Chapter 22: Survival Show - Cover Song (7)

It was nearing eleven o’clock at night.

Squick, squick.

The sound of sneaker soles scraping against the floor resonated through the practice room, creating an irritating noise.

“Huff... huff... Ugh, huff...”

“...That’s enough. Let’s call it a day,” said Joo-Han.

Simultaneously, we all collapsed, our shaky legs and arms making it challenging to support our own weight.

“Ah... I feel like, huff, I'm going to die...”

We took long, ragged breaths while lying haphazardly on the practice room floor. The competition was less than a day away. If we didn't practice to the point of soaking our clothes with sweat, the complex choreography would be impossible to master.

“And we are singing on top of this dance, right?”

“...Sigh, everyone, get up,” Goh Yoo-Joon commanded, rising to his feet with a groan. Jin-Sung also sighed but got up nonetheless. Staggering back to his laptop, he resumed playing the music. Despite the weariness written all over our faces, we obediently stood up and returned to our positions.

I forced my wobbling legs to lift me up as well and took my place in the middle of the room.

‘It's so hard that I feel like I am going to die.’

I could now understand why this popular fan-favorite song was rarely performed live.

‘They said it would be easier than Goblin.’

Because the choreography demanded maximum use of our body lines, it drained our energy drastically with every run-through.

“Okay, let's try again. Yoon-Chan and Yoo-Joon's beats are still a bit slow.”

“Alright, let's do it again.”

The music filled the room once more, and we lifted our heavy heads to resume our practice session. Jin-Sung was impressive as he tirelessly replayed the song until our movements were perfect, but the other members also showed commendable resilience by immediately getting into their positions without breaks.

“Remember what Tucan hyung said earlier about bending your waist more. Keep that in mind.”

The dance routine started again. At first, they had been able to sing along with the dance, but now, that was impossible. Conserving their energy, they went through the already perfected moves efficiently and put their full effort into the sections they were unsure about.

When the full song was finally completed...

“Huff, Heave... Okay...” At last, Jin-Sung signaled that it was alright.

“Ah...” I collapsed onto the floor, exhausted. We had pushed ourselves to our limits, driven by the desire to deliver a flawless performance.

“You guys worked really hard. I can see now that you all are doing well, even without my constant supervision. I'm proud of you all,” our manager praised as he handed out water bottles to each of us.

“We'd be embarrassed if we couldn't do it after Allure seniors personally taught us,” Goh Yoo-Joon said.

Earlier today, Allure had visited our practice room before the

Pick We Up

camera crew left, instructing us for nearly three hours despite their busy schedule. If we couldn't dance well after all that, it would be the ultimate disgrace. We had to repay the seniors with a perfect performance, especially after they had declared their support for us on a live broadcast.

Joo-Han, who had been lying on the floor staring at the ceiling, casually asked, “Yoo-Joon, you don't need to revise the beginning rap part anymore, right?”

“No. It finally sounds decent now,” answered Yoo-Joon.

“Since Jin-Sung approved of the choreography, let's review it once more before the shooting tomorrow,” urged Joo-Han.

“Okay.”

“...Whew.”

Joo-Han exhaled and sat up. “Let's head back to the dorm.” After that, we started to gather our belongings.

“Make sure to rest and stretch before sleeping.”

“...Hyung, I'm too drained to even respond, so please don’t talk to me.”

“Alright, alright.” Our manager helped the staggering members into the car. Once we arrived at the dorm, we poured all the ice from the fridge into a tub like we had been doing this whole week.

“An article already came out about Allure seniors appearing on the show,” said Yoon-Chan.

“Were the survival series that famous?” Yoo-Joon asked.

Joo-Han nodded at their words. “Exactly. So, we must perform better than anyone else tomorrow. Especially since we are the most anticipated group on that famous show.”

Gathering in the living room, we gave our overworked feet a much-needed break by soaking them in ice. Already familiar with this routine, Goh Yoo-Joon turned his back to me.

“Hey, I saw how flexible you were earlier. Why don’t you try massaging it yourself this time?” I teased.

“Yo, we are friends. This is the meaning of friendship. I will do it for you later.”

I reached into a drawer next to the couch, pulled out a patch, and slapped it onto Goh Yoo-Joon's back.

“Ouch!”

“Does it sting and feel cold? Stay still!”

As I repeatedly applied and removed the patch from Goh Yoo-Joon's back, he attempted to swat my hand away with his heel.

"Joo-Han hyung, they are fighting again."

"Don't they ever get tired? It's so exhausting," grumbled Joo-Han.

Looking at us disdainfully, Joo-Han and Park Yoon-Chan then wiped their feet and went back to their room.

"I will clean up the ice, so you guys should go to bed first," Lee Jin-Sung said respectfully. It seemed he wanted to soak his feet a little longer, so we quietly went back to our room.

As I lay down in the dark room, I felt like I'd fall asleep before I could even think. Just as I was about to doze off...

"Hey." Goh Yoo-Joon called me.

"What? I was about to sleep."

"Do you want to wake up early tomorrow morning and practice with me? It's our last chance.”

"...Alright, sure. Good night," I replied

He seemed anxious because he had been continuously pointed out for being a beat slow. I then quickly drifted off to sleep.

After a whirlwind of a week, the day of the competition was just around the corner.

***

The sound of hair dryers filled the room, and my face was covered in layers of heavy makeup. Draped in a silk shirt, I had a choker placed around my neck. The fatigue on my face was disappearing, replaced by makeup and costumes befitting “Moon Sea.”

𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

I then heard Lee Jin-Sung scolding Park Yoon-Chan.

"Why is your beat slow again? If I had known you were this anxious, I would've joined you and Yoo-Joon hyung for early morning practice," complained Lee Jin-Sung

"Sorry! I'll get it right before the live show," said Park Yoon-Chan. Having finished preparing, Lee Jin-Sung was playing the role of a strict teacher as he instructed Park Yoon-Chan.

"Yes, yes. The bed on the stage should be slightly diagonal. So, after the center member gets up, it can be quickly removed. Yes... No, we never mentioned changing members." Our manager was continuously on the phone, discussing with the stage director of UNET. Despite the chaos, cameras were rolling, capturing behind-the-scenes footage.

Soon, the makeup artists finished their work and took a step back. “Is everyone ready? In-Hyun oppa, do we need to go?"

"Ah, we should. Everyone, let's head down."

Following the stylist leader's words, our manager left for the first floor. We then wrapped ourselves in blankets to prevent any costume spoilers and headed for the car.

Once everyone got in, the car immediately departed for UNET. All the members plugged in their earphones, listening to “Moon Sea” and visualizing their performance.

Inside the quiet car, which was unusual for Chronos, our manager spoke loudly, "We will be using the stage for a music broadcast. It's a different vibe from the Cha-Cha we did before, but don't be too nervous."

"..."

"They will bring cameras into the waiting room to capture reactions for each stage, so don't be shocked and respond well, got it? Why is no one replying?"

"Oppa, they are all wearing earphones. They probably can't hear you."

"Ugh."

"Talk to them later, don't disturb them now." The stylist calmed the manager down. In fact, we all heard him. His voice was naturally loud, so we couldn't miss it even with the music playing. However, no one replied because our car had just entered the broadcasting station's parking lot.

Cameras waiting at the entrance directly rushed over to capture our arrival.

"Wrap yourselves well in the blankets so the costumes aren't visible!"

"Okay."

After the manager said this, the camera captured the members' faces as Joo-Han opened the car door.

"Hello. We are looking forward to today." We politely greeted the VJ and moved to the waiting room, surrounded by the manager and stylists.

"Wow! A moving camera!"

"This waiting room is huge."

Compared to our first official shoot, the treatment we received for the second shoot seemed significantly better. The waiting room we were provided with was spacious, a stark contrast to the cramped audition hall we were previously in. Only three unmanned cameras were installed here, which allowed for easy movement for both our staff and us.

"This is quite rare. It's not often that trainees get such a pristine waiting room. It seems like you guys have generated some positive buzz," our manager commented with a hint of pride in his voice.

Recently, UNET uploaded preview videos for all the participating groups, and Chronos received the most positive response. Whether it was the audition clip or the preview clip, our view counts were off the charts. Our manager shared how the growing interest in Chronos among idol fans had resulted in us receiving better accommodations than other groups.

"Hyung, can we take off the blankets now? We need to practice."

"Oh, take them off now. The shoot starts at 1 PM, so we have about thirty minutes left."

We eagerly took off the blankets and started practicing. It was a physically demanding song, so we danced lightly to ensure we wouldn’t get tired on stage, but we gave it our all in singing to adapt ourselves into different speeds of dance while singing.

"Yoon-Chan, can you do the hand movements a little faster?”

“Ah, sorry. Is it still slow?” Park Yoon-Chan responded, looking somewhat discouraged.

It was said that geniuses often found it difficult to teach others, and at this moment, Lee Jin-Sung seemed to embody that saying. He struggled to understand why Yoon-Chan was unable to keep up with the choreography.

Seeing this, I stepped in and placed my hands on Jin-Sung's shoulders, gently pulling him back just as he was about to become even more agitated. "Yoon-Chan, the arm movements don’t have to be perfectly accurate. Just focus on matching the speed, okay?" I suggested.

“...Just the speed?”

“Yes, all the attention will be on the center of the stage anyway, so as long as you match the speed, it won’t feel out of place. Let’s do it this way for now since we don’t have much time left.”

We couldn’t afford to completely fix Park Yoon-Chan’s choreography before the stage. Even if we forced him to speed it up for now, Park Yoon-Chan’s move would likely slow down again after shooting the opening and watching the performances of other groups one by one.

“I am worried people would say that I am dancing half-heartedly.”

I shook my head. “They won’t. Making our move in sync is more important, okay?”

Through my trainer life, I learned that every group had its weak links. In cases where one member’s skills were not up to par, or when someone had strong vocals but weak dance skills, attempting to perform the exact same moves as everyone else could lead to misalignment and a lack of precision in the choreography.

The best short-term solution was to place that member at the back and focus on synchronizing the speed of their movements with the rest of the group. This approach would create the illusion of a well-coordinated performance, at least at first glance, unless someone was scrutinizing each individual’s moves.

“...We don’t have time right now. Please, Yoon-Chan hyung.” Lee Jin-Sung didn’t seem entirely satisfied with my suggestion, but he reluctantly agreed and let Park Yoon-Chan go. As a result, Park Yoon-Chan felt disheartened even more but decided to accept it for now. Reassurance would come after everything was over. For now, he turned and went back to the couch where Goh Yoo-Joon was sitting.

At that moment, the waiting room door opened, and a staff member stuck his head in. “Chronos! We are going in for the opening shoot! Please gather in Studio A!”

The first official shoot was about to begin.