On the day of the month-end review, it was drizzling in Seoul.
The atmosphere in the trainee building was so tense that it was hard to breathe. The corridors were full of people reciting lyrics in low voices and practicing moves over and over again.
Ouyang Guang was holding a sweat-soaked score and queuing outside the vocal music classroom when he heard a commotion in the corridor. The voices of several trainees drifted into his ears: "Why are Teacher Xiu Man and Director Jin here?" "I heard that they will personally select the candidate list this time..."
A chill ran up his spine and onto the back of his neck. Ouyang Guang quietly peeked through the crack in the door. On the judges' bench, Director Jin wore gold-rimmed glasses, his fingertips tapping unconsciously on the table. Teacher Xiu Man crossed her arms across her chest, her eyes sweeping across the waiting list like a hawk.
This assessment was several times more rigorous than previous ones. Many trainees had tears in their eyes on the spot, and some even secretly hid in the stairwell to touch up their makeup.
The other trainees were talking to each other in twos and threes, their whispers full of surprise and uneasiness. No one expected that these two company executives would suddenly appear. The importance of this evaluation suddenly became extremely heavy.
You know, these two have a very special status in the company and are rarely seen at ordinary times. Their sudden appearance at the end-of-month evaluation site shocked all the trainees.
Ouyang Guang clenched the music score in his hand, trying to calm himself down.
"Number 17, Ouyang Guang." Teacher Park Jung-min's voice rang out.
Ouyangguang took a deep breath, swallowing his tension with a rolling Adam's apple. When he pushed open the classroom door, the piercing light from the ceiling light made him squint slightly, and the scrutinizing eyes of Teacher Xiuman on the judges' seat swept over him like a physical object, and his heart skipped a beat.
"Hold on, this month's practice can't be wasted." He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself down, but his mind kept flashing back to the details of the past month: countless early mornings, when the whole building fell asleep, he was still repeatedly rehearsing his movements in front of the mirror in the dance studio; in vocal class, he sang until his voice was hoarse for a high note. At this moment, all the efforts, sweat and persistence turned into the expectation of breaking out of the cocoon, surging in his heart.
Ouyang Guang walked forward slowly and bowed to the judges. When he bowed, he heard a drum-like sound in his chest, and his nails almost dug into his palms. He forced himself to calm down.
As the prelude of "Like Being Shot" slowly flowed, he closed his eyes, concentrating all the efforts, sweat and persistence of the past month into the moment he was about to open his mouth.
The first note spilled from his mouth, clear and full of affection, as if carrying the power to penetrate people's hearts. When he sang the chorus, his unstable breath made his heart tremble, but the breathing technique that Teacher Park taught him emerged in his mind like timely rain, and he quickly adjusted himself and devoted himself to singing.
At the end of the song, Teacher Xiu Man rubbed his chin thoughtfully, and Director Jin rarely showed a smile of appreciation.
After the performance, Ouyang Guang’s tense mood finally relaxed!
Teacher Park Jung-min smiled and said, "Ouyang Guang, your singing is very infectious, and you interpret the emotions of this song very well. You are worthy of being a trainee who has always maintained an A-level evaluation."
Ouyang Guang bowed excitedly with a gleam in his eyes. This was the best affirmation of his efforts.
There was a dance assessment in the afternoon. The air conditioner in the practice room was running at full blast, but it still couldn’t dispel the suffocating tension in the air.
More than a dozen trainees from Group A and Group B crowded in a corner, their tense expressions reflected on the mirrored wall.
Wu Yuxun kept adjusting his clothes, fearing that something was not done right; Kim Seung-hyun kept warming up, sweat dripping down his forehead; Ouyang Guang was not idle either, repeatedly checking the knee pads and silently going over the dance moves over and over in his mind.
Min-hwan, the lead dancer of Group B, kept jumping around, trying to warm up his stiff body.
"Group B, start!" Teacher Zheng pressed the play button, and the iconic prelude of "Sorry, Sorry" sounded.
Min-hwan took the lead in dancing with clean and neat movements, but the trainees in the back row obviously couldn't keep up with the rhythm, and their movements when they raised their hands were uneven.
During the first chorus, some people forgot to take their positions and bumped into their teammates in a panic, causing the formation to suddenly become chaotic. Sweat beads rolled down their red cheeks, soaking their training suits, and their breathing became more and more rapid.
Ouyang Guang was distressed watching from the side. He could feel that each of their trembling fingertips was exerting force, but they were still unable to form a unified force.
At the end of the song, the trainees in Group B stood still with red faces and chests rising and falling violently. "The rhythm is all messed up!" Teacher Zheng's voice pierced like an ice cone, "Ten people danced like ten piles of loose sand! All the notes were wrong, and the formation was a mess!"
Min-hwan bit his lip, his eyes reddened, and whispered, "Teacher, if we practice for another month, we will definitely be able to dance well."
After a short break, Group A came on stage. Ouyang Guang took a deep breath, and the moment the music started, his body seemed to automatically enter a fighting state.
Each of his movements was full of power. His arms made a sound of wind as they cut through the air, and his knees slammed against the ground, with sharp sounds from the friction between his knee pads and the floor mat. Wu Yuxun's hair was flying, his eyes were as sharp as an eagle, and each wave was precisely stuck in the gap between the drum beats; Kim Seung-hyun showed a bright smile, and his dance steps were steady and powerful, driving the rhythm of the entire team.
The thirteen people moved in unison, their breathing rhythms perfectly synchronized, and their figures reflected on the mirrored wall looked like one person.
When the last action was frozen, Ouyangguang felt that sweat almost blinded his eyes. Teacher Zheng was silent for a moment, and then slowly spoke: "In terms of individual strength, everyone in Group A is impeccable. Wu Yuxun's control, Ouyangguang's explosive performance, and Kim Seung-hyun's appeal are all very good..."
She suddenly raised her voice, "But there are still problems with teamwork! During the third interlude, three people turned around half a beat late!"
Teacher Zheng paced around the team, tapping the tip of his shoe on a certain spot on the floor. "In the first chorus, four people turned in the wrong direction, and their breathing rhythm sounded like a quarrel!"
Just when the trainees in Group A were feeling depressed, Teacher Zheng changed the subject: "However, overall, Group A's performance and stage appeal far surpass Group B. In this evaluation, Group A ranks first."
Cheers erupted instantly. Wu Yuxun hugged Ouyangguang excitedly, almost knocking him down; Kim Seung-hyun jumped on the ground excitedly, sweat splashing on his training clothes. The trainees in Group B stood aside silently, some lowered their heads to wipe tears, and some clenched their fists.
Min-hwan walked to Group A and forced a smile: "Congratulations, we lost with all our heart. We will continue the challenge next month."
The sun after the rain came in through the windows of the practice room, coating the sweat on the floor with a layer of gold. The trainees in Group A sat together, discussing their shortcomings; Group B had already started to review their mistakes. Teacher Zheng's criticisms and their discussions intertwined, and in the humming sound of the air conditioner, they played another movement on the road to chasing their dreams.
During the individual dance assessment session, the central air conditioner in the practice room was whirring, but it couldn't dispel the tension condensed in the air.
Ouyang Guang stood in the middle of the field, the hem of his black training suit rising and falling with his slight breathing, his fingertips unconsciously stroking the seam of his pants. He could feel the gazes of more than a dozen trainees behind him, like countless fine needles piercing his back.
When the music prelude sounded, Ouyang Guang was 0.3 seconds slower in his start—this slight mistake made his pupils shrink suddenly. But the next second, his body suddenly woke up as if a switch was pressed. The wave movement started from the fingertips, brought a slight tremor when passing through the wrist, and after a brief stay at the shoulder, finally exploded into a clean pop at the waist.
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