[ Cho Seungmin's POV ]
During the midterm evaluation, the judges first talked about our collectively high rankings.
"Oh~ and you guys even finished the demo song! This team is the only one who finished making an arrangement," one of them mentioned as she shifted through some papers.
We were riding on coattails we didn't want. Beside me, Moondae hyung had a slight frown on his face.
We worked hard the past three days to make the key lower, added in a rap for Yonjoon and I, and created the choreography. Cha Eugene and I made the dance together, while Kim Raebin and Kim Yonjoon created the rap verses.
Practices went day and night. And when it would finish around 3 AM, I couldn't even talk to my night group. Our dorm room wasn't facing the mountain, and if I tried to sneak out, Kim Raebin would wake up because he's a light sleeper.
So, my entire life was taken over by practicing.
But those practices only amounted to lukewarm reactions.
The judges exchanged glances and eventually grabbed the microphones one by one.
"Hmm, to be frank, your performance isn't that bad. But...how should I put this? It's just not very attractive. Lowering the key made it less exciting," the vocalist critiqued.
"The choreography isn't bad, either," the next judge deemed. "It's witty. But with a cheer squad concept, why does it look so gloomy? For starters, you should adjust the level of difficulty because, at this rate, those two dancing newbies are going to drop dead."
He glanced at Moondae hyung and the child actor with narrowed eyes.
"The rap also seems out of place..."
The judges began talking amongst themselves about what could possibly be wrong, but the popular female idol picked up the mic.
"Who was in charge of the rearrangement?"
I closed my eyes to not give it away.
"Was it you, Raebin?"
When I reopened them, everyone except Moondae hyung was looking at the wine-haired boy.
Our leader replied, "No, we all did it together after discussing it."
"That's true, but Raebin was in charge of the actual rearrangement."
Kim Yohoon threw him under the bus. Moondae hyung's pupils began to shake. Should I say something?
But Moondae hyung parted his lips first, adding, "...Yes, Raebin is great at playing instruments and knows how to work with composing programs. And since he's capable of those things, he was able to discuss the song in detail with our producer. But the basic idea of the rearrangement was made with a team effort."
"He's right," Chungwoo hyungnim summarized, "we promise to work on the issues you mentioned and come up with a solution together. We'll be sure to repay your kind remarks with the best performance."
The judges seemed satisfied with these answers.
"Are you sure you can do this?" the idol judge asked. "You'll have to rearrange again from the top."
Everyone shouted a loud, "Yes!"
Other judges mentioned keeping the rearrangement moderate because our current wasn't terrible.
When we were ready to leave the evaluation room, the original vocalist of the song began talking.
"On your stage...I couldn't feel the power of <Burning Like the Sun>."
"...?"
Moondae hyung looked baffled. With his blank face, his eyes began shaking again.
"Just because you guys are handsome and good at dancing doesn't mean you can properly deliver that message. The real purpose of this song is to inspire courage and passion in people's hearts! Don't forget that this is the true purpose now that you're a little famous now."
I didn't think we were famous enough for him to say this to us yet. But everyone bowed and vowed to make his wish happen.
Finally, we were allowed to leave.
One by one, we were called into another room for an interview. I was asked similar questions to the interview in the last team phase. They really liked to emphasize that I don't know anything about the entertainment industry. I wonder if B will try to hijack those clips.
While we were taking a break in the practice room after the interviews, Moondae hyung handed me a water bottle and slid down next to me. Silently, we sat together against the wall.
Near the mirror, Cha Eugene was dancing happily to the song while the others tried to determine what was dreary about it. I watched absentmindedly as I sipped the water.
Suddenly, Kim Raebin knelt down next to Moondae hyung.
"Excuse me," he said. "...Thank you."
He began to bow forward.
"It's...the first I've received help from others in that kind of situation."
Moondae hyung shook his head, replying, "Don't worry about it."
I cocked my head as I listened to him talk about the last team round. B was right about the fight that occurred. I've heard people whispering about how his collar was even grabbed. I knew now it impacted Kim Raebin a lot.
"...Certainly, it was a good choice to pick someone with good teamwork first."
Moondae hyung stopped drinking his water.
"Teamwork? Not for vocals?" he asked incredulously.
"Ah," Raebin uttered, "your singing is excellent, but I saw how rationally you handled your team members in the first match. Seungmin hyung too. Your level of patience as you taught your team the choreography, I thought that was also a good reason to choose you."
To look better at Raebin, I leaned forward, above Moondae hyung's shoulder, and nodded my head.
"Thank you for picking me," I smiled.
"Because I can be with Moondae hyung."
"And, hyungs, you can drop the honorifics with me," he mentioned, his eyes relaxing.
I rested my chin on Moondae hyung's shoulder as he responded, "...Alright. You can sit comfortably then."
At once, Raebin got off his knees and sat crisscrossed in front of us.
"Raebin," Moondae hyung murmured, "did you get any song arrangement ideas after the panel?"
It was true that we were lacking in spirit. I was trying to come up with ways to change the choreography, but lowering the difficulty when the judges called it dreary would make it worse. We would need to change the song first.
Raebin's head slumped down dejectedly.
"Honestly, no. And we've practiced so much with the previous rearrangement...The current changes are all over the place too, so we're lacking coherence. I don't know which parts to work on first."
Moondae hyung glanced at me with furrowed eyebrows. Reluctantly, I got off his shoulder. I didn't want him to dislike me.
"Also, I don't really understand what the original artist meant by bringing out courage and passion."
"...Exactly," Moondae hyung sighed.
I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall. If it was Raebin and hyung talking, I was sure they would figure out something. I drowned out Kim Yojoon's footsteps as he walked toward us and apologized to Raebin.
"Hey, keep awake," Moondae hyung mumbled to me. He slipped himself out of the conversation between the two as they talked again about the concept.
I felt a small thud on the wall as he also rested his head against it. Kim Yohoon was stammering about how he didn't have any ideas for the theme.
"...Wait a minute," Moondae hyung then muttered. I peeked through one eye and saw hyung suddenly smile. He scanned the room through the mirror reflection before nodding his head to confirm his own thoughts.
"Raebin, what if we do Henshin Heroes?"
Raebin's wine-colored hair jostled up as his eyes sparkled. He immediately ran to the keyboard on the other side of the room and began playing some notes.
"What are Henshin Heroes?" I asked.
Moondae hyung had a satisfactory smirk on his face.
"Heroes from an 80s American comic. It fits the retro, rock style of the song, and heroes have courage and passion, right?"
I still didn't understand, but 'heroes' itself did seem to work with the song.
I nodded my head and closed my eyes again.