Episode 4
Excited, PD Oh began to stir the pot even more.
I could see it coming from a mile away.
“Ace Trainee vs. Black Hole Trainee—First Showdown?!”
That’s definitely the kind of caption they’re planning to use to compare Seo Baekyoung and me.
According to Yoon Cheong’s memories, Seo Baekyoung was a certified ace trainee.
She had been training the longest at Colors, and she was truly a well-rounded trainee.
Her desired position was main dancer.
But she was also a pretty good singer—good enough to be considered for lead vocal.
If you put a main dancer-level trainee in a routine with someone who can’t dance at all…
Of course, it becomes an extreme comparison.
Anyone with common sense would avoid that setup at all costs.
“…Ah, from the beginning—”
“Yes! I’ll do my best!”
But I wasn’t someone with common sense.
“Cheong, you—”
“I’ll work hard and learn from you, unnie.”
“Uh, sure…”
Baekyoung looked at me, clearly flustered.
She was probably thinking, Is this girl crazy?
And who could blame her? It had only been three days since we got this choreography.
A 4-minute routine in just three days—and it wasn’t easy either.
Even Baekyoung, who was confident in dancing, couldn’t promise perfection.
And Yoon Cheong, the infamous klutz?
“Alright, let’s get started then!”
At the PD’s cue, the trainees cleared the space.
Always we are…
As soon as one trainee hit play on the music, this absurd showdown officially began.
…
And a few minutes later, the song ended.
No one said a word.
Once the silence passed, people started coming back to their senses.
Of course, it wasn’t because I danced so amazingly that they were all speechless.
I knew better than anyone—it wasn’t that good.
I was never known as an idol famous for dancing.
What shocked them was more like…
“Yoon Cheong… danced without messing up?”
“She’s not even falling behind compared to ace Baekyoung?”
“Wait, isn’t Baekyoung the one missing some moves?”
“Cheong nailed all the choreography… not a single missed beat.”
“Did she get the choreo early or something?”
The trainees were more shocked than the production team.
Because they’d seen Yoon Cheong in person.
Just not messing up was surprising enough, but…
In some ways, Cheong even outshined Baekyoung.
That was what shocked them.
“Great job. Thank you!”
I quickly bowed and thanked everyone.
But there’s something everyone was getting wrong.
Yoon Cheong couldn’t dance well.
That’s a fact.
But that didn’t mean she didn’t memorize the choreography.
In fact, Cheong practiced harder than anyone to overcome her lack of talent in dance.
So she was great at memorizing routines.
…Her body just couldn’t keep up.
As soon as she saw a camera or an audience, she’d freeze up.
That’s why “Yoon Cheong” couldn’t dance.
But Baek Noka is different.
I didn’t even glance at Baekyoung. I just stared into the mirror in front of me.
You trained for nine years?
I survived twenty.
If you add Cheong’s memories, that’s thirty years, kid.
Choreography considered “challenging” for trainees?
Compared to my usual solo stage choreos, it was laughable.
I didn’t become famous for dancing. I wasn’t the best dancer.
But that didn’t mean I was bad either.
If I couldn’t dance better than a yet-to-debut trainee, I might as well return my grand prize trophy!
Talent is built upon hard work, and above that, experience.
Sure, Baekyoung was a good dancer. You could tell she had talent from the way she moved.
But when it came to intensity control or facial expressions—she was still rough.
And in those areas, I wasn’t about to lose.
…
PD Oh looked at me with a very peculiar expression.
Then whispered something to another writer and stopped the shoot.
“Great work, everyone. We’ll now conduct individual interviews with each trainee. Come in when we call your name!”
Pre-filming trainee interviews.
The staff had already interviewed everyone ahead of time about each trainee’s image and skills.
Something like this:
Staff: What do you think of trainee Seo Baekyoung?
[Geum: Ace.]
[Staff: Ace?]
[Geum: No other word needed. All-around ace.]
[Bora: She’s like our emotional support unnie. Always helps us out, especially with dancing.]
[Staff: So she’s good at dancing?]
[Bora: Definitely. Among us, she’s probably the best.]
Staff: What about trainee Yoon Cheong?
[Juhong: Cheong unnie? Uh… she sings well!]
[Staff: And her dancing?]
[Juhong: (awkward smile)]
[Juhong: Hahaha.]
[Ryeoyu: I haven’t known her that long since she joined the company recently, but… dancing’s not really her thing, I guess?]
[Staff: So, not that great at dancing?]
[Ryeoyu: No, no, I didn’t mean it that way! Just not her specialty, I guess?]
[Baekyoung: She can’t dance.]
[Staff: (Everyone gasps)]
Caption: Baekyoung’s bluntness… a scary side?
[Baekyoung: But it’s okay. Cheong sings better than anyone.]
[Staff: But dancing’s not really it?]
[Baekyoung: She just needs more practice.]
After the Baekyoung vs. Cheong showdown, the staff asked trainees how they felt about it.
[Geum: Shocked.]
[Ryeoyu: When did she even have time to practice that much? I never saw her once.]
[Juhong: That was wild. Look at this! Goosebumps!]
[Haeun: I bet no one wasn’t surprised.]
Staff: Why were you surprised?
[Suin: Cheong unnie… got an F in the last dance evaluation. Colors gives letter grades—A to F. She got A in vocals, F in dance.]
[Juseon: We used to joke that if she could dance even a little, she would’ve debuted at 16.]
[Yuhyeon: Cheong unnie is a good person, but she’s kind of…]
Staff: Kind of?
[Yuhyeon: (awkward smile)]
[Yuhyeon: The kind of person you’d want to avoid during evaluations… since her dancing messes everything up.]
[Ryeoyu: She’d even get us scolded, so we all saw her as the number one person to avoid.]
Caption: Harsh opinions about trainee Yoon Cheong…!
[Bora: Really? I wasn’t that surprised.]
Staff: Oh, you’re the first trainee who wasn’t surprised.
[Bora: Oh, really?]
She laughed and continued.
[Bora: I may not know much, but I could tell one thing—Cheong unnie really, truly wanted to debut.]
[Staff: Doesn’t everyone?]
[Bora: True.]
[Bora: But when you want something that badly, pulling off something like that isn’t really surprising.]
When it was finally Baekyoung’s turn, the producers laid the bait with precision.
“You spoke to Cheong earlier, saying you were worried about her dancing.”
“Ah, yes.”
Baekyoung nodded nervously.
Even if she was the longest-running trainee, she was still just a trainee.
Facing all those cameras alone was intimidating.
Especially this kind of interview.
“Why did you say you were worried?”
“Ah, Cheong is…”
“Was there ever a conflict over choreography during evaluations?”
“Huh?”
She got flustered.
She hadn’t expected them to directly question her about Cheong.
Even hearing what the others had said about Cheong was shocking to her.
“In your earlier interview, you said she can’t dance. That was based on your group evaluation experience, right?”
“Well… yes.”
“How was she today? Was it the same as usual?”
Now the staff was pressing in.
Looking for just one usable quote.
“She was much better today.”
Sure, everyone was shocked.
But no one more than Baekyoung, who had danced right next to her.
She had only planned to dance through the chorus, then help Cheong with the rest.
But during those four minutes…
She began thinking—Am I the one who needs help from her now?
“So she couldn’t dance before, but now she suddenly can?”
“…Yes, I guess so.”
“Do you think she was hiding her skills?”
“Well, I’m not sure—”
“Is it even possible to improve like that overnight?”
Baekyoung couldn’t answer easily.
Can someone suddenly become a good dancer overnight?
It made no sense.
People can improve with time and effort.
But overnight?
That’s impossible.
“That’d be tough, for sure.”
“Could you look into the camera and say this for us?”
The staff smiled sweetly.
“‘It even made me wonder if Cheong had been hiding her skills all along.’”
Of course, their intentions weren’t as sweet as their smile.
The final interview was mine, obviously.
They’d probably gathered all the juicy soundbites by now.
A last-place trainee suddenly showing A-level skills in both vocals and dance?
That’s the kind of bait no producer could resist.
“Alright, trainee Yoon Cheong.”
“Yes.”
PD Oh, uncharacteristically gentle, started the interview.
Creepy.
“Do you know what the other trainees think of you?”
“Hmm, I’m not sure.”
“We’re nearly done with the interviews, and everyone’s confused.”
Here comes the setup.
“Oh, really?”
“They all say: how could someone who got an F in dance suddenly look like an A-rank today?”
“Ohh. I can see why they’d feel that way.”
I answered, never losing my smile.
Even a single stiff expression would get edited into something scandalous.
“Oh, really? Then could you clear up the mystery for us?”
“Of course!”
I smiled as brightly as I could and replied,
“Baekyoung unnie and I practiced like crazy. She helped me a lot.”
Bait?
I bite down on that first.
So no one else can.
