“……”
“…What’s going on?”
As I suddenly stopped, Yoo Seol frowned and asked.
So I….
“…It’s nothing.”
I shook my head and pretended like it was no big deal.
Throb, throb.
Maybe it was out of pride, or perhaps the burning desire to surpass Yoo Seol through hard practice, but I didn’t want to show her the state of my ankle.
“……”
Yoo Seol looked at me suspiciously, but….
“…Let’s get back to it.”
“……Just follow me this time.”
Under my urging, she turned her head forward again and started the choreography.
I maintained my usual expressionless face and mimicked her movements.
And….
Throb, throb, throb.
As soon as I started the movements, a stronger pain enveloped my ankle.
In that moment, I remembered what the doctor had told me.
“You’re going to feel quite a bit of pain every time you move your ankle.”
Back then, I thought to myself that it couldn’t possibly get much worse… but was this the extent of it?
Throb, throb.
It felt as if someone was branding my ankle with fire.
But….
Grit.
…I gritted my teeth and started to memorize the movements.
There was still a long way to go.
To catch up with Yoo Seol, who had already covered this song once, I needed to quickly learn the choreography and focus on the details.
It’s not like my bones were broken; it was just a slightly stretched ligament.
A pain like this…, was nothing to bear.
Throb, throb, throb, throb.
So I steeled my resolve and focused solely on the choreography.
Then it happened.
“Hey, stop for a moment.”
“……!”
Yoo Seol, who had been showcasing the dance in front of me, suddenly stopped with a stiff expression.
Then she approached me….
“…Unnie, why….”
Brush.
“……”
“……”
She bent down and pulled up my right pant leg.
And there it was, my red and swollen ankle revealed.
Yoo Seol gazed at it, glaring at me as she spoke.
“Are you kidding me? You said you were fine?”
“……It’s nothing to worry about.”
“Are you blind? Does this even look fine to you?”
“Though it looks bad, it’s bearable….”
“Stop talking nonsense, tsk.”
Yoo Seol clicked her tongue and stood up, declaring.
“We’re done with practice for today.”
“…Huh?”
I couldn’t help but be flabbergasted by her words.
“What do you mean…! How long have we been practicing for you to just say it’s over? Who decided this!”
Brush.
I expressed my indignation while glancing at the clock.
It was only 4:30 PM.
The sun hadn’t even set yet, and here I was, being told to stop practicing… I’d never experienced this even when I teamed up with Na Han-na.
So I shook my head and hardened my expression, showing my strong will to continue practicing.
And….
“At least I can’t leave until midnight….”
Flick-!!
“Huuh-!!”
Yoo Seol flicked my forehead.
I had no idea how hard those tiny fingers could hit, but it hurt enough to make my head ring.
In an instant, a sharper pain than my ankle shot through my forehead, and as I clutched it, Yoo Seol grabbed the back of my shirt and pulled me away from the camera, whispering.
“Yerin, please act your age. Why are you acting like a kid?”
“……What do you mean, ‘acting like a kid’?”
“Isn’t throwing a tantrum like this childish? If you keep practicing with that ankle, you’ll end up crippling yourself!”
“…….”
Whisper.
When I didn’t respond, Yoo Seol finally let go of my shirt.
Then she left the practice room first and said in a calm voice.
“If you understand, go back to your room right now.”
“…….”
“If I catch you practicing secretly without telling me, I’ll demand a team change immediately, so you better keep that in mind.”
Bang.
With that, Yoo Seol completely exited the practice room.
I stared blankly at the spot where she had just been, then lowered my head and sighed.
“Haa…”
Still, not moving my ankle made the pain ease off.
‘Should I just practice on my own?’
I thought about staying behind and practicing without Yoo Seol, but then I remembered….
‘If she catches me practicing without her knowing, she’ll immediately demand a team change.’
I shook my head at the thought.
Yoo Seol seemed like the type who would actually do it.
‘I should just go back….’
With a bittersweet feeling, I left the practice room and returned to my room.
I had once told Na Han-na that I’d be back by midnight, but now I was getting an absurdly early leave, a whole 7 hours and 30 minutes ahead of schedule.
8:10 PM.
“……”
With nothing to do, I lay on my bed with an ice pack on my ankle, staring at the ceiling.
‘If I had known, I should have brought a book.’
Since I never found the time to read in Na Ah Ah, I didn’t bring any books… and now I was really bored to death.
I’d already eaten dinner alone, and I couldn’t go looking for other participants since I’d just disturb them.
I thought about just sleeping, but my body was already accustomed to waking up early, so sleep wouldn’t come.
So I could only stare blankly at the ceiling by myself.
‘…Of all times, why did I have to injure my ankle?’
Just then, as I resentfully gazed at my ankle, I heard a knock at my door.
Knock, knock.
“…!”
Exhausted from loneliness, I crawled over to the door.
“Is it Yoo-jin? Or maybe Yoo-jung?”
Since Seo Yoo-jin and Park Yoo-jung were regular visitors to my room, I figured it could be one of them this time too.
But when I opened the door….
“…Ack.”
“…Could you not be so obviously unexcited to see me?”
It was Yoo Seol, arms crossed and giving me a cold stare.
Her expression was bad, and so was mine.
Especially since she was the one who’d kept me from practicing, I questioned her in a blunt tone.
“…What’s going on?”
“…Take this.”
She handed me a tablet PC with an icy tone.
“…Why this?”
“We have a mid-term evaluation tomorrow evening. You know that, right?”
I nodded in response to her words.
The key difference for this fourth competition was that we were having the mid-term evaluation on the second evening instead of the usual third or fourth.
Since there were fewer team members than usual, she said it would be easier to match concepts and learn choreography quickly.
Anyway, we needed to prepare at least a minimum result to show our trainers by tomorrow evening’s mid-term evaluation.
“Because of your ankle, we’re short on practice time. But we can’t just slack off, so at least look at this.”
“…Why this?”
“…I recorded my choreography reference video in there.”
“……Huh?”
As soon as I heard Yoo Seol’s words, I immediately turned on the tablet and entered the gallery.
And sure enough….
“……Oh.”
There it was, a choreography reference video of Yoo Seol dancing, recorded at an unknown time.
When I pressed play, the Yoo Seol on the tablet began the choreography.
♪♬♬-!!
I could tell right away that this video wasn’t hastily made.
“……”
So I watched the video for a moment, feeling a strange emotion, then I asked.
“…By any chance, are you a tsundere… or something?”
“What?”
“I mean… you say harsh things, but you tell me to rest in the room and record choreography videos by yourself… It feels like you’re doing things for me.”
“…Hah, I’m seriously at a loss for words.”
At my remark, Yoo Seol let out a half-hearted chuckle.
“Yerin, did you hit your head along with your ankle? Tsundere?”
“……”
“Why would I do anything for you? This is all for me. If you can’t practice and mess up because of your ankle, I’ll be affected too.”
Tap, tap.
Yoo Seol lightly poked my shoulder, making her point.
“So just do well so you don’t bother me, Yerin.”
“……”
“If you keep acting like this, people will think I didn’t win because of my skills, but because you were hurt, right?”
Her eyes were icy, showing no trace of a lie in her words.
“If you understand, take care of your body. And make sure to memorize the choreography properly by tomorrow morning. Don’t cause any trouble during the mid-term evaluation, got it?”
“……Yes.”
As soon as I replied, Yoo Seol turned around and left without even a goodbye.
I watched her leave and murmured when she was finally gone.
“…So irritating.”
After she disappeared, I pouted and muttered.
“Tsundere, please… it’s so annoying.”
I haven’t forgotten what she did to Seo Yoo-jin.
She would stop at nothing for her debut and victory, and she never hides her hostility towards me.
There was no chance she was worried about my injury.
The video on the tablet must’ve been entirely for her own sake.
Feeling inexplicably irritated, I picked up the tablet and sat on the bed.
And then….
‘Come to think of it, I act like a kid around Yoo Seol too.’
I realized that I was unusually childish and cold towards her.
When I think about it, my behavior towards the other participants like Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yoo-jung, Seo Yoo-jin, and Na Han-na was completely different when it came to Yoo Seol.
What could be the reason?
…Honestly, I don’t know.
One thing was for sure… it would be hard for Yoo Seol and me to become close.
“……”
Lost in complicated thoughts, I shook my head and turned on the video on the tablet.
‘If you keep acting like this, people will think I didn’t win because of my skills, but because you were hurt, right?’
‘If you understand, take care of your body. And make sure to memorize the choreography properly by tomorrow morning. Don’t cause any trouble during the mid-term evaluation, got it?’
Watching the video brought back the harsh words Yoo Seol had spoken earlier, leaving me in a poor mood….
♪♬♬-!!
But still, the choreography that Yoo Seol had recorded was meticulous and sincere.
Even if I couldn’t practice physically, I felt confident I could remember the choreography by tomorrow’s mid-term evaluation.
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