Before I knew it, a month had passed.

Ouyang Guang lay on his bed in the dormitory, staring at the tiny cracks on the ceiling. The morning light from the window seeped in through the thin curtains, casting a blurry shadow on the wall. He turned over, and the mattress creaked slightly.

"The end-of-month evaluation will be in a few days." He muttered to himself, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the edge of the bed, as if he was playing an invisible drum beat.

The memories of this month flashed through my mind like a kaleidoscope - from the speech barrier when I first arrived, to being able to understand at least most of daily Korean now; from being clumsy and unable to follow even basic dance steps, to being able to complete a choreography now; from having unstable breath in high notes, to being able to sing a song relatively steadily now.

There has been progress, but it is far from enough.

Ouyangguang sat up and reached for the phone on the bedside table. The screen lit up, showing several messages - greetings from mom, a music theory article forwarded by dad, a message from Chen Zheng and his friends about the start of high school, and a message from Zhang Yixing last night saying "Don't practice too late, go to bed early".

After he replied one by one, he got up and washed up. The cold water splashed on his face, and Ouyang Guang shuddered violently, and most of his sleepiness disappeared instantly.

The figure in the mirror was thinner than a month ago, and his jawline was as sharp as if it had been cut by a knife. Ouyang Guang gave a standard smile to the mirror, and then his face fell immediately. Teacher Cui's words from the day before were still echoing in his ears: "Your smile is like the automatic door of a convenience store, it only opens when someone comes."

After wiping the water off his face and drinking the nutrient supplement, Ouyang Guang opened the wardrobe and grabbed a black T-shirt and put it on.

When I arrived at the company, I could already hear the hurried footsteps of other trainees in the corridor.

The tense atmosphere before the end-of-month evaluation enveloped the entire dormitory building, and even the trainees who usually loved to play around became much quieter.

"This morning I have a class on facial expression management, lines training, and vocal music," Ouyang Guang thought about today's class schedule as he walked, "In the afternoon I have a dance assessment rehearsal, and in the evening I have a Korean class and personal practice time."

Etiquette class was one of his most troublesome courses. He had to bow and greet at every turn, use honorifics to address seniors, and use plain language to address peers. If he made a mistake, Teacher Cui would hit his palm with her thin and long pointer. Not to mention the damn standard smile - showing eight teeth, eyes must be crescent-shaped, and the angle of the corners of the mouth must be precise.

Ouyang Guang subconsciously touched the corner of his mouth and tried to force out a standard smile, but he felt his facial muscles were as stiff as stone.

In the classroom, the air conditioner was humming, but it couldn't dispel the cold sweat oozing from his back.

Every step of the second hand of the clock on the wall seemed to step on his heart. There were only fifteen minutes left before Teacher Cui’s expression management class.

Ouyang Guang took a deep breath and raised the corners of his mouth again. This time he deliberately curved his eyes, trying to create a "from the heart" effect.

"This is so fake." The sudden voice behind him made him freeze.

Ouyang Guang turned around and saw Park Chanyeol leaning against the door frame, twirling a bottle of mineral water in his hand.

"Teacher Choi will kill you," Park Chanyeol came over and handed him the water, "Your smile right now is like a supermarket promoter selling expired food."

"Shut up." Ouyang Guang took the water but didn't drink it. His stomach felt heavy as if a stone was stuck in it. A month ago, he was the one with the most standard figure among this group of trainees, but now he has lost 8 kilograms due to stress.

Park Chanyeol patted his shoulder and said, "Relax, the more nervous you are, the worse you will do. Think about something happy."

"Class is starting! Everyone stand still!"