Cheating way through to Stardom chapter 43- I will perform

Everyone was slouched over. I quietly sat in the corner.

‘What’s this? A welcoming ceremony? An initiation?’

The trainees participating in YUMI’s performance wouldn’t have the luxury for such a prank.

‘Isn’t the performance the day after tomorrow?’

There was no helping it.

‘Well, since they’re breathing, they’ll get up eventually.’

I lay in the corner and quietly started doing ab exercises. It was still tough to control my breathing while straining my muscles.

‘But at least exercising doesn’t betray me.’

I wanted to quickly elevate my vocal skills to an A grade.

‘By the way, it’s strange. Why can’t abs be leveled up with a cheat?’

I thought about it sometimes, but I could never understand the standards of cheats. As soon as my flexibility was upgraded, I could improve my dancing too.

‘Well, things that should go up will go up.’

I was counting to a hundred in my head when an alarm suddenly rang from the corner.

“Oh, it startled me.”

As soon as the alarm rang, the zombies lying around started to get up one by one. They yawned and stretched.

“Aha, it was a break.”

I finally understood.

I continued my ab exercises regardless of whether they got up or not. The oldest-looking guy got up weakly and turned on the lights. They rubbed their eyes and spoke.

“Did you rest well?”

“Yeah!”

“Oppa, get me some water!”

The place became lively. That’s when it happened. Suddenly, someone pointed at me.

“Oppa, who’s that?”

I quietly lowered my legs. My abs were painfully sore.

“Huh? Oh, right. Hey, kid, who are you?”

I sighed and stood up.

“I’m Cha Dowon, a debut trainee.”

Some pointed at me with their fingers.

“I know him! He was in YUMI’s music video!”

“Oh, right. They said he was coming.”

A guy with long hair tied up in a ponytail spoke.

“You, can you dance well?”

I smiled brightly.

“I’m not sure.”

The ponytail guy blinked in surprise, then smiled.

“Why don’t you know?”

“I thought I could, but I realized there’s a long way to go.”

There’s an S grade above A. I wonder what’s above S. Maybe SS?

The dancers looked at each other. I bowed my head.

“Nice to meet you. I heard the performance is the day after tomorrow, so I came here nervous. I will do my best not to cause any trouble.”

Of course, I wasn’t nervous at all.

‘It’s just lip service.’

Why would I cause trouble?

They laughed and said.

“That’s a relief.”

“At least he’s not one of those celebrity wannabes.”

The ponytail guy loosened his shoulders, stood up, and sat back down.

“We’d be in trouble if he was.”

I tilted my head.

“I’m not a celebrity yet.”

“You were in a music video and a commercial.”

“I haven’t even debuted yet. I’m still a trainee. I haven’t even stepped on the threshold of being a celebrity.”

They looked at each other again.

“But, aren’t you already popular?”

“YUMI is using him because he’s popular, right?”

“My sister said he’s handsome.”

I guess they were talking about me.

“Well, if he’s a debut trainee, he’ll debut soon.”

“Hey, that’s not always the case. Some stay as debut trainees for years.”

“Alright, alright!”

The ponytail guy clapped his hands.

“Anyway, we need to make this kid dance by the day after tomorrow, got it?”

I quietly continued stretching.

“Hey, kid.”

“It’s Cha Dowon.”

“Yeah, kid. Watch and learn this.”

The one who seemed to be the leader handed me a tablet.

“You’re the one in the white shirt there.”

Suddenly, I remembered when I first came into the practice room. I learned like this back then too.
“It must be the usual method.”

Indeed, there’s nothing better for matching group dances.

“If you can’t do it, one of us will take your place.”

“Okay.”

I stretched while watching the video on the tablet.

“Wow, you’re not nervous. I said you could be replaced, you know?”

“I don’t consider things that won’t happen.”

I smiled while checking my movements.

‘I will perform.’

In an instant, the dancers’ eyes were on me. I didn’t care and calmly adjusted my movements. Unlike the first time, my observational skills had improved significantly.

I could visualize the dance at a glance.

‘Dancing at the front with YUMI, huh.”

There was a scene where we danced together.

‘Luckily, it’s not like a tango.’

There were no intimate scenes. I roughly understood the atmosphere.

“Is she imagining her cherished boy moving?”

My dancing scenes were YUMI’s wish for the boy to get up.

At the film festival awards ceremony?

I couldn’t help but laugh. I didn’t know the viewership rating of the awards ceremony, but this was a great opportunity.

‘If I stand out here, I could make an impression on people in the film industry.’

I had to debut first, but this was a good chance.

‘Perfect timing since I’m hungry.’

If I nailed the performance, would my hunger subside a bit?

Smiling, I memorized the dance on the tablet. With endorphins rushing through me, I learned quickly.

After repeating it five or six times and visualizing each movement in my mind, I heard a commotion and a clear voice followed.

“I’m here!”

I wiped my sweat and looked up. YUMI, without makeup, walked in like a feather.

I bowed my head and looked up. YUMI smiled brightly.

The ponytail girl asked her.

“How are you feeling these days?”

“I’m exhausted, but I slept well, so I feel alive.”

“That’s good to hear.”

YUMI lightly stretched her body.

“If my condition were terrible, I wouldn’t have taken on the film festival performance.”

“Ah, those guys…”

YUMI clenched her fist.

“Those jerks. How dare they not clap after watching my performance?”

Oh boy.

“Is that why?”

I guess she had every right to be mad. No matter what, it was a congratulatory performance; how could they not react?

“They’re quite cultured gentlemen.”

Are actors usually cultured?

‘Aren’t people just people, more or less?’

Some might be, but still.

Just then, YUMI came up to me.

“Dowon!”

“Hello, senior.”

“Oh, my dear! I owe you a lot, you know? Thank you!”

What is she talking about? If anything, I owe YUMI. And what’s with “my dear”?

“Since the music video turned out well, I benefited more from it.”

“Don’t pretend to be humble!”

YUMI giggled. Maybe because she wasn’t wearing makeup, she looked very young.

‘South Korea’s top singer really is different.’

Her image changes so dramatically.

I laughed along with her. YUMI circled around me and spoke.

“But Dowon, are you good at dancing?”

The question was repeated again.

“What do you think?”

“Well, I don’t know.”

I smiled broadly and said,

“You’ll know when you see.”

Suddenly, the surroundings buzzed with excitement. I slightly nodded to the dancers and then raised my head.

“I’ve memorized all the dances from the tablet. Could you take a look?”

The ponytailed dancer’s eyes wavered slightly.

‘Why are you surprised?’

There’s still plenty more to be surprised about.

“Oh my! Oh my!”

“Please give me some sharp feedback.”

Give me a lot of pointers. So I can fix them. Our stage needs to be perfect, right?

The ponytail shook his head.

“Yeah, it’s better to see. Junseo, play the music.”

The dancers quickly stepped back toward the wall. I stood in the center, waiting for the music.

Soon, a heavy bass sound flowed out. I followed each move I had seen on the tablet. As I bent my legs to the beat, the ponytail guy smiled.

‘The audience seems pleased?’

Then, I have to show more, right?

I extended my arms a bit further. I did a light jump and landed back down.

The part where I had to come to the front began. I moved my legs to the rhythm.

From the left, downwards. From the right, upwards.

As the sound thudded, I bent my knees slightly and then straightened them.

The music ended. Panting, I looked around. Everyone was staring at me blankly.

‘Are you satisfied?’

I smiled brightly, trying to look pretty.

One dancer spoke.

“Wow, that was amazing.”

“Kids these days are something else.”

“Maybe it’s because they’re young. Their joints are like springs.”

The dancers murmured among themselves.

“What do you think, Mikey?”

The ponytail answered.

“You all saw it too. Hey, what’s your name again?”

I told him earlier. How did he forget? Is he senile? Ponytail guy.

“It’s Cha Dowon.”

“You’re quite something.”

I turned my head shyly. Soon, I heard YUMI’s laughter.

“You’re not just good at acting. You’re good at your main job too.”

By main job, does she mean being an idol trainee?

‘Then I guess I have to sing too.’

Did I need to prepare for a vocal battle as well?

I said modestly,

“Am I fit for the stage?”

“Huh? Oh, um…”

The ponytail guy approached me.

“You’ll do well.”

“No, the guide video was good.”

At that moment, one of the dancers raised his hand.

“I danced in that video!”

Compliments don’t cost anything. Sure. Here you go. I smiled broadly and said,

“You were good.”

“These idol trainees these days are impressive. Who taught you?”

“My choreographer, Mr. K.”

He even gave me a damn nickname.

The ponytail guy looked around me and said,

“You’re taller than I thought. Little guy.”

Then drop the “little guy” thing, ponytail.

“I’m probably in the 170s.”

Maybe a bit over.

“Your face is small, and your legs are long. You know.”

The ponytail guy smirked.

“You’ll make it big.”

Of course.

“Oh, that would be great. Thank you for the kind words.”

It was then that YUMI covered her mouth and laughed. But there was no way her clear laughter couldn’t be heard.

“YUMI, why are you laughing?”

“No, Dowon is funny. He accepts compliments with a look that says ‘of course’ but only says thank you with his mouth.”

Oh.

‘Busted.’

I exhaled lightly. Was it that obvious?

‘I lost this one, really.’

I raised my hands slightly in surrender. At that, a burst of laughter erupted.

‘Well… Fine. Laugh away.’

Better than getting angry, I guess.

I whispered to YUMI.

“Why did you have to say it like that?”

“Did it make you uncomfortable?”

“A lot.”

“It’s okay. You’re cocky, but you’re not rude.”

Is that a compliment?

“I tried to be humble to make a good impression, but you caught me.”

“Oh dear, I’m a bit sorry for that.”

When I sighed, YUMI laughed brightly. Her laughter was so pretty that I had nothing to say.

“It’s okay, it’s okay. They’re a team I’ve worked with for a long time. Actually…”

The ponytail guy approached me with a smirk.

“You’re a funny guy!”

“They’ll like it. Look.”

Lucky for me, they have unique tastes.

‘I should work on hiding my expressions better.’

Though YUMI seems unusually perceptive.

“Well, you’re better than those with celebrity diseases.”

“As I said earlier, to have a celebrity disease, you need to be a celebrity first, which I’m not yet.”

“Thinking that way is good. Very.”

The ponytail guy put his arm around my shoulder and spoke to YUMI.

“I think he can do it. What about you?”

“He has to start now.”

“Will he have enough time?”

“I’ll stay up all night if I have to! I can’t lose to those guys again!”

“South Korea’s top singer YUMI is competitive and beautiful, but she’s short on time! So we suffer!”

“Sorry.”

YUMI quietly signaled to the manager behind her.

“I’ll buy you all a meal.”

“Wow! Guys, YUMI’s buying dinner! Let’s eat and then continue!”

The dancers flocked to the manager. I quietly looked at YUMI.

“Are you staying up all night?”

“Yeah, if I need to learn.”

All night for one song?

“There’s a schedule starting early in the morning.”

“Ah, I see.”

“Really busy, huh?”

Is this what the life of a pro is like?

“Get ready. You’ll be like this soon too.”

“Being busy is good.”

“Let’s see if you’ll still say that when you’re really busy.”

A snicker escaped.

“You should tell your manager soon what you want to eat. They’ll order it for you.”

I glanced at YUMI.

‘She still isn’t eating.’

Why does she always manage her weight so strictly?

‘That would be a problem too.’

As long as she doesn’t collapse, that’s fortunate.

‘There must be a way.’

Approaching YUMI’s manager, I nodded. It was an unnecessary interference.