Han Si-woo and his group’s junior Kim Tae-young first presented the unit activity [Young boy story].
This was a song that had already been released 6 years ago… now it might be seen as somewhat old, but at that time, it blew up the charts and gained immense popularity.
‘Back then, we really worked hard.’
Han Si-woo felt an inexplicable nostalgia as he focused on the evaluation while watching Ha Ye-rin, who held his position.
♬♬-! ♩♩♩♩-!!
Hip-hop dance. To be more precise, [Young boy story] falls under electronic pop, where the importance of choreography is greater than vocal ability, thanks to its catchy melody.
Of course, just because vocal ability isn’t prioritized doesn’t mean the song is easy.
No?
On the contrary, the difficulty level of [Young boy story] was so high that trainees couldn’t even dare to tackle it.
Since the weight of vocal ability was reduced, the details in the choreography were insane.
Even professional dancers choose this song to showcase their skills.
With numerous breaking movements and synchronized performance like one body, Han Si-woo was eager to see how Ha Ye-rin and Yoo Seol would pull it off.
And responding to his expectations…
Swish.
‘Whoa…’
From the first verse, the two displayed perfect harmony as if they’d been on the same team for years, connecting their movements.
Add to that their understanding of the song.
The concept of [Young boy story] revolves around the conflicting desires within a young boy’s heart and the story of the boy growing up because of it.
And Ha Ye-rin and Yoo Seol.
The two girls, with completely opposite images, sometimes appeared to be fighting… other times comforting each other, filling every gap in the choreography perfectly.
When Yoo Seol made a move, Ha Ye-rin would counter it.
When Ha Ye-rin made a move, Yoo Seol would counter that.
Thus, two individuals who seemed like they would never mix were swaying around and creating harmony, leading to the birth of Taiji (Tai Chi).
From that point on, Han Si-woo couldn’t take his eyes off the synergy radiating from the two.
This was the ideal image Han Si-woo wanted to show the public when he first wrote and composed this song.
And now, these trainees who haven’t even debuted yet… and who only practiced this song for a day, were showcasing it.
Of course, there were a few regrets too.
‘Ah… they should’ve twisted their wrists there…’
First, the details.
The lack of practice time might have contributed to the fact that Han Si-woo found the details of the choreography somewhat lacking.
Swipe.
Han Si-woo, unable to take his eyes off their stage, jotted down notes on a post-it.
He wanted to share the details he found regrettable with the two.
And the second regret was…
‘Ah… Ye-rin, that off-beat…’
Indeed, it was Ha Ye-rin’s injured ankle.
[Young boy story] is a dance track where details are not just important but sensitive.
Even though she was not seriously injured, there was no way Ha Ye-rin could digest this song 100% with her ankle injury.
Therefore, Han Si-woo couldn’t help but feel more pity for Ha Ye-rin’s injured ankle…
‘Still, that was impressive.’
Apart from those few regrets, the stage of the two was excellent.
“With that… I will conclude.”
Having seen such a satisfying stage, Han Si-woo completely forgot about his initial intention to be cold towards Ha Ye-rin and gave positive feedback with a beaming smile.
“It was an excellent stage, so enjoyable to watch. Despite the limited practice time, the quality was outstanding.”
“Thank you…!”
At Han Si-woo’s praise, Ha Ye-rin and Yoo Seol’s faces brightened a little.
Feeling like he wanted to praise them even more…
“But there were definitely some issues.”
…If he truly wanted their growth, he had to point out the areas they needed to improve on.
“This song emphasizes detail above all else. However, there were quite a few mistakes in that regard. Here, please take this.”
“This is…?”
“It’s what I wrote down regarding the areas to improve on in terms of details. Please refer to it.”
“…Ah.”
The small post-it was filled with Han Si-woo’s messy handwriting.
As Ha Ye-rin and Yoo Seol huddled together to read it, Han Si-woo brought up the regret he hesitated to mention.
“And Ye-rin.”
“Yes.”
“Due to your injured ankle, the timing stood out as either slower or slightly faster than usual.”
“…….”
When Han Si-woo talked about her ankle, Ha Ye-rin lowered her head with a stiff expression.
“It’s unfortunate that you hurt your ankle, but to present a more refined stage, you need to readjust your timing in accordance with your injured ankle.”
“……Yes.”
With Han Si-woo’s words, Ye-rin’s face showed both determination and deep regret.
It seemed like her youthfulness was sparked by the fact that she got injured at such an important moment.
Seeing that, Han Si-woo chuckled softly but then spoke seriously.
“Ye-rin.”
“……Yes.”
“You are growing at the fastest pace among the trainees I’ve seen.”
“…….”
“If you’re lucky, you might pause for a while, but you’ve already achieved more than other trainees. And… you will reach greater heights.”
This could have been Han Si-woo speaking to his younger self long ago.
“So don’t rush. Your idol life hasn’t even started yet, and if you rush now, you might tire out later.”
“……I will keep that in mind.”
Liar.
Though Ha Ye-rin said she would remember, her face showed she couldn’t hide her regret.
Yeah… youth and competitive spirit cannot be calmed down with just a single word from an old man.
Getting up after falling is solely that person’s responsibility.
And… if they can rise again with their own strength, they will grow with better skills.
Han Si-woo believed that Ha Ye-rin in front of him could do that.
That’s why he stopped his scolding disguised as advice, smiling as he looked at her.
“Then, I will conclude the midterm evaluation here. Good job.”
With those words from Han Si-woo, the midterm evaluation came to an end.
It might have meant something different for Ha Ye-rin and Yoo Seol, but for Han Si-woo, it was a midterm evaluation that would remain in his memory for a very long time.
After the midterm evaluation ended and Yu Seol returned to the practice room…
“……”
I fell into thought, recalling Han Si-woo’s words.
‘Due to your injured ankle, the timing stood out as either slower or slightly faster than usual.’
It seemed the injured ankle had indeed been the problem, as I received that critique from Han Si-woo.
Actually, I felt it myself.
Throb.
Even if the pain wasn’t severe anymore, the throbbing sensation made my body move slightly differently than usual.
Coupled with the lack of practice, it’s likely that the details were falling short in Han Si-woo’s eyes.
‘…Damn it.’
I clenched my fists, swallowing my frustration.
I was already well below Yu Seol in skill and experience.
And on top of that, I had an ankle injury.
“……Let’s start practicing quickly.”
In the end, all I had left was practice.
As I urged Yu Seol to practice quickly, she raised her eyebrow and asked for a moment.
“Your ankle… is it okay now…?”
“You saw I practiced without problems since this morning. I’m really fine now. So let’s get started.”
“…Okay.”
It seemed Yu Seol also felt the inadequacies in the details, as she nodded right away at my answer.
Thus, we immediately began practicing.
♬♬-! ♩♩♩♩-!!
With a fast rap beat intro, we started with intricate choreography.
Bang, bang.
It was strange.
I had a bad relationship with Yu Seol and didn’t like her for personal reasons.
Yet, for some reason, she was the person who matched me better than any of the participants so far.
Whoosh.
Every time I swung my arm… every little gesture…
I felt Yoo Seol moving in sync with me.
Whenever she made a small move… I could picture her intention and what her next action would be.
Yoo Seol adjusted to me, and I adjusted to her.
We continued practicing and became one.
After a while, we were perfectly in sync, just like the YW trainees I saw at the previous event.
The more I resonated with Yoo Seol, the more I felt my skills growing little by little.
It was enjoyable.
Seeing myself improve little by little brought me joy.
‘It’s unfortunate that I hurt my ankle, but to put on a more refined stage, I’ll have to relearn the timing with my injured ankle.’
I finally understood Han Si-woo’s words.
I started to get used to the beat with my ankle, which felt uncomfortable… and continued with powerful moves.
So it felt slightly smoother to execute the moves than before.
‘If I just keep this up, I can show a better side in the competition…!’
Just as I thought that…
Throb, throb.
“……!”
Was someone punishing me? As soon as I thought I was doing a bit better, my ankle started to hurt again.
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