Cheating way through to Stardom chapter 5- Would you like to eat some humble pie?

The judges exchanged glances and shook their heads.

Then, all eyes turned to me.

“Contestant number 119, what will you be doing?”

Ah, it’s already my turn.

I smiled broadly.

“I’ll be dancing.”

I had been rated as a B-level dancer, so I had to give it a shot.

“What song would you like us to play?”

I opened my mouth, then closed it quietly.

I could have asked for the song I had practiced diligently before my return.

I still remembered the choreography.

‘But an interesting thought just occurred to me.’

I looked at Kyungbae and grinned.

“Yumi’s ‘Shooting.'”

Kyungbae, want to eat some humble pie?

The judges frowned.

Don’t grimace, you’re about to see something good.

I quietly loosened my shoulders and took a step forward.

“Does it have to be this song?”

“Yes.”

“Is it because ‘Shooting’ is popular? We’re not picking a girl group here, but everyone seems to choose this song.”

I almost burst out laughing.

So, this song has been performed a lot.

“If you’re doing it to stand out, I’d advise against it.”

Kyungbae’s face turned pale.

‘Hmm, he probably just wanted to stand out innocently.’

I shrugged.

Well, I understood.

How many aspiring idols don’t want to stand out?

‘But it doesn’t look good if you get caught.’

Mastering such subtleties is also a talent.

I smiled at the judges.

“I’m not doing it to stand out.”

Though I do want to give a little taste of humble pie.

‘Plus, Yumi’s ‘Shooting’ is a bit of a waste…’

The judges’ expressions changed.

Soon, the music started.

I moved my body with ease.

Unlike Kyungbae, I didn’t shake excessively.

‘With improved muscles, this should be more effective.’

I moved in sync with the rhythm, making smooth waves that slightly broke, causing my body to tremble with the beat.

I was on stage now.

Even though it was just the judges and Kyungbae, this was still a stage with an audience.

I felt good. My heartbeat raced with the thrill of being alive.

Yes, this is the stage.

The place I had longed for so much.

The song flowed.

“Shooting with my friend ~“

The lyrics resonated deeply. Yeah. How much would that suck? I narrowed my eyes. Betrayal, I knew that feeling well.

‘I want to kill, but this is a law-abiding country.’

So, I can’t kill.

I glared ahead and took half a step forward, then quickly stepped back.

Yumi’s choreography involved smoothly sitting on the floor and getting up, but I did it a beat faster.

As I mimicked shooting a gun with my fingers, there was a reaction.

“Oh!”

The fattest judge exclaimed.

Wasn’t he the boss?

I adjusted my expression to match the lyrics.

‘They must have seen this choreography countless times.’

Naturally, they’d be tired of it.

My body felt surprisingly light.

My legs moved faster than I expected.

Even I was surprised at how well I danced.

‘If this is B-level, what is A-level like?’

I had no time to think. The lyrics played again.

“Shooting! Shooting! I will kill you.”

I want to kill.

But if I can’t, how would that feel?

‘Yumi’s stage probably tried to express that.’

It was bizarre, but the main emotion was sorrow.

The feeling of hating someone you once loved, wanting to kill them but being unable to, overflowed from her performance.

The choreography of sitting on the floor came.

This time, I lay down on the floor at the right beat.

But unlike Kyungbae, I didn’t twist my back.

I simply followed the original choreography.

Instead, I placed the gun aimed outward to my head.

– Shooting!

I moved my hand as if firing a gun and shook my head in that direction.

As if hit by a real bullet, I twitched and finally lay completely flat on the floor.

The music ended.

I got up, breathing heavily. I wiped my sweat and felt the judges’ gazes.

The first to speak was the pig boss in the center.

“Wow…”

He chuckled with interest.

“Who are you, really… wow.”

That was a compliment.

See, I told you it would be worth it, boss.

I returned to my seat and glanced at Kyungbae.

He was a sight to behold.

His eyes were trembling, his lips twisted.

His legs shook, and he couldn’t keep his hands still.

‘Kyungbae, are you flustered?’

Why?

I just followed your advice and went all out.

Then, the man sitting next to him spoke.

“Hey, number 119!”

“Yes.”

“It was stiff but quite watchable.”

Damn it.

I thought it was a compliment, but the audition level must be quite high.

‘Is it because my skills are B-level?’

Surely, this won’t make me pass.

‘There must be something else I need.’

Just then, the man spoke again.

“But that’s not what’s important. How did you know?”

Huh, know what?

“What ‘Shooting’ by Yumi is expressing. Most people just try to imitate the bizarre sexiness.”

I didn’t know, but it was a good question.

I smiled.

“There’s certainly an element of bizarreness, but isn’t the song’s sense of betrayal stronger?”

The man smiled, revealing his teeth, satisfied with my answer.

“That’s right. We expressed that, but everyone does it this way. It was frustrating.”

He said he was frustrated, but he must have been very annoyed.

“Number 119 is interesting.”

I smiled brightly.

More compliments, please, choreographer.

“The last choreography you added. Actually, Yumi wanted to do it that way too. But she cut it because of the censors. It implied suicide.”

Ah, I see.

“Yumi would love to see this video. You’re filming this, right?”

The choreographer glanced at someone behind, who nodded in response.

“Please take a nice picture of me. Knowing that Yumi is watching makes me want to dance.”

“I’d love to see the student bend their whole body. I wonder how flexible they can get. It’s not that great, but somehow it’s appealing.”

Is that a threat?

At that moment, I heard Kang Minjae’s voice.

“It’s rare to see a trainee dance as well as she does. You know that.”

Suddenly, the atmosphere became quiet.

‘What is this?’

What’s with the mood?

And Minjae, are you complimenting me?

The Pig Boss in the middle spoke.

“That’s true.”

“Right?”

Minjae nodded with a smile.

He’s really going the extra mile.

Why is he acting like this?

The Boss, oblivious to my feelings, turned his head with a smile.

Seeing that made me even more irritated.

Why are you complimenting me?

‘You look good too, Minjae.’

Living well from such a high place, huh?

Why is that guy evaluating and praising me?

It felt really annoying.

Though I was boiling inside, I didn’t show it.

I quietly repeated to myself,

‘He’s a stranger right now.’

And I was the crazy one in this area.

I smiled brightly.

A good crazy person would smile at this moment.

Let’s show a pretty face. Cha Dowon.

Then the woman on my right spoke.

“Your smile is cute.”

The Pig Boss said,

“The visuals are quite good, right?”

“Yes. The proportions are nice too. At first glance, it just seems pretty, but looking closely, the features are quite prominent.”

I subtly erased my smile, kindly allowing them to see my expressionless face.

“The black eyes are nice. How old are you?”

This time, I answered.

“Fifteen.”

The Boss smiled slightly. The image of a pig’s head on an altar crossed my mind, which I found a bit amusing.

“Your voice is nice too.”

Another judge asked,

“It seems like you’ve studied vocalization. Your voice resonates.”

I nodded innocently with a smile.

“Yes. I’m most confident in acting.”

“Is acting your specialty?”

I shyly scratched my cheek.

“It’s not really a specialty. I just like reading scripts.”

The Boss was once again slightly impressed.

“What do you think, sir?”

Are you thinking of developing me?

I think I would fit well with this company, how about you?

The Boss read my profile and said,

“Don’t just keep asking number 119 questions, ask other applicants too.”

“Oh, right.”

The judges then started asking questions to others. I smiled and looked back at our Kyungbae.

“Huh?”

He was glaring at me with clenched fists.

‘What’s wrong with you, really.’

Why are you blaming me for your lack of skills?

I mouthed silently,

-Thank you. Hyung.

Thank you for giving Yumi the opportunity to shine.

Thanks to you, I did well. Our Kyungbae hyung.

Then Kyungbae said aloud,

“Damn it.”