* * *
“I’m sorry. I asked for Dansol to be the center.”
“…What?”
Seeing Dansol’s shocked expression, Minhyuk quickly explained to clear up any misunderstandings.
“I designed this concept with you in mind, Dansol. It might be uncomfortable, but… I see you as a charming yet innocent fox, who has a knack for attracting people but no skill for deception.”
Dansol blushed at Minhyuk’s description.
“Me…?”
When Minhyuk first saw Dansol, he wondered if he was bewitched by a fox. Dansol shone brightly even among famous people, as if deliberately trying to enchant Minhyuk like a gumiho (nine-tailed fox).
But after getting closer, he realized Dansol was an innocent person who didn’t even know he was charming. The music was inspired by Dansol’s innocent charm.
From that, Minhyuk envisioned a fox with only one tail, destined to be a gumiho but still innocent.
“Just prepare according to how the music makes you feel, Dansol. There’s no need to feel burdened. Your interpretation will complete this song.”
“Hyung… are you really saying not to feel pressured?”
“Ah… Does it come off that way?”
Dansol felt even more pressured than before Minhyuk spoke. Seeing Dansol, who had been crying earlier, now stiffen from the pressure, made Jisoo uncomfortable.
“Today, I’m your manager, Joo Dansol. Let’s eat first before we start practicing.”
“Hyung! I can eat later…”
Dansol usually only drank water before dance practice to avoid feeling heavy, but Han Jisoo ded him chopsticks, determined not to move until Dansol ate.
“No, eat now. Energy is important. Look at him. He’s eating eagerly without anyone telling him to.”
Jisoo pointed at Taeoh, who was eating his lunch with such vigor that he seemed ready to eat the lid.
“Dansol, eat quickly! Once we start practicing, there won’t be time to eat.”
Taeoh, with his mouth full of food, mumbled incomprehensibly. Jisoo frowned at the sight.
“What are you saying? Hey! Don’t eat it all! Sol needs to eat too!”
As Dansol weakly picked up his chopsticks, Jisoo grabbed the bowl Taeoh was eating from and handed it to Dansol.
“Hurry up and eat. You always say you eat mold at your place.”
“No… it’s not that I eat mold, it’s just that it’s there…”
“Same difference. If you live with it, you end up eating it.”
With Jisoo watching over him like a mother, Dansol reluctantly put a piece of sushi in his mouth. ]
The taste was incomparable to the ttaekbokki he used to eat at the snack shop in front of the company, and his eyes widened.
It was only then that Dansol realized his habit of not eating during dance practice was because the food hadn’t been tasty enough.
“Sol, how is it? Do you like it?”
“It’s not just that I like it…”
“Huh?”
“It’s the taste of success… It’s so good…! Taeoh, hurry up and finish eating so we can practice!”
Jisoo smiled as he watched Dansol’s spirits lift after eating the delicious food.
“The difference between ‘Fluttering’ and ‘scattering’ in that part is probably because the isolation isn’t right. Now, follow me. One, two, three, four.”
Contrary to his usual playful demeanor, Taeoh was incredibly serious when he returned to his main job.
Dansol felt the gap between himself and Taeoh, who could pinpoint and correct his mistakes with uncanny precision.
“Did I… set things up wrong?”
Once practice started, the dance-illiterate Jisoo , Daesoo, and Minhyuk could only sit and watch Taeoh and Dansol practice.
As Taeoh and Dansol grew closer while practicing their pair choreography, the expressions of the three watching them began to harden.
“We’ve pretty much memorized the choreography, so shall we try it with music?”
“…Yes!”
Taking a deep breath, Dansol reviewed the choreography in his head. The others seemed to share his tension as they watched him.
However, contrary to their worried gazes, Dansol’s eyes changed as soon as the music started.
Even Taeoh, who was helping with the choreography, was inwardly surprised at Dansol’s movements, which seemed to seduce him.
Although the details still needed work, Dansol’s progress in such a short time was impressive enough to astonish even Yoonsung and Woohyun, who had scolded him.
It was no wonder, given that the choreography practice led by Taeoh, who had been trained from the basics by experts in various fields at a major agency, was a new world for Dansol.
Every instruction was clear and precise, unlike his dance teachers who spoke in riddles, telling him to pop like a stone skipping on water or wave like a mirage rising in the summer heat.
Dansol was almost angry at how simple and effective Taeoh’s coaching was compared to his previous struggles.
“Wow… Is Dansol really a genius? Why were the members so harsh on him when he’s this good?”
“Yeah, Sol, you did great.”
“Yeah, you were amazing.”
Even Daesoo, who rarely spoke, praised him, making Dansol’s ears burn. But there was no time to bask in the compliments.
“Taeoh, can we go through it one more time?”
One more time, and then another.
Even Taeoh, who practiced until his stomach was flat from all the exercise, was exhausted from Dansol’s determination, feeling his dark circles reaching his ankles.
It was now pitch dark outside, and Jisoo and Minhyuk had long fallen asleep leaning on Daesoo’s broad shoulders.
Even Daesoo, who sat with his arms crossed, was yawning occasionally, indicating how long it had been, yet Dansol clung to Taeoh as if tomorrow was the performance day.
“Phew… Dansol, you know we have practice tomorrow too, right?”
“Oh… I’m sorry…”
Only then did Dansol notice the people dozing off around him. In his eagerness to learn more, he hadn’t considered Taeoh or the others.
“Haha, it’s okay… Let’s call it a day and go out for dinner, shall we?”
Clapping loudly as if to wake up the sleeping people, Taeoh spoke with exaggerated volume. Though he couldn’t say it, his thighs were starting to shake.
“Shall we go ahead? I think I’ll practice a bit more… Oh, no. I’ll go to our practice room…!”
“Oh… no way. Let’s drag him out.”
“Hey! Wait a minute!”
Despite Taeoh’s efforts, Dansol insisted on more practice, leading Daesoo and Minhyuk to grab his limbs while Jisoo turned off the practice room lights. Taeoh was already ahead, holding the elevator.
“Sol, try this.”
“Oh… okay. You eat too, hyung.”
Having just woken up, Jisoo had led them to a quiet Hanwoo omakase restaurant. Sushi for lunch and now Hanwoo for dinner. Jisoo seemed desperate to feed Dansol.
“Hyung… I’m not a pig. How can I eat all this?”
“No, you need to eat it all. Watching you practice today, I’m amazed you’re still walking, Sol. Where do you get all that strength from?”
“Right? Dansol, you said you hadn’t memorized the choreography, but you’re so good at it.”
Dansol had pushed himself to learn from Taeoh partly because he wanted to boast to his members but mostly because he wanted to teach them what he learned.
The company’s dance and vocal instructors were acquaintances of the CEO, not experts. So, while he never said it, Dansol always felt something was missing.
Talented and intuitive members could keep up, but the rest just memorized every gesture mindlessly.
But Taeoh’s teaching method fundamentally showed how to use their bodies. If he could, Dansol would love to take private lessons from Taeoh.
Knowing how rare this opportunity was, Dansol wanted to teach his members something, hoping they would learn more during their practice with Zeus tomorrow.
“Actually… Taeoh taught me so well that I also learned it well and wanted to teach the members.”
“I heard you fought?!”
“Oh, come on… Then we’ll make up again like nothing happened. We’ve always been like that.”
“Well… Sometimes I would get into fistfights with the members too. But we knew we had a live broadcast the next day, so we’d avoid hitting each other’s faces. But since we wore sleeveless and crop tops, you could see all the bruises.”
Puhaha, Taeoh’s words echoed in the quiet restaurant, filled with laughter.
Dansol, who was covering his mouth while laughing, along with Minhyuk, Jisoo , and Daesoo, all felt more at ease after a few drinks.
Taeoh’s enthusiastic voice rang out pleasantly.
“So right after the live broadcast, we went live again to explain that the bruises were from getting a massage together the previous day… And fans were speculating if we were dating, so we had to explain again… It was crazy!”
Jisoo laughed, hitting the table. Since there were no other customers, they enjoyed the lively atmosphere, not realizing that an employee was filming them.
* * *
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Thanks! 👍
its nice to see him in better spirits