A refreshing morning where the sun rose against the clouds.
Mentor Yoo Minseo visited Dobbles early in the morning to film an evaluation for the Stardust reality show.
"It's been a while, hasn't it?"
Since I originally was a vocal trainer here, the Dobbles practice room is like a second home.
"Is everyone is doing well... uh?"
Teacher Yoo Minseo came in waving her hand and saw an unusual sight.
The members were lined up behind the leader, Kang Siwoo, handing him their cell phones.
Maybe it was like that in the old days, but I thought that kind of thing doesn't happen anymore.
"What, is this a school?"
"We're just not using our phones."
"Did the manager order it?"
"Oh, no. We agreed. We will hand in our phones during practice time."
"Wow... do you want to focus on practice?"
"Yes , we do."
Teacher Yoo Minseo's eyes widened after hearing Kang Siwoo's explanation.
Are these really boys with an average age of 19.7 years?
How do you listen so well?
"Uh, Minseo, are you here?"
Teacher Yoo Minseo turned to choreographer Choi Myeong-hwan, who came in behind her and started chattering with him.
Just looking at her happy smile, it was as if she were talking to her children.
"This is why I'm scared of survival. They only pick the most crazy kids and you can see pick have matured at that age. They even hand in their cell phones to focus during practice!"
"Every day?"
"I guess so."
Voluntarily handing over your cell phone even though you weren't asked to do so?
Myunghwan Choi crossed his arms in surprise.
"Oh, I guess I can look forward to today based on that amount of practice?"
"You don't get the concept of being in front of the camera."
"Oh, not really."
Kang Siwoo shook the white basket and took the members' cell phones.
There was still one person left who had not turned his in.
Seongbin quietly raised his hand out.
"Oh, I'll put mine in too."
'What?'
When his screen turned on, the notification at the top caught the eye of Teacher Minseo.
The numbers stamped on it that were enough to catch the eye at once.
"Seongbin, were you late this morning?"
"Huh?"
"Why are there so many missed calls?"
"I don't know."
Cha Seongbin shrugged his shoulders in an uncharacteristically calm voice and walked away.
"..."
The other members took a step back, glancing at Cha Seongbin.
The atmosphere seems a bit strange.
Teacher Yoo Minseo didn't think much of it. All her attention was focused on the midterm evaluation.
It's not that I'm not worried, I'm in a bit of a hurry right now.
"It's really not long until your debut, is it?"
"Yes!"
"An article about your debut date also appeared."
"You're right!"
April 27th.
There was less than two weeks left.
Choreographer Myunghwan Choi nodded and opened his mouth.
"Then shall we get started?"
Reality cameras are rolling, and choreographer Choi Myung-hwan and Yoo Minseo, who were mentors during the Stardust days, were on standby for evaluation.
Of course, there is pressure on them, but how much practice have they done so far?
They will do well enough.
Teacher Yoo Minseo looked back at the members with confidence.
"Let's begin."
With Kang Siwoo's short signal, the music rang out in the practice room.
Spacewalk's beat was apparently chosen early.
Seohan started the introduction.
This is my universe
I swim in space-
At a distance of over 500 light years
The only thing I can reach is light and me
The vocals are so clean that it's hard to believe that this is just a practice room.
Seohan, the center of the debut song, stepped forward, showing his presence right from the start.
"He's the first placer for a reason."
Seohan gently bent his body and regained his balance in the center.
The corners of his mouth turned up, and he smiled brightly as he stared straight ahead.
fold the universe in half
I'll catch up with the time that has passed
The choreography spread in all directions as if the members were swimming. Simultaneously, the line positions gather again.
As Choi Myunghwan personally choreographed on it, it was clean and clutter-free.
"It looks so good."
Cha Seongbin and Kang Siwoo's pair choreography continues straight from the smooth formation.
This was the part where Kang Siwoo rapped in a soft voice and Cha Seongbin took over.
It's been a long time
So many things changed in that old time
Turn back time and make it right so I can catch you
Can you catch my time?
Kang Siwoo's diction was perfect.
Kang Siwoo was such a talented rapper that it's a shame that he wasn't able to fully show his charm during his time as a Stardust member and was edited out.
There was another talented person here, the main rapper Seongbin.
I miss that planet and picture you again
Soaring, I fly to...
"... y-your sky."
Teacher Yoo Minseo's eyebrows rose.
"Uh, Seongbin?"
The guy who was insane at rapping ended up coming off lame saying the lyrics.
He completely missed a beat and skipped a step in the choreography.
Utopia I reached once
That planet is so coldly blue
I can't forget it because it's so beautiful
I'm stuck in you
Did you lose your pace because of one mistake?
Seongbin made a series of missteps.
'What, you keep getting it wrong?'
The song wasn't the problem now.
Seongbin was not able to keep up with the tempo of the choreography at all.
Choi Myung-hwan's expression was hardening in real time.
Spacewalk to you
Even if I die because I can't go, I'm okay...
Thud-
He bumped into Seohan, who was switching spots.
"Wait a second."
Mentor Minseo, who saw the members cluttered up, stopped them.
"Let's go again, Seongbin. Concentrate."
"Yes, I understand!"
I thought he would get a little better if I cut it off like that.
The second attempt was not much different.
"Seongbin...?"
The trainee, who never made mistakes in choreography, even on bigger stages, suddenly started to break down.
Choreographer Myunghwan Choi sighed and gestured toward the cameraman.
"Please turn off the camera for a moment."
"Yeah, I don't think filming is the problem right now."
More important than reality shooting was the quality of the debut stage.
The two who had watched Seongbin during his time as a Stardust contestant knew how serious the situation was.
That handsome Cha Seongbin?
That guy who was a star on stage made a mistake like this?
There was complete silence that could be easily broken through.
"..."
The other members bit their tongues as they watched.
Seongbin, who knew that it was his fault that the mid-term evaluation was stopped, lowered his head.
"Seongbin, what's wrong with you? Are you out of your mind?"
"S-Sorry."
I heard you practiced hard.
Cha Seongbin's face turned pale when Choi Myung-hwan pointed out even the basic staff was being messed up.
Choreographer Choi Myung-hwan never scolded Cha Seongbin during his time in the Stardust Project.
He was always the type of person who was good at taking care of things on his own, and if something was pointed out to him, he would just smile and sneak away.
However, that didn't happen today.
Seongbin stuttered in a trembling voice.
" I'm not feeling well today."
"What?"
Of course, it was an excuse that would not work for Choi Myung-hwan.
"Seongbin. Are you making excuses?"
"..."
"Are you going to ruin the main stage because you're not feeling well?"
"Oh, no."
Seongbin shook his head with an embarrassed face.
Choi Myung-hwan frowned and spoke in a cold voice.
"You guys are about to debut. You're not trainees anymore. How would you feel if you ruined the stage? Do you think you have an excuse now? Do you think people will understand that?"
"..."
"What they see is the results. The result is you being bad at the choreography on the debut stage. You don't think anything good will come out of that, do you?"
Choreographer Choi Myung-hwan's words were cold but true. With that, Seongbin's face went pale.
A small voice escaped from Seongbin, who staggered with an expression as if he was about to collapse.
"I'm so... sorry."
Cha Seongbin repeatedly nodded and apologized.
His lips, which had lost blood, let out a trembling voice.
"I'm going to cool off for a moment."
Cha Seongbin ran out in a hurry.
"Uh, Seongbin!"
"Hey, Cha Seongbin!"
As Seongbin ran out of the practice room, choreographer Choi Myung-hwan rolled his eyes in embarrassment and called him out.
The door was shut and the guy was gone without finding a solution.
"Seriously? Is it because I scolded him?"
"I don't think so... I'm sorry."
Kang Siwoo lowered his head with an embarrassed expression.
He could not bear the feedback and ran away.
The members were equally surprised by this situation despite understanding why he acted out to some extent.
Seongbin is not that kind of person.
'Oh, it was a mistake. Just a little mistake! I'll redo it better now.'
He would have smiled and ignored it, but he became insecure and avoided the situation itself?
"Whoa..."
Jin Sehyun closed his eyes tightly and then opened them.
His eyes landed on Seohan.
"Do you think he saw it?"
"...100%."
Seohan also saw the lock screen when Cha Seongbin handed in his cell phone.
Wow, 57 missed calls?
Out of nowhere, a bunch of missing calls popped up, how could he not have noticed?
Seohan licked his lower lip and faced reality.
"What should I do with that sunfish?"
Something happened to Seongbin.
I had to make this right.
* * *
Malicious rumors about Cha Seongbin.
All those rumors were being spread by one person.
That's my guess,
Isn't the reason why Cha Seongbin left the group because of one selfish online bastard?
I don't know the details of it from my past life, but I could tell that much.
It's rare for a company to directly intervene in such a personal matter, it was obvious that Dobbles would not take any action.
In that situation, Seongbin's insides must have rotted and crumbled.
In addition, the Stardust 'curse' was in bloom
Unable to bear it all, the Sunfish chose to leave the team.
"That's how it happened."
I didn't understand why at first.
A position that people would kill to get.
Why on earth did he kick that spot and leave on his own two feet?
But for Seongbin, it was a kind of self-defense.
Holding on for dear life when you don't think you can survive is no different from hell.
Seongbin left Stardust on his own to find his paradise.
Would he make the same choice in this life?
I couldn't say for sure.
So, in this situation...
What should I do?
"What on earth... how..."
I groaned and organized my thoughts.
Am I close with that guy?
Absolutely not.
We've only just started talking. How could I be close to someone whose personality doesn't even match mine?
If we weren't on the same team, we would've never been involved with one another.
However,
We are involved.
We ended up being on the same team.
How can I pretend not to know?
It's one team.
I can't just ignore my teammate breaking down like that.
"I'm sorry, but I have to go."
I couldn't leave him alone.