Episode 4: Show Time (part 1)
Arin pushed the door open, smiling as she witnessed the trainees practicing. She wasn't in charge of evaluating them, but she just wanted to check if everything was going smoothly.
"Hey guys~"
The trainees stopped practicing and immediately started bowing as she went towards them.
"Whoo~ Back Door team! How is it going?"
They all looked amongst each other, saying it's going great.
"I'm just here to check in on you guys", she looked towards G group who seemed to be tense.
She scanned their name tags and noticed that Kamden was the leader. "Kamden, is everything okay?"
"Yup! Everything is fine..."
She raised an eyebrow, although he said it was okay, the situation just didn't seem like it. She just nodded as she went towards K group's side.
"Hey guys~ Did you change anything since your evaluation?"
Although she wasn't there when they got evaluated but she heard from Baek Kooyoung about the advice he told them.
Jiwoong nodded as he explained, "Yeah, we actually changed some of the formation to show off Yujin and we focused more on getting the timing right for each member"
She smiled at his words. "That's fantastic! Then want to show me what you got?"
They all made eye contact with each other while nodding. Arin made her way towards the front, sitting down and observing them as they got into position.
"Alright, let's go!"
She pressed play on her phone as they started dancing. Immediately Arin got goosebumps.
Jongwoo's charismatic gaze radiated an aura that captured her attention. The facial expressions he made weren't too overboard and was perfect for the song.
Not only that Minsung, the main rapper had a unique tone. The way he broke off his lines emphasised the rhythm of the rap more.
He was a piece of jewel.
Arin gasped as she witnessed Yujin dragging his hands against his thighs in the centre. Although he didn't have many parts, he showed his presence in all of them.
Towards the end Taerae did his high note, which got chills on Arin's body.
The energy each of the trainees gave was just perfect.
She clapped as the song ended. They all stood in a line, hands on top of each others as they were trying the catch their breath.
"That was amazing! You all shined so perfectly. I can tell you guys really took the advice Baek Kooyoung master-nim told you"
They all bowed with a huge smile on their face.
The door opened gaining Kgroup's and Arin's attention.
"Arin-nim~ We need you for a little meeting" It was one of the mnet producers, calling for her.
That's a shame.. I wanted to see how G group was doing as well..
"I'll get going now, practice hard you guys"
She pushed herself up and went towards the door.
"What are you all doing?! Concentrate please!"
Arin turned from the outburst and she saw Kamden sighing, running his hands through his hair, visibly stressed.
She frowned and was about to go towards him but was stopped by the producers hand, dragging her away from the room.
+ + +
Kamden was sitting on the couch, outside the training rooms. He leaned his head against the wall, sighing as he recalled the scenes with his team.
"So are you guys trying to decide on what parts you should all do?"
Everyone ignored him as they discussed with each other in Chinese. He just looked down, not knowing what to do.
"How can I lead the group if they're not willing to listen..."
Arin was walking towards the training room after her meeting. She couldn't help herself but go back there because Kamden was on her mind the whole time.
She stopped in her tracks as she saw the trainee she was looking for.
She walked up towards him and softly says, "Hey Kamden.."
He jolted up as he hears her voice. "Oh.. Hi Arin masternim..."
"You don't mind if I sit with you?"
"Of course not! Here you can take my seat" He was about to stand up but she grabbed his arm, putting him back down to his seat.
She broke into a small smile and took the seat in front of him.
"I noticed during that you seemed to be stressed while I was in the room. Is everything okay?"
Kamden looked down, fiddling with his sleeve, wondering if he should ask her for advice. Arin just silently waited for him, not wanting to force him to say anything.
"I..."
Arin looked at him, giving him assurance and signalling him to take his time.
"I don't know what to do... I'm really lost in how I should lead my team.
Not only am I not close with them, but the language barrier is really taking a toll on our practicing session"
Arin frowned as she could hear his voice shake as he told her his concern.
"I don't feel respected as a leader. They don't seem to take me seriously and just wants to do what's best for them.
It's not that all of them are bad people... they are all nice but..."
Unknowingly her hand hovered over his back. She wanted to give him comfort but she didn't want him to be startled by her affection.
Arin retracted her hand back and placed it on the table.
"It must've been really hard to keep that all in"
He nodded, not making eye contact with her. Her heart shattered as she saw tears falling out of his eyes.
She could only imagine the amount of stress he was currently in.
Not only does he have to lead the team, but he also has to take into consideration how he can show himself off to the audience.
"I know it's not easy to be harsh on the trainees because you know they are trying their hardest but as a leader, you need to be stern with them.
I'm not saying what you're doing right now is wrong or anything. What I'm saying is that you should express your feelings to them.
That way they would learn and reflect on themselves"
Silence just filled the room.
Arin pursed her lips, second guessing herself. She slightly regretted the advice she gave him because she might've been harsh on him.
She rummaged through her bag and took out a piece of chocolate, sliding it against the table.
His gaze went towards the chocolate.
"If you eat something sweet, your mood gets hundred times better~"
He broke into a smile and he took the chocolate. "Thank you Arin masternim.."
"You know, we're only a year apart. So when we're alone you don't have to call me Arin masternim"
He tilted his head, "Then, what should I call you?"
"Call me Arin noona"
She laughed as she saw his eyes widen.
Arin already told a couple of trainees to call her noona instead of masternim and she found it adorable how they all had the same reaction.