[ Park Moondae's POV ]
Ah, Seungmin ended up in the other group.
"No~ Seungminnie ended up on the other side!" Lee Sejin B cried out in an exaggerated way.
I really wanted to hit him, but the cameras were rolling.
Beside me, Ahyun also seemed upset. He was fretting, but then he pumped his fists and said, "I-I think our group is good!"
I couldn't hold the same enthusiasm. Not with Choi Wongil and the child actor being on our team.
"Since we both have the same name, why don't we use nicknames?" the gold-graded Lee Sejin suggested as we gathered together. "Since you're an actor, what about actor Sejin?"
"Oh, and you can be Keun* Sejin!" one of the gold members added cheerfully.
*Keun means big in korean
The others were in a good mood until the child actor scowled.
"I'll just use my name."
"..."
Luckily, the MC cut in before it got worse.
"Alright everyone, have you greeted your new teammates? This time, choose a representative to press the button again!"
After finding our group, we chose a song based on a roulette of songs from the agency. It looked like our opposing team was already discussing. Seungmin's eyes swiftly skimmed over his group members until he made eye contact with Ryu Chungwoo. The two of them started talking as the others huddled around them.
The rest of their members were in a good mood because of the song they got: <Tiger> by VTIC, which was the title track of that famous boy group that earned a Daesang.*
*Daesang: a grand prize awarded to the best song/group. basically the highest award you can get in kpop
Meanwhile, we ended up with a girl group song about fairies.
Again, the mood darkened.
Really, will this team make it?
∘₊✧──────✧₊∘
It was night.
Our team was in shambles trying to find positives about the song we received. I could only let out a sigh when I was alone in the cafeteria to get some water in case it shattered the little good feelings they had. Everyone else was in our team dorm room trying to get some rest after a long day of learning the choreography.
"Moondae hyung," a familiar voice said softly. I turned to see Seungmin walking closer. He had a towel around his neck, and his sleek, obsidian hair was dripping from his shower.
"Are you here for water?" I asked as I took out a cup. He nodded and took it from my hand. He poured some water into it before putting in a tea bag.
I didn't know you could put tea bags in cold water too. Or, was he too tired to wait for water to boil?
We sat across from each other at a table and drank silently.
Water droplets kept falling from Seungmin's hair. But he reverted to his blank state where it doesn't seem like he notices anything. I used to think it was creepy at first, but I got used to it after living in the same room for 10 days in the previous evaluation.
"Seungmin, your hair is dripping," I told him.
"...Ah."
Suddenly, a pop-up screen appeared.
================================
[ Warning! Cho Seungmin's animosity level has risen from the standard 10%! ]
If it reaches 100%, he will quit, and the program will fail!
================================
There was a bar right below those words with the progress that showed 15%
"Huh...?"
I almost spilled the water that was in my mouth. The pop-up was in the same red color as the 'Debut or die!' window, which meant this was serious.
But I've never seen this screen before.
"And if I don't calm him, the program will somehow fail? On top of him dying because he won't debut?"
First of all, I needed to figure out what caused this.
"Is there something bothering you?"
I was wary about the cameras, so I had to play my cards right. If I recklessly asked him if something was wrong with his team, it could be edited to make it look like I was looking down on him.
But maybe I said things wrong because the next thing I knew, the progress went up. The red in the bar got closer to the right in small increments. 17%.
Alas, he didn't respond for a while.
"Hyung, how is your team?"
This punk--are you implying that your team is the issue in front of these cameras? Even if the main cameras were gone, the wall cameras were still rolling.
As if he read my thoughts, he murmured, "The cameras are off. They ran out of battery."
I widened my eyes and turned to look up at the corner. True to his words, the red light indicating it was on was gone. I don't know when he noticed this.
He really was more cautious than he gave out.
"...We're having some trouble matching the song's concept," I sighed as I relaxed a bit in the chair.
Seungmin nodded his head and took another sip of his tea.
18%
"Other than Ryu Chungwoo hyungnim, everyone..." He let his words trail off, but it was obvious he was dissatisfied with his teammates' performances. He was a platinum grade placed with silver and lower grades. Of course, they wouldn't be up to par.
19%
"It's still rising."
I decided to change the topic.
"Seungmin, can I dry your hair?"
He looked up from his cup and then glanced at his wet bangs. His actions were all lethargic. It seems like his team wasn't doing as great as I thought they would, based on how emotionally exhausted he was.
"Okay."
17%. It dropped down.
He looked up at the corner again, but it was another one of his blank stares. I got up from my seat and stood behind him, taking the towel from his neck.
Since the cameras weren't rolling, it would be alright to get this close to him without repercussions. My life was on the line here.
"...Don't think about it too much. You're getting agitated," I advised as I began ruffling his hair.
He looked down and nodded his head slowly. When he was like this, I forget that his mouth had said some crude remarks to Wongil. He was like a ticking time bomb.
15%
Again, he looked up at the camera. I glanced up too. Still no light.
"Hyung," he said. "Will Wongil get evil editing?"
I thought about it for a moment.
Today, he was overly agitated about his parts. When we were distributing lines, I was the only one who could sing the high notes. Wongil ended up with the bridge while I got the chorus, but he didn't seem satisfied.
He asked to switch with me, even with the cameras on. And when I agreed to give my part to him and take his, he got upset. I guess he didn't want to give away his bridge portion.
He doesn't control his facial expressions very well. I'm sure the editors will love the footage.
But they can always be unpredictable.
In the end, I shrugged my shoulders as I handed Seungmin his towel and sat back down.
"He really does look different on screen. He knows how to smile when he needs, but even he gets tired when the cameras are off."
His eyes, which were usually waned slightly with a small smile on his face, were fully relaxed and clouded. He looked more serious like this. He would do great with a noir concept.
After a while, Seungmin got up from his seat.
"Thank you Moondae hyung," he muttered, bowing slightly. I waved to him, and he went out of the cafeteria.
13%
I, too, rose from my seat to go back to my room. I wasn't planning on being here for so long in the first place.
While I walked toward the hall, I glanced at the camera one last time.
The red light was back on.