I turned on my tablet PC and showed my team members the music video for Where is my first love!.
“Hmm…?”
“It’s a music video…?”
“But why all of a sudden…?”
“Just take a look.”
It was the music video for Where is my first love! that I had watched hundreds of times yesterday.
What I showed my team members was…
“Here. This is the concept I want to focus on for this stage.”
The first part of the music video.
A girl who isn’t interested in love yet, not decorated, alone and buried in a book without hanging out with friends.
“Uh? This?”
“Ah… so that’s why you wanted to go for the nerd concept… Truly a nerd….”
“Right, let’s go with the timid and gloomy girl for the initial stage concept. Then, I don’t have to smile from the beginning just to set the mood.”
“Hmm….”
Naturally, the team’s reactions were negative.
And why wouldn’t they be?
The girl’s image in the video had big glasses, messy bangs, and a long skirt that reached her ankles—definitely not idol-like.
Understanding this vibe, Park Yoo-jung spoke up first.
“Um… unnie. I get what you mean, but won’t the audience hate this? People definitely want a lovable girl’s image more…”
“If we go for a lovable concept, we might rank high in the middle. But isn’t that too obvious?”
Tail Rose
Where is my first love!
A lovable maiden.
These three are so predictable and firm that the audience would probably guess what kind of stage we would show as soon as they hear the song title.
“We’re flipping this into a nerdy concept. The gloomy maiden definitely has demand. If we pull it off well, we can leave a great impression.”
With my firm words, Seo Yoo-jin hesitantly raised her hand.
She still seemed timid but had a look that suggested she had something to say.
“I understand what you mean… but can we even pull this off? I mean, as for the others, that’s one thing but….”
Brush-.
Seo Yoo-jin pointed at my face and said.
“Who would dare think of unnie as a nerd by looking at your face?”
At her words, I turned my head to check my reflection in the mirror.
With cat-like eyes, a sharp chin, and perfect features.
No one would look at me now and think, “Ah, a gloomy maiden.”
“That’s fine. I can solve it with styling and acting.”
“…Huh?”
They tilted their heads at ‘acting’, setting aside styling for a moment.
But I was truly confident.
‘This isn’t just acting.’
In this life, even if I wanted to live quietly, my looks wouldn’t let people leave me alone, but in my previous life, as an orphan who was timid, I had no one around me.
In high school during my previous life, I was always buried in a study room alone.
Just like the girl before finding love in the Where is my first love! music video.
So this isn’t acting.
Just a memory.
Seeing me confident again, the others nodded at least.
Still, it seemed like something lingered, and someone else raised a hand again.
“Um… Ye-rin.”
She was a C rank team member, a year older than me.
“Seeing you being this confident for the first time makes me think you can do it, but… if we just go nerdy and gloomy, wouldn’t the vibe drop?”
That was also a sharp point.
In competitions, a bright atmosphere song tends to lead to better votes and responses from the audience.
So if we solely embraced the nerd concept, even if we executed the stage well, the result might not be good.
Of course….
“I have thought of that too.”
I had a solution for that.
“Can everyone come closer for a moment?”
At my gesture, the team members obediently gathered in the center.
I whispered my thoughts to them.
“First at the beginning… then during the dance break and the second verse, let’s turn it around like this… what do you think?”
“……!”
Upon hearing my explanation, the team members’ eyes sparkled as if they realized something.
After a moment of silence as they seemed lost in thought, soon the responses burst out.
“I think it might work!”
The first to answer was Park Yoo-jung.
She nodded, reinforcing my argument.
“Of course, the difficulty is higher than before, but if we do it right, it could be a great stage.”
As Park Yoo-jung said this, the other team members agreed too.
“Definitely sounds fun.”
“Yerin unnie, I think it’s a great idea!”
“I’m on board too.”
And lastly….
“I think we can manage it.”
Seo Yoo-jin nodded seriously.
“Okay, then let’s go with this.”
Thus, our Mackerel Sandwich Team’s competition met a new turning point.
—
Han Si-woo was scheduled to come for the second midterm evaluation after lunch.
As a result, we skipped lunch and continued practicing.
Although we already knew the choreography and song, we had to redefine movements and other details since the stage concept had changed.
And….
“Alright, who will take the center for the second verse?”
…We also needed to decide on a new center.
Since we decided on a nerd concept for the first verse, the center for the first verse could simply act with a timid expression without needing to show a bright smile.
So it was fine for me to take the first verse’s center, but… the second verse was different.
As I was about to pick someone new for the second verse’s center….
“…Huh?”
“What does that mean…?”
The other team members looked flustered.
“It’s better for unnie to stick to the center all the way, right?”
“I wish I could, but you know. By our plan, I need to smile brightly at the end, and I’m not confident to do that.”
At my words, Park Yoo-jung smiled as if she had just drawn it herself.
“Unnie, you can just smile, right? You only have to do it once!”
The impromptu smile from Park Yoo-jung looked incredibly happy.
“…Yeah, I can’t.”
I had an acting skill stat of 18, whereas Park Yoo-jung’s was 93.
It was only natural I couldn’t match her expression.
“Phew… If you say that, I guess there’s no way. So, who will take the center for the second verse?”
“…….”
As Park Yoo-jung brought it up, everyone fell into silence.
I too contemplated who to choose for the second verse center.
There were two candidates: Park Yoo-jung and Seo Yoo-jin.
First, Park Yoo-jung.
She was excellent at expression acting and could elevate the atmosphere instantly with a bright smile.
And Seo Yoo-jin.
She had decent stats for both dance and singing and was suitable for expression acting, so she too….
……
…Huh?
As I measured Park Yoo-jung and Seo Yoo-jin’s stats, pondering who would be more suitable for the center, I noticed something strange.
It was Seo Yoo-jin’s acting skill stat.
[Acting Skill: 1]
Her stat was glaringly worse than my 18.
At this level, even simple acting would be impossible.
But how was Seo Yoo-jin able to express herself so well during our practice?
Without hesitation, I asked her.
“Yoo-jin!”
“…Yes, yes?”
“How can you be so good at expression acting on stage when your stat is 1? Do you have some secret?”
Seo Yoo-jin looked flustered by my sudden question and replied.
“Secret…? Nothing like that… um.”
“…Hmm? So….”
Then her answer was….
“Just… when I’m on stage, I feel happy… so I smile.”
“…What?”
…That was quite shocking.
‘You’re not acting; you just smile because you feel joy?’
Yeah… if it’s truly enjoyable, there’s no need for an acting smile.
So does that mean I haven’t found joy on stage until now?
‘Not really….’
I definitely enjoyed it while performing.
Moving my body, singing, and sweating…
All of these things brought me happiness.
As I pondered and groaned, Park Yoo-jung offered me advice.
“That’s right, unnie! The foundation of acting starts from sincerity!”
The foundation of acting starts from sincerity… yeah, that’s right.
My confidence in nerd acting was also because those experiences were imprinted in my memories.
“If smiling is hard, how about thinking of something or someone that makes you smile?”
“Something or someone that makes me smile…?”
“For example, your parents?”
“My parents….”
I immediately pictured our parents at Park Yoo-jung’s suggestion.
Um…
“…Ugh.”
Ugh… my face making a scary mask….
“Uh, unnie!”
“…Uh, right. Yoo-jung, did I just smile?”
“Ah, no.”
As Park Yoo-jung shook her head, the other team members spoke with pale faces.
“Uh, you had a very scary expression.”
“It was the kind of face that would make you think, if Lee Wan-yong were in front of you, would you make such a face?”
“…….”
…Our parents are definitely a no-go.
Brush-.
I closed my eyes and thought of other people.
Lee Hye-jeong, Park Yoo-jung, Lee Ji-woo, Kang Soo-hyun, Older Brother Sang-gu.
And….
‘Boss.’
The ones who care about me and support me.
I envisioned those people while recalling moments spent with them.
That was when.
“…Huh?!”
“Unnie! You just smiled! Do it more!”
“…More? Okay.”
This time, I decided to think of fun memories instead of people.
The day Kang Hyung-man first called me family.
The moment I learned training from Lee Ji-woo and Kang Soo-hyun for the first time.
When I received accolades from the judges during the Na Ah Ah ranking evaluation.
And….
The voices of countless people calling my name after Na Ah Ah episode 1 aired.
Thump.
Even just recalling those moments made my heart race.
And….
‘Joyful.’
It was a joyful experience.
Feeling that lingering sensation, I slowly opened my eyes.
And….
“…….”
“…….”
When I opened my eyes, my team members were looking at me with slightly dazed expressions.
“…What? Did I have a scary expression again?”
“…No, it’s not that….”
With a blank face, Park Yoo-jung slowly raised the corners of her mouth and then raised her thumbs up, saying.
“Unnie! Just now, your smile was so pretty! If you can keep that on stage, it will be a total hit?!”
“…Really?”
At that moment.
[Skill acquisition condition met!]
[Your unique skill, Sky Demon Martial Arts, is now unlocked!]
…Huh?
[Skill: Sky Demon Martial Arts – The age of martial prowess has ended. But that doesn’t mean your age has passed. You excel not only in martial skills but also in the mysteries and sorcery of the world. Please achieve mastery in Sky Demon Martial Arts and place the world under your name!]
… I thought the title was just Sky Demon, but now I can even use Sky Demon Martial Arts.
‘…Does that mean I can even part the skies?’
I clicked the skill window again to learn about it properly.
Then, a new window appeared.
[Sky Demon Martial Arts 1st Skill: Sky Demon Enchantment – You can amplify your emotions and dominate the emotions of others. (Available once per day.)]
Sky Demon Enchantment.
Amplifying my emotions to dominate others’ feelings….
The explanation was vague, but I could grasp roughly what it meant.
“…Unnie? Why are you suddenly spaced out like that?”
“…Yoo-jung.”
With this,….
“Whether it’s the first or second verse center… I can take both…?”
…Standing as the center for the second verse wasn’t just a dream.
No.
I had to make it happen.
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