Chapter 10
‘Is Kang Minje being bullied?’
Just then, the woman who had called 119 drove out the trainees who were just watching, telling them to leave if they weren’t going to exercise. As the place fell silent in an instant, Kang Minje also got up from his seat.
“See you later.”
He left the gym. The once-crowded place became empty in a blink.
What the hell.
‘Well, not my problem.’
I quietly focused on running. Thankfully, time passed quickly.
Morning was quiet. I got up from my spot and stretched. I hadn’t slept enough, so I was tired, but it was manageable. Just as I rubbed my eyes again, someone suddenly spoke.
“Don’t get cocky.”
That startled me. I looked over. A face still soaked in a hangover glared at me. I smiled brightly.
Ah. My dear roommate bastard.
‘What the hell is he on about.’
If you drank, just lie down quietly and sleep it off. Why the hell is he picking a fight?
Come to think of it, it was strange. Had I done anything cocky? I quietly retraced what I’d done.
After eating with Kang Minje yesterday, I came back to this room. When I arrived, the two of them were drinking, so I introduced myself. Then I washed up and went to sleep. That was it.
The early morning air was chilly. I was about to grab my smartphone and recorder and head out when he suddenly woke up and said that.
‘I didn’t do anything though?’
If I’d actually acted cocky, I’d accept it, but no matter how much I thought about it, nothing came to mind. So I just tilted my head.
Then he spoke again.
“You said you ate with Kang Minje? Acting all high and mighty ‘cause you’re close with him?”
I burst out laughing. Turning around, I looked at him.
‘What was this guy’s name again?’
Come to think of it, he never told me. When I came into the room, I politely introduced myself—“Hello, hyung. I’m Cha Dowon.”
“And being close with Kang Minje…”
I smiled softly as I spoke.
“…is that something to brag about?”
Apparently, he was pissed off despite me smiling. He tried to get up but, probably because of the hangover, sat back down on the bed.
Tsk tsk.
‘A young guy acting like that.’
You’ve only got one liver, idiot.
“You bastard, running your mouth!”
Every time he spoke, the smell of alcohol wafted out. I shrugged.
“I’m sorry, but…”
I grabbed a towel and stood up briskly.
“I don’t talk to idiots.”
Because it’s a waste of time. Why should I respond to the garbage they spew?
“Hey!”
“I’ll head out to practice now. See you later, hyung.”
He mumbled something behind me, but I closed the door and left.
‘So this is…’
That famous hazing.
‘What is this, the military?’
I shrugged and crossed the living room. I thought no one was up, but someone was.
“Oh, manager.”
“First day—did you sleep well?”
The chubby manager was drinking soda first thing in the morning.
“You know we’re taking profile photos in a week, right?”
“Which floor? What time?”
“Third floor. Time’s not decided yet. Didn’t Sooyong tell you?”
I nodded.
Who’s Sooyong?
“I told him to tell you…”
“He didn’t.”
“Did he forget?”
“I think he did it on purpose.”
The manager’s round eyes wavered, then he gave an awkward smile.
“They’re not bad kids, but…”
“Please tell me important things directly from now on. Don’t pass messages through others.”
The manager let out a long sigh and gulped down his soda.
“My insides are burning. Want some?”
“I’m good. By the way, manager—”
“Don’t call me that. Call me hyung. Yongdam hyung.”
He smiled warmly.
“So soda is allowed here?”
“Of course. Why, worried about gaining weight? Oh!”
He looked me up and down.
“Are you going to snitch to Mira too?”
Who’s Mira?
“Don’t tell her! She’s scary! My blood sugar was borderline at my checkup, so she banned chocolate bars!”
What a valuable piece of information.
“Manager—”
I sighed.
“I just got here yesterday.”
“Huh? Right.”
“I don’t care if you drink soda by the box.”
He hugged the bottle like it was precious.
“I meant the kind with barley in it.”
He scratched his head.
“Oh, beer.”
“Is that allowed in the dorms?”
His round eyes trembled slightly.
“Those punks drank again?”
Again?
‘So it’s not just once or twice.’
What idiots.
“If they get caught one more time, they’ll be kicked out…”
“Then just kick them out now.”
“Dowon, right?”
I nodded.
“You just got here, so you don’t know. This field is tough. They weren’t like that from the start.”
“What does that have to do with drinking?”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
“If it’s easier to give up, then tell them to quit.”
“Dowon, that’s too harsh.”
“I think you’re being harsher.”
Half-hearted kindness.
“Such cruel words!”
“Oh please.”
“Isn’t it crueler not to say it directly?”
I patted his shoulder and turned around.
“If you’re going to be kind, pick your targets.”
Kind people are necessary. I didn’t dislike someone like him. But in situations like this, it didn’t help.
‘Being too nice just makes you slip.’
Not my problem.
I checked the time. Precious time was slipping away. Fiddling with my phone in my pocket, I walked off.
What a waste of time.
Dance class was at 5 p.m. I put on my sneakers and warmed up on the practice room floor. Maybe because it was still early, I was alone.
I quietly took out my phone.
[cheat mode 0/3]
[Cha Dowon’s HP]
[70/330]
“Pretty drained.”
Running on the treadmill and studying Chinese and Japanese drained my HP in real time.
I quietly used the cheat.
[Change to 330]
[Change complete. Body is being adjusted.]
[Side effect: toes will itch for 5 seconds.]
A tingling itch followed, but my body felt refreshed.
‘Recovery doesn’t have much of a downside.’
Boosting physical ability had painful side effects, but recovery was easy.
“The problem is HP itself doesn’t increase.”
Still, training raised it little by little. Originally, my HP was 300.
I smiled bitterly and continued stretching.
Then—
People started pouring in. Some I hadn’t seen before, others I had.
‘Oh?’
My roommates were among them.
I smiled brightly and bowed slightly.
“Hello, I’m Cha Dowon.”
Not a single one of the five or six people greeted me.
“Ah!”
I looked at each of their faces.
“Are you guys ignoring me?”
At that, a few of them turned toward me.
“Ah, no—I’m Lee Younggon.”
“I’m Joo Kihun.”
Two or three greeted me awkwardly.
Got it.
I kept smiling.
“Nice to meet you.”
They nodded hesitantly.
Then the instructor entered.
“A new face, huh?”
I recognized him immediately—the choreographer who had made Yumi’s dance during auditions.
I bowed slightly.
“Sit in the front. Oh, you already are. Nice.”
He lightly tapped my head.
“Name?”
“Cha Dowon.”
“Just keeping up is enough for you. I’ll rebuild your joints from scratch.”
Was that a threat?
“Don’t be too scared. You’ll survive.”
So half-dead, then.
I raised my hands in mock surrender.
“Music on! You—watch carefully. You’ll be following.”
The trainees lined up in two rows. When the music started, they moved in perfect sync.
‘Hmm.’
There were empty spots.
‘People who went home?’
Not my concern.
Still—
‘They’re good.’
For guys who drank last night, they moved well.
When the music ended, the instructor handed me a tablet.
“The second routine. Learn this first—it’s a test.”
I nodded.
“I’ll check in 3 hours. Do as much as you can. I’m assigning positions.”
“If I do well…”
I smiled.
“Do I get the best spot?”
He grinned.
“Ambitious, huh?”
He pointed to the corner.
“Ambitious newbie, go practice there first. Everyone else, focus!”
I put in my earphones and watched the choreography.
‘Complicated.’
Not easy. A mix of fundamentals and variations.
‘Now I see why it’s a test.’
I memorized it desperately. After repeating it, I got the general moves down—but the angles were terrible.
An hour had already passed.
‘Damn it.’
Only two hours left.
Then—
“Not that hard.”
“Acting all cocky earlier.”
“Thought you were something since Kang Minje noticed you. Turns out you’re just trash.”
I stared at them.
“What, gonna do something if I look?”
“Your eye for detail sucks. You can’t get the angles right. As your seniors, here’s advice—go home.”
Seniors? Please.
I smiled.
They had just given me exactly what I needed.
“So… my observation skills are lacking, is that right?”
I replayed the video.
They were right—the arm angles weren’t clear.
I quietly took out my phone.
‘Thanks for the advice.’
[Cha Dowon’s Observation]
[D rank. Change?]
[A rank unavailable]
[B rank unavailable]
[C rank available]
[Changed to C rank]
[Body adjustment in progress]
[Side effect: crying tears of blood for 5 minutes]
[cheat mode 2/3]
Damn it.
Not here.
[Delay side effect by 5 hours]
[Adjusted: 10 minutes of bloody tears after 5 hours]
[cheat mode 3/3]
Didn’t know I could delay side effects.
The cost increased—but still.
Then suddenly—
A sharp pain stabbed under my eyes, like countless needles piercing them. Like rubbing raw garlic into them.
I barely endured.
But it was brief.
I rubbed my eyes and played the video again.
‘Wow.’
Now I could see everything clearly. The movements replayed perfectly in my head.
I stood and followed.
In the mirror, I executed the choreography precisely.
‘So this was it.’
The others were already sitting around chatting.
I gave them a slight nod.
‘Listen to your seniors and even rice cakes fall into your lap.’
I adjusted my angles in the mirror and kept practicing.
Even though I was working this hard—
They weren’t watching me.
‘My dear seniors are going to be surprised.’
I was genuinely looking forward to two hours later.
