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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: Take a Chance!
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‘…She’s got this!’
The music was an electronic pop dance track, just as it was before the apocalypse.
Her long hair fluttered along with the refreshing synthesizer sound, creating beautiful curves with her dance lines, while her clean, clear voice tickled the ear like a gentle breeze.
‘…It was summer.’
The actual season was early spring.
But watching Na Yeon-woo, Hye-sung felt summer once again. It was the second time she'd fallen for her.
‘Cha Ju-yeon is better than I thought. With one person gone, their synergy is much better than last time. Good, if they keep this up until the end, they're guaranteed a Basic rank or higher.’
No sooner had the thought crossed her mind than Na Yeon-woo lost her balance and tumbled sideways. Her shoelace had come undone, and she’d tripped on it.
“…Yeon-woo!”
A shocked Hye-sung clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as she watched the situation unfold on stage.
Na Yeon-woo got up immediately and continued the performance, but she was mentally shaken. She didn't sing properly during the latter half and kept tripping on her untied shoelace, making one mistake after another.
‘I… held Yeon-woo back…’
She remembered wailing at the clumsy trainee she'd been paired with, telling her not to hold her girl back.
‘Telling her to retie her shoelaces… ended up being what held her back. Because of me, because of me, Yeon-woo…’
With her mind gone completely blank, Na Yeon-woo's mistake affected Cha Ju-yeon, and they ended up ruining the latter half of their performance.
“Management A. Your company name is A, but… there are no Aces. Cha Ju-yeon, Basic. Na Yeon-woo, F.”
It wasn't just the fall that cost her points.
Her reaction afterward was what sent Na Yeon-woo to F rank. If she had kicked off her shoe and continued singing, she might have received the same rank as Cha Ju-yeon. That was the trainers' assessment.
Cha Ju-yeon wrapped an arm around Na Yeon-woo's shoulder, comforting her as they returned to their seats.
“Yeon-woo… I'm sorry. It's my fault, I told you to retie your shoelaces. I'm sorry, really, I'm so sorry, Yeon-woo…”
Overcome with guilt, Hye-sung rambled, pouring out apologies.
“Eonni… why,”
Na Yeon-woo looked at Hye-sung, tears streaming from her large eyes.
“Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who fell, and I'm the one who didn't sing.”
Na Yeon-woo wiped her tears and forced a smile.
“Don't be sorry. You were just looking out for me.”
Hearing that, the corners of Hye-sung's eyes turned red.
“Yeon-woo…”
‘How could I not… how could I not adore someone like you…’
“I'm still sorry, Yeon-woo. *Sniff*, *sob sob sob*…”
Sniffling, Hye-sung pulled Na Yeon-woo into a tight hug. Cha Ju-yeon, who hadn't returned to her seat yet, joined in, hugging them both.
“Why are you crying too, Hye-sung eonni? Geez, you're going to make me cry too.”
And so, one Basic rank and two F ranks cried in each other's arms. To an outsider, it might have looked as if they'd just been announced for the debut group in the finale.
* * *
After all the class evaluations were over, the trainees changed into the practice clothes corresponding to their ranks and gathered back in the studio. The time had come to reveal the signal song.
Hye-sung, who already knew the song, stood in the F rank line with an indifferent expression. She was on the inconspicuous edge, and her practice clothes were black.
‘I personally like black, but dressed like this, we look less like idol trainees and more like the culprits in a detective manga.’
Looking around, she saw that all the F-rank trainees in their black clothes looked utterly dejected.
‘Everyone looks so discouraged…’
In contrast, Hye-sung, who had bombed spectacularly, didn't seem quite as disheartened. It was the result she'd expected, and she figured it looked better to climb up from F rank than to land somewhere mediocre like Beginner.
‘Other than being humiliated for trying to act ridiculously cool, I'm fine… The bigger problem is that Yeon-woo ended up in F with me.’
Hye-sung shifted her gaze to Na Yeon-woo beside her. Her eyes and the tip of her nose were red from crying earlier.
‘I can't bear to see my girl cry a second time.’
“Hye-sung!”
While Hye-sung was once again feeling a surge of affection, someone was running toward her from among the trainees, calling her name.
‘Ah… she was F too.’
Seeing the approaching trainee, Hye-sung recalled a memory from the preliminary auditions.
“Excuse me, since we met like this, it must be fate. Do you think we could introduce ourselves? I feel like I won't know anyone when we get to the actual filming site...”
“Sure. I'm Yoon Hye-sung, and I'm 19.”
“I'm Im Ye-in, and I'm 20. I hope we see each other again there!”
It seemed Im Ye-in really didn't have any trainee friends, because upon spotting Hye-sung, whom she had only met once, she waved her arms enthusiastically in greeting.
“Eonni, is she your friend?”
Na Yeon-woo asked, looking back and forth between Hye-sung and Im Ye-in.
“Not a friend…”
“Yes!”
They spoke at the same time. Hye-sung, who had been about to say they weren't friends since they'd only met once, was taken aback. But not wanting to make the other girl feel awkward, she quickly added to her words.
“N-not a friend, she's an eonni! This eonni is twenty. A grown-up.”
‘Twenty is still just a kid. And she's calling her eonni.’
Hye-sung was 25 in her original time—when Season 5 aired—so saying things like "she's an eonni, she's twenty" to someone who had just graduated high school felt incredibly awkward.
“Hello. I'm Na Yeon-woo, I'm 18.”
“Hello, I'm Im Ye-in. It's nice to meet you.”
Im Ye-in smiled brightly and took Na Yeon-woo's hand.
‘She got an F rank, so why is she so excited?’
It was true. Despite wearing the black practice clothes and standing in the same line as Hye-sung, Im Ye-in seemed strangely cheerful.
‘Anyone watching would think this was the Ace rank line.’
If Hye-sung's performance was a catastrophe, Im Ye-in's was just a disaster. It was better than Hye-sung's by a hair, but she had bombed her evaluation all the same.
‘Well, it's better than having a gloomy face, I guess…’
A moment later, the trainers walked onto the stage, a sign that the staff had finished preparing for filming. Standing right behind them were the Ace-rank trainees in their purple practice clothes. Hyun Na-na was among them.
During the class evaluation, Hyun Na-na had performed Minty's solo debut song. The verdict was a unanimous Ace, and she even received this praise from Minty herself.
“I think you could stand on stage in my place.”
‘That's a bit of an exaggeration, eonni. It'd be a disaster if she actually took your place.’
That's what Hye-sung thought upon hearing Minty's comment, but it was clear that Hyun Na-na had left a strong enough impression on the trainers to earn such exaggerated praise.
“Alright, we will now reveal the signal song for Supernova Project Season 5. Is everyone ready?”
Seol Han-na said, looking at the trainees.
“Yes!”
Large letters appeared on the black screen of the front monitor.
An exciting beat reminiscent of a party atmosphere echoed through the studio.
[*When the curtain rises on this glamorous stage*]
Immediately, the image of a choreographer dancing to the song appeared on the screen.
[*Dazzling spotlights, cheers and applause
Make my heart race*]
At the exciting intro, the trainees let out small gasps and focused on the song.
[*Watch closely, from now on it's my turn
I'll take all of your heart
I've decided I'll be the one to shine brightest
Take a Chance!
Chance! Chance!*]
As it moved into the chorus, the performance difficulty skyrocketed.
The vocal range became higher, and the choreography was packed with quick turns and jumps on finely divided beats. Fitting the lyric "turn," there were also several turning movements that looked difficult to time correctly.
[*Watch closely, from now on it's my turn
I'll take all of your gazes
Take a Chance!
Chance! Chance!
Turn coincidence into opportunity
Tonight I'll seize this chance*]
After such an intense dance break, the video ended with a final pose, standing coolly at an angle as if nothing had happened.
“Wow… that's so hard.”
“I don't think I could do it even if I practiced nonstop.”
“Seriously, how many times do they jump?”
Worried murmurs erupted from all over. The Ace rank was no exception, so the reaction among the F ranks surrounding Hye-sung was even more pronounced.
“Alright, you all saw that, right? This isn't easy. We're going to learn it once now, and then you'll practice in your classes at the training center. So pay close attention and watch carefully.”
* * *
“Has anyone figured out the choreography yet?”
“Oh? Me, I'm working on it now.”
Na Yeon-woo approached and responded to a trainee who was looking around in distress while holding a tablet.
“Ah, Yeon-woo! Then, once you've figured it all out, could you teach us? It's so difficult…”
“Yes, of course. Let's practice together. I've already learned the first verse. The second verse repeats, so it should be quick.”
“Yeon-woo-ssi. Then you take the first part, and I'll do the second. It'll be faster with two of us.”
Im Ye-in, who had been practicing alone in the center, chimed in.
“Okay, but eonni, you can speak comfortably to me.”
“Ah, really? Then I'll just call you by your name from now on.”
“Okay. By the way, have you seen Hye-sung eonni? She said she was going to the restroom, but I haven't seen her since.”
“Hye-sung-ssi? Over there in the corner.”
Where Im Ye-in pointed, Hye-sung was sprawled out, staring blankly into space as if her soul had half-left her body.
“Eonni! You've been here the whole time? Get up, we're supposed to practice together.”
Na Yeon-woo ran to Hye-sung and pulled her up by the arm.
“Yeon-woo, it's too late for me. Go on without me.”
“What? Go on without you… where? Snap out of it and get up. Until Ye-in eonni and I figure out the whole dance, here. At least watch the choreography video.”
Na Yeon-woo pressed the tablet that had been on the floor into Hye-sung's hands.
“Alright…”
With limp fingers, Hye-sung played the choreography video.
In that moment, the memory of the dance trainers, Jade and Kang Min-guk, demonstrating the moves earlier came back like a nightmare.
“Yoon Hye-sung! Are you kidding me right now?”
“Hye-sung, please! How many times is that now!”
She could still hear the trainers' scolding voices ringing in her ears. The F-rank trainees had been called to the front to follow the moves they'd learned, but Hye-sung, who had already been singled out during the class evaluation, was the only one they picked on, and she got an earful.
‘I have feelings too. I'm only human.’
Being scolded in front of everyone for her catastrophic freestyle… it was so humiliating and awful. She wished she could just hit her head and lose the memory of that moment.
‘…Still, I have to do it. Yeon-woo is working so hard. I can't hold her back again.’
“Wow. I'm. So. Excited. This song. Is so. Exciting, isn't it? Makes me. Want to dance. Hahaha.”
Forcing her energy up, Hye-sung replayed the choreography video over and over until she had a sudden realization.
‘Wait, I think I already know all the moves.’
It was true. Before the apocalypse, she had watched the video titled "[Syunopeu S5｜Solo/Full Cam｜Na Yeon-woo - Chance!]" hundreds of times, so the choreography was already in her head.
‘Then why am I so bad at it?’
The input was in her head, but her body wasn't producing the output.
[Today's~ Random Quest has arrived!]
‘This stupid quest… for a daily quest, why does it always show up when the day is almost over?’
