thought it was true—that no one can beat someone who works hard?"
"…Yeah, and?"
"Then you're going to lose. Since you're not working hard at all."
"…What?"
Because tonight, there was no way I could practice in the same room as him.
—Yeah, the saying that you can't beat someone who works hard really feels true. Everyone did great, and I'll keep working hard too. I'll keep improving so I never lose to anyone!
That's what Yoo Chan-hee had said during the first evaluation, mocking me. He'd assumed I got my "growth arc" through character manipulation rather than real effort, and took a jab only I would understand.
But going by his own logic, he was the one who couldn't win this evaluation. He probably thought he was giving his all, but in reality, he wasn't.
At my sudden shift in attitude, Chan-hee let out a disbelieving laugh.
"Ha! So you're finally showing your true colors?"
"No reason not to. Isn't this what you wanted?"
"What?"
He glared at me with a threatening air. Even in the dim practice room, I could see his face turn red.
I didn't look away and continued.
"Didn't you always want me to confront you? You. From the beginning you believed I got here through rigged rankings. You wanted to openly check me, criticize me, maybe even provoke me, but you couldn't because cameras were around and I avoided you. So this is good for you, right? No cameras here, and I'm not holding back now."
"…So now you want to fight?"
He fell silent for a moment—likely because I hit the mark—before snapping back aggressively. But I simply shook my head.
"If that's what I wanted, I'd have hit you the moment you walked in. But what would that accomplish? It'd only get staff attention and screw us both over. I'm not here to throw punches blindly."
"Then what the hell do you want?"
"I want to ask you something. Why aren't you doing things properly?"
"What?"
"You said during the first eval that you work hard and I don't. But you're not working hard."
"What kind of crap is that? I haven't gone to bed on time even once—!"
Before he could explode further, I cut in sharply.
"You keep repeating the same things without knowing whether they're even correct. You could try other methods, but you don't—because of your pride. And you call that growth?"
"…What?"
He instantly shut his mouth, seemingly at a loss for words. I let out a small sigh and pointed out the issue directly.
"You ask Hwang Young-oh, but not me. You selectively choose who to get help from. Is that your best? You tried Young-oh's method and it didn't work. So isn't it common sense to try something else?"
Then Chan-hee finally snapped, shouting in disbelief,
"Why the hell should I ask you for help?"
"Because you think I'm good."
"...."
He went silent again, staring at me with a conflicted expression.
I looked at him steadily as his face stiffened further and further.
He hated me, but I knew he didn't dismiss my skill.
…Actually, he probably acknowledges it to some degree.
Otherwise, he wouldn't be acting this threatened.
If he really believed I was just a rigged-result trainee with no real ability, he would've mocked and ignored me. There'd be no reason for this persistent hostility and desperate attempts to push me down.
The reason he wants so badly for me to slip up, to find any excuse to drag me down…
…is because I make him feel cornered. Whether as a rival or as someone who triggers a trauma of his—who knows.
I spoke to the now-confused Chan-hee.
"I don't know if I can fix your problem. But use what you can use. You're desperate, aren't you? You want to debut, right?"
"…And what does that have to do with you?"
"I told you. We're on the same team, so it's not unrelated. If one person doesn't perform, the whole team falls in a team mission."
"...."
"We're not doing a solo match right now. And I'm not planning on getting eliminated, so I really need you to do things properly."
And that applied to me as well.
…No, maybe it's already too late.
Honestly, this was something that should have been addressed from the beginning. But I'd delayed direct confrontation as long as I could.
A bad habit of mine.
Because I never intended to fight him in the first place.
I didn't want pointless emotional battles. I didn't want to waste my energy on unnecessary conflict. Ignoring each other had seemed simpler.
But now, we were teammates. Even temporarily, we were tied to the same fate.
And from experience… if unresolved problems remained, a team could never put on a proper stage.
"Even if you hate the sight of me, endure it for just a few days. Once this mission is over, as long as we survive, that'll be the end of it."
That was why I decided to confront him directly and settle things.
Unlike the members of Lightning, this guy had a desperate goal. Which meant we could form a temporary ceasefire.
"So until we survive this, try everything you can. Isn't that what you call effort? Don't just selectively do things the easy way. I'll help you as much as I can with the vocal part, so try whatever you can."
"…What is it? In the end, you're just trying to get help from me too, aren't you? Don't pretend you're doing this for my sake when you just want to exchange rap tips or something."
With clear hostility, Yoo Chan-hee shot back sharply.
"I never said I was doing this for you. Don't flatter yourself. I'm saying it because it benefits both of us. And if you don't want help, then don't take it. It's your loss."
But from the beginning, I never thought of it as "helping" him. This was simply a temporary ceasefire—cooperation for survival, nothing more.
His resentment toward me was unfair in my eyes, but I had no method to change someone's heart.
And judging from what I'd seen, Chan-hee was stubborn. He would never force himself to fix his attitude just to help me.
But since we were teammates right now, I couldn't just sit back and watch him go down the wrong path.
We needed to survive. Both him and me.
"But think carefully, if you really want to debut. Think about what choice is actually to your advantage—what's really the best for you."
"...."
"Even if it feels shitty, just endure it for a few days. Use each other, survive the mission, and then you can cut ties with me clean. Or you can refuse any cooperation, and we'll both fall together. Up to you."
"…And what if I say I don't need help at all?"
"Then both you and I drop into the gutter. And the other trainees lose too. Even if we somehow beat Team 6 by luck, our rankings will fall. I don't see how that ends well for you."
"...."
"But you're the one who wants to avoid that the most, aren't you?"
He was desperate enough to appear on
And at this stage, what Yoo Chan-hee wanted was simple: a reversal arc overcoming crisis, multi-talented appeal through the vocal position, and positive relationship-building through cooperation.
And ultimately, what he wants most is increased recognition and stable ranking.
If he swallowed his pride for just a moment, he could get exactly what he wanted. Opportunities like this mission—where all the narrative pieces were laid out perfectly for him—rarely came twice.
The production team clearly wanted this dynamic too.
"…Why are you suddenly doing this? Until now you ignored me. Couldn't we just keep doing what we were doing?"
Of course, he understood all of this. Even if he was impulsive and narrow-sighted, that didn't make him stupid.
But letting go of one's pride is hard, so he clung to the last bit of resistance. I stood from my seat and answered:
"And what has that gotten us so far? You or me?"
"...!"
"If it hasn't worked, try a different direction. That's the best choice."
Whatever the reason behind all this, I was just as desperate. I couldn't afford to drop out of
That would mean death for me.
Meaning—he wasn't the only one fighting for something.
I said all that, then left the practice room. I'd said everything I needed to say. Now I just planned to move somewhere else and keep practicing.
***
"...."
"...."
That was the plan.
"…Uh, should I leave you the space?"
"No, it's fine… Were you practicing here?"
Because of Joo Dan-woo, who appeared unexpectedly, I subtly lowered the hand holding my lyric sheet.
…Why is this guy here?
I awkwardly glanced around. Do Ji-hyuk and Cheon Se-rim were sleeping in the dorm, and I couldn't use another team's practice room, so I had ended up at the small landing by the stairs.
I hadn't been practicing long when Dan-woo showed up, so I had no choice but to stop.
Dan-woo also looked unsure of what to do—too awkward to leave, too awkward to stay.
Hmm.
I glanced at the lyric sheet in his hand. It was filled edge to edge with handwritten notes.
"…Hyung, why are you here? What about the team practice room?"
"Ah… Someone's already using it…"
He fell quiet after saying that, but from just that one sentence, I immediately knew who had occupied the room.
Park Woo-jae.
Dan-woo didn't mind sharing a practice room with others. So if he'd been driven all the way to the stairwell, it meant the person inside was someone he couldn't comfortably practice with.
…Someone like me.
…Or maybe he got kicked out.
At that moment, I recalled the conversation behind us earlier when we were all heading to practice.
—Woo-jae, about the arrangement… How about we go over it one more time?
—Are you mocking me? I'm already busy practicing, and now you want to change the arrangement? What, you think you have extra time because you got praised for your position?
Before Dan-woo could even respond, Woo-jae had shut him down instantly.
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