Cheating way through to Stardom chapter 18- In the Center

And I’m very hungry too.

Friends Entertainment looks like a honey pot to me.

“What do you think a hungry man would do if he gets a honey pot?”

Eat it all up.

“Hehe! You admitted it! You’re the ambitious one!”

“It’s Cha Dowon.”

“Right. Ambitious one. But you’re still so young. How old are you?”

Suddenly, I felt all eyes on me.

What’s this?

Are they sensitive about age?

“Fifteen.”

Isn’t this about the age most kids join agencies?

I glanced at my seniors, and their gazes turned even more hostile.

What’s with this?

“A kid.”

“Of course, I’m a kid.”

“What a strange kid. From the way you talk, you seem like you’re in your twenties, ambitious one. Normally, at your age, you’d be drawing on boards and playing.”

I frowned.

“If you want that, I’ll do it now, whatever.”

What’s the big deal?

I was looking around for the board when the choreographer, who had his arm around my shoulder, suddenly twitched.

‘What the…?’

I could feel the recoil of his body clearly.

Then he started laughing like crazy.

“Puhahahahahaha!”

Damn. My ears hurt!

“This guy is something else! An ambitious one! I like you, you know that?”

“I’m deeply honored?”

“Puhahahahaha! You’d do well in variety shows!”

“If you give me a chance.”

The choreographer seemed really taken with me, shaking me all over.

As I staggered under his rough affection, our respected teacher spoke up.

“In the center.”

Oh.

“Our country’s dance isn’t like Japan’s, and being in the center doesn’t mean much here. But you know, right? When the camera zooms in for a close-up, your face is perfect for catching attention.”

You have a keen eye.

Truly a top choreographer.

You know what you’re looking at.

“You’ve got charisma too. Guys, got it? For the monthly evaluation group performance, the ambitious one takes the center position.”

So there are group evaluations too.

Does that mean I’ll have to practice with the senior trainees?

‘Can’t I just do individual evaluations?’

I sighed involuntarily.

I mean, it’s not like we’re a fixed team.

Do I really need to build camaraderie with trainees who are going their own way?

‘Damn.’

I looked at the seniors and bowed deeply with a smile.

“Please take care of me. I may lack skills, but I’ll learn a lot.”

Yeah. Even from a fool, there’s something to learn.

“Oh? Yeah.”

My roommates still looked fierce, but a few seemed different.

‘What a fate I have.’

Why do I have to soothe these arrogant brats?

“I was honestly surprised earlier.”

I spoke to a few people who seemed hesitant.

“You’re really good dancers.”

Considering the effort you put in.

It wasn’t much of a compliment, but two or three of them smiled a bit.

‘Simpletons.’

Getting happy over such a small compliment. Have you been starved of them?

“R-really?”

“We’ve been trainees for a long time.”

“If we can’t dance this well, what are we even doing here? So, your name is Ambitious One (Ya dowon)?”

Damn.

“It’s Cha Dowon.”

“Right. Ambitious One. You’re really young at 15. Well, we started around that age too.”

What’s with you, teenagers?

‘Why do you resemble the teachers in this?’

It’s Cha Dowon.

Why am I being called Ambitious One?

“The monthly evaluation is in two weeks, right?”

“We’ll teach you until then. I saw you earlier, you’re pretty good.”

I forced a smile at the rapidly warming atmosphere.

“Alright, it’s practice time! Everyone gather around!”

The trainees all rushed to the teacher.

He grabbed me and put me in the center.

Soon, a loud shout was heard.

“Let’s start!”

I focused on the teacher’s words again.

Practice began again, and this time, I was part of it.

***

After practice, I was catching my breath when our respected teacher spoke.

“Ambitious One, I’ll give you a reward. Follow me.”

I blinked.

“You already did.”

“I’ll give you more. Are you coming or not?”

If he calls, I must go. I followed him lazily.

“Will this be quick?”

Looking at the clock in the practice room, almost five hours had passed, and the side effects were showing.

“It’ll be quick. Do you have something urgent?”

I shrugged.

“Time is gold.”

I’m getting close to the time when I’ll cry tears of blood, teacher.

‘Should I run to the bathroom?’

How do I deal with this? Will my eyes hurt a lot?

‘Vomiting blood didn’t hurt that much….’

I was thinking of various ways when the teacher grabbed me by the shoulder again and dragged me.

“Ambitious One.”

“It’s Cha Dowon.”

“Right, Ambitious One.”

Seriously.

“Because of you, everyone calls me Ambitious One.”

“I’m good at giving nicknames. It suits you, doesn’t it?”

Damn. I’d rather be called a lunatic.

“Let go of me.”

“No, Ambitious One. We’re going somewhere really good. You won’t regret it.”

It’s not a weird place, right?

“I’ll walk on my own.”

The choreographer dragged me into the hallway.

“I’ll buy you a drink myself.”

“Thank you.”

“You did well today.”

I saw some vending machines at the end of the hallway.

“We’re here.”

I smirked.

“This is the good place?”

“Yeah.”

Unbelievable.

The choreographer handed me a drink.

As I quietly opened it, I noticed someone behind the chair.

A big figure stood out.

‘Oh, that guy. Isn’t he the one who tried to commit suicide?’

I looked him up and down.

Because of his size, I thought of a Russian bear.

His shoulders were incredibly broad.

He was quite good-looking too.

‘His face and body are nice. Is that why he’s still here after all that drama?’

The choreographer, knowing what I was looking at, walked over to the bear-like human with a light step.

Our dear teacher patted the man’s shoulder and spoke.

“Seungjoon! How’ve you been?”

The man opened his closed eyes and nodded slowly.

“I heard about it. Take care of yourself. What are you doing?”

The man didn’t reply.

The choreographer gave him the drink he had taken for himself.

“Cheer up.”

The man nodded again but didn’t speak.

The choreographer shook his head and came back to me.

“Now that I think about it, you two have met before, right?”

“No. This is our first time.”

“Seungjoon, say hi. You know him. He’s the one who gave you chest compressions.”

Please. Teacher. Listen for once.

I frowned.

‘His heart didn’t even stop in the first place, did it?’

Can that be considered helping?

At that moment, the man’s eyes suddenly widened, staring at me.

‘Whoa.’

His piercing gaze felt very strange.

What’s up with him?

The guy who didn’t say a word to the choreographer spoke.

“Is it you?”

His low voice sounded just like a growling beast.

I frowned and responded.

“What?”

“The person who saved my life.”

Damn.

What’s he talking about?

“You weren’t planning on dying back then.”

Not when you were holding on with your arms.

“You…”

He suddenly stood up from his seat, startling the choreographer, who flinched in surprise.

It was threatening, but I had no idea why.

“Why? What is it? Do you have business with me?”

His strong arm grabbed my forearm.

Oh, damn.

What kind of situation is this now?

“Why did you save me?”