One week before the end-of-month evaluation vocal lesson.
I was being tortured again today.
“Teacher, can we not do planks this time?”
“Alright, Do-hee, let’s try singing again! One, two!”
Ah…
“- when I first saw you~ I look and stare so deep in your eyes~”
.
.
“oh say love love love -”
As I finished the song, I collapsed onto the floor.
“Heh… I’m really dying here…”
Teacher Kwon handed me water and said,
“Wow, Do-hee, you’re getting so good!”
“You’re talking about my singing, right?”
It really sounded like she was saying I was good at planks.
“Of course. In that case, let’s take a short break and do it one more time?”
Ah.
“I can’t do this anymore… Please, just evaluate me…”
The song I just sang was the one I’d be performing for the evaluation.
“Hmm, I think I’d know if you sang just once more.”
“That makes it the third time you’ve said that…”
“Oh really?”
“…”
“Okay then. I think your basics are solid now.”
“Oh…”
“But you’re lacking in emotional delivery, should I say.”
“…? How am I supposed to put emotion into singing while doing planks?”
“That’s true, huh?”
“…”
“Then try singing again without planking.”
“Ah.”
After I sang again, Teacher Kwon said,
“But honestly, Do-hee still lacks emotional depth.”
I thought I had sung it with a lot of feeling.
“What’s your MBTI, Do-hee?”
“Suddenly asking about MBTI?”
“Quickly.”
“I’m probably an ESTP.”
“Ah, zero empathy, as expected.”
“…”
“Go practice putting emotion into your singing.”
“Yes…”
.
.
.
For this reason, I was fully devoted to vocal practice in the practice room during my individual practice time.
Ugh, my throat hurts.
I’ve been practicing so much lately that my voice feels stiff.
“Ah, eh, i, o, u.”
“Aaaa.”
I kept trying to warm up my voice but it just wasn’t coming out right.
I guess there’s no helping it; I’ll have to give up on singing today and read the lyrics to find the emotions instead.
I heard that to understand emotions, one must immerse themselves in the character….
The protagonist of the song I’ll perform for the evaluation is a girl who falls for a guy at first sight.
Hmm.
I guess it really is true that I have zero empathy.
Maybe I should go for a walk.
I left the vocal room and knocked on the door of the next vocal room.
– Knock, knock –
Seo-yoon unnie inside opened the door just enough to poke her head out and said.
“Why.”
“Well, how’s practice going?”
“Of course! I’ve got first place booked!”
“That’s great! How about taking a walk to cool your head and digest dinner?”
“Shall we?”
“Yep!”
“No, thank you~”
Clank
Seo-yoon Unni closed the door and started practicing again.
Ah.
Of all times, Woo-ah Unni is probably having a rap lesson right now.
There’s no helping it.
Guess I’ll have to walk alone.
I stepped outside the company and began to walk by myself.
Since I’m already walking, I might as well find some emotional lines and do some people-watching.
After 10 minutes of strolling while checking out passersby’s faces, I spotted a familiar one in the crowd.
It was Da-ye Unni, a fellow trainee.
And next to Da-ye Unni was Kang Woo-hyun, one of our male trainees, who happens to be the same age as her.
I approached them and said,
“Unni, what are you doing here?”
Da-ye Unni looked surprised and replied,
“Uh? Ah… Do-hee, what about you?”
“I’m just taking a walk.”
“Oh, um… I just came out for a quick walk too, and I bumped into Woo-hyun, so we’re heading back to the company together.”
Kang Woo-hyun added,
“Yeah, we just ran into each other and we were on our way back.”
Do you expect me to believe that?
“Oh, is that so? Then I’ll finish my walk and see you at the company later.”
“Uh… okay…”
Honestly, it was common for trainees to date each other.
Pretty and good-looking folks bumping into each other every day in the same building; how could you not develop feelings?
What’s funny is that the company actually encourages this by having co-ed character development and sex education classes, making them look at each other more.
I guess they figure that those who date as trainees will still date after debuting, so let’s weed them out ahead of time.
Anyway, I have no idea when those two will be able to keep this under wraps.
.
.
.
Two days after the monthly evaluation, on a Friday.
After having dinner with Seo-yoon and Woo-ah Unni, I headed to the dance practice room because I heard the ranking sheet was out.
When I arrived at the dance practice room, all the other trainees were sitting there with gloomy faces.
Did everyone get bad results?
I walked over to the ranking sheet posted on the wall and took a look.
And I quickly understood why everyone was so down.
The March Monthly Evaluation Rankings.
1. Kim Seo-yoon
2. Lee Do-hee
3. Kim Na-eun
4. Jiwoo
5. Han Si-a
6. Kim Ji-yeon
7. Yeon Da-som
Just yesterday, there were 9 female trainees.
But today, only 7 names were listed.
The names that were not there were Yeon-ji Unni and Da-ye Unni.
That meant two people had been eliminated this time.
It meant that.
Seeing the ranking chart, Seo-yoon Unni, despite being in first place, wore a stiff expression just like the other trainees.
To make matters worse, one of the two who got eliminated, Da-ye Unni, was Seo-yoon Unni’s colleague, so she couldn’t feel good at all.
Usually, trainees who continuously rank low end up getting eliminated, but since Da-ye Unni wasn’t in the lower ranks, I guess her relationship got exposed or something.
As Ye-rim stepped into the practice room, she said.
“Hey guys, quickly get up. We need to practice.”
“Yes…”
Even though two people were eliminated, the dance lesson started as usual.
About 30 minutes into the lesson, Manager So-young Unni walked in with the two who got eliminated.
Unlike the composed Yeon-ji Unni, Da-ye Unni was still crying her eyes out.
Sigh, be careful…
From the company’s perspective, they spend a huge amount of money to turn trainees into celebrities, so it’s inevitable to eliminate any trainee with even a slight issue.
However, as someone who had watched Da-ye Unni’s efforts for two years, I just felt sorry for her.
Manager So-young Unni spoke to us.
“Everyone, Da-ye and Yeon-ji will be leaving today, so… say your goodbyes.”
I approached the crying Da-ye Unni and hugged her, saying, “You did well, Unni.”
She kept crying silently.
Sigh.
I also approached Yeon-ji Unni and said my farewell.
After all the trainees finished their goodbyes and the two who got eliminated left the practice room, Ye-rim resumed the dance lesson immediately.
And everyone danced even harder than usual.
The next day,
After school, I got on the bus to head to the company.
I was listening to music with wireless earbuds when Woo-ah Unni called.
“Hello?”
– Do-hee, where are you? –
“I’m on my way. Just got on the bus.”
– Oh, really? By the way, did new trainees come in today? –
It was now common for new trainees to fill the void whenever someone got eliminated.
“Yeah. How many?”
– Three! –
“Oh, I see.”
– But did you know? Two of them are Japanese? –
“Oh, really?”
– What? You’re not surprised? –
“Well, it was about time. The company said they would hold global auditions since last year.”
– Aww. I thought you’d be surprised. –
“I have to get off the bus now. Bye.”
– Got it~ Be careful! –
After hanging up with Woo-ah Unni, I got off at the stop near the company.
A short walk from the bus stop brought me to the company.
I greeted the lobby staff and went up to the third floor to sign the attendance book.
Just as I got to the third floor, I saw three unfamiliar faces standing next to Team Leader So-hyun, just as Woo-ah Unni had mentioned.
Three people were standing next to Team Leader So-hyun.
I approached and greeted them.
“Hello.”
As a result, all three looked at me and replied in unison.
“Hello!” “Annyeong seyo.” “Ban gap sun nida.”
Team Leader So-hyun said to me.
“Do-hee, you’re going to greet everyone all at once in the practice room later anyway, so go down and practice.”
“Yes.”
As I headed downstairs, most of the trainees were already in the practice room.
I said while entering.
“Hello~ I’m here~”
“Did Do-hee come?”
“Hi~”
“Who’s still not here?”
“Seo-yoon.”
I’m not sure if it’s just our company, but unlike the stories floating around on the internet, the competition among trainees wasn’t that intense.
In fact, it seemed like the better their relationship, the better.
However, trainees were careful not to get too close to each other.
Of course, Kim Ji-yeon, that girl glaring at me, was the exception.
But I guess she knows that starting trouble with me would be more of a loss for herself, as she has been quiet since the first time she tried to provoke me.
A little while later, Seo-yoon Unni came into the practice room along with the Team Leader.
The Team Leader said.
“Hey guys, gather around.”
Everyone gathered in front of the Team Leader, who continued.
“As you all know, we have new trainees joining us today.”
The Team Leader gestured for the new trainees waiting outside the practice room.
“Come in, kids. Introduce yourselves.”
The shortest kid began the introductions.
“Hello, my name is Ahn Chae-eun, and I’m 13 years old! Nice to meet you!”
I thought it was strange how small she was, but finally, a kid younger than me showed up.
Next was the Japanese trainee.
“Annyeong haseyo. I’m Kawasaki Azusa. I’m 12 years old.”
“Azusa is 12 in Japanese age and 14 in Korean age. Azusa, when you talk about your age in Korea, you should use Korean age.”
“Okay.”
“Next, Chiyo, introduce yourself.”
“Annyeong haseyo. I’m Kino-shita Chiyo. I’m 16 in Korean age. Nice to meet you.”
This Japanese girl speaks well.
“Right, if any of you have questions, feel free to ask the other kids.”
“Yes.”
The Team Leader then said to me.
“Do-hee, raise your hand.”
“Me?”
“Just raise your hand.”
I raised my hand as the Team Leader instructed.
“If Azusa and Chiyo don’t understand Korean, they can ask the kid with her hand up. Do-hee speaks Japanese well too.”
“Okay.”
Ugh, such a hassle.
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