NOVEL SIMPLE Chapter 111
“This fourth competition is also a song selection round, just like last time!”
I was worried I might end up with a crummy song for my competition with Yoo Seol, but thankfully, it was another free song selection this week.
“Alright, from now on, participants, please move to your assigned practice rooms! I wish you all luck in the fourth competition!”
With that, I felt a bit relieved and headed to the practice room assigned to Yoo Seol and me.
There was no cameraman following us, just an unattended camera, leaving only the two of us in the practice room.
“……”
“……”
Since our psychological warfare, Yoo Seol and I hadn’t really had any personal conversations at all.
The silence filled the practice room, but….
Why didn’t I feel awkward around Yoo Seol?
Swish.
“Hey, check this out.”
“What is it?”
At that moment, Yoo Seol, who had been fiddling with her tablet PC in silence, handed me the screen she was looking at.
“A list of songs I think would be good for us. I picked from idol unit tracks from the past 10 years.”
“……”
Looking at the screen, there were about 20 songs listed.
‘Did she really narrow these down in such a short time?’
While I felt a bit impressed, I still held onto my doubt.
‘What if she only picked songs that were super advantageous for her?’
Given Yoo Seol’s cunning nature, I meticulously examined the songs.
But….
‘…They’re pretty safe. No, actually, she chose really well.’
As I went through the songs Yoo Seol narrowed down, my doubts began to fade.
Our concepts were quite opposing.
Sexy vs. pure.
Decadent vs. cute.
Black vs. white.
And the songs Yoo Seol picked were just the kind of concepts that could highlight our contrasting images well.
While I was carefully considering which song would work best, Yoo Seol said,
“Pick one that you want. I’m fine with anything.”
With Yoo Seol saying she was fine with any of the 20 songs, I was taken aback and asked,
“…You really mean I can pick anything and you’ll go along with it?”
“Yeah.”
“…Why are you being accommodating to me?”
“What? Accommodating? Hah.”
Was my choice of words that funny to her?
Yoo Seol let out a slight laugh and said,
“It’s not accommodation; it’s confidence. I’m confident I can beat you with any of these songs.”
“……”
Snap.
But why is she starting trouble?
Peeved by Yoo Seol’s dismissal, I shot back at her.
“It’s pretty funny for the second place to be so confident against the first place.”
“…How rude.”
“That’s rich coming from you. Why don’t you stop pretending to be a nice girl in front of the camera? You’re showing your true colors way more today.”
Normally, Yoo Seol always pretends to be nice in front of the camera.
But today, she was revealing her true self, which wouldn’t fly on air.
As I teased her about that, Yoo Seol smirked and shot back.
“We’re not wearing microphones right now. The unattended camera doesn’t pick up sound well. And it’s you who often does the nice kid cosplay.”
“…What are you talking about?”
“Why? Not true? You love pretending to comfort poor people to boost your self-esteem. You did that with Seo Yoo-jin and Hye-jeong too.”
Grind.
In that moment, I discovered another talent of Yoo Seol’s.
This girl… was really good at verbal sparring.
Feeling heated, I almost fired another shot at her.
Going any further, I’d likely get caught up in her schemes.
So instead….
“Shorty.”
“…What?”
“Forever second place.”
“…What are you doing?”
I continued with my one-dimensional attacks.
And it seemed to be working pretty well….
“Old lady.”
“…So childish, it’s not worth my time.”
“Has-been.”
“……”
Yoo Seol turned her head away, clearly annoyed.
I knew I was being childish, but….
‘I won…!’
Seeing Yoo Seol turn away, I felt like I had won our verbal battle.
With that, I chuckled and focused on choosing a song.
And….
‘……This one.’
One song from Yoo Seol’s list caught my eye.
“Has-been unnie.”
“…If you call me that one more time.”
“That’s not it… Let’s go with this song.”
“……”
Yoo Seol, annoyed, turned to her tablet PC.
And….
…..
…She fell into deep thought.
Overall, Yoo Seol had higher stats than me.
But there was one stat where I had a slight edge over her: my dance stats.
And the song I chose was a legendary boy group unit’s dance hit.
The importance of dance in this song was overwhelmingly higher than that of vocals.
‘If it’s this…’
If it’s this, I might just be able to beat Yoo Seol….
“Wait, are you thinking you can beat me with this?”
“……”
At that moment, Yoo Seol gave me a condescending look and said,
“That’s just pathetic.”
“……”
“Sure, let’s go with that. The result will be the same anyway.”
…This girl is really annoying.
“…Has-been.”
“Is that all you can say? Seriously, you’re not even a kindergarten kid… What is going on in that head of yours?”
“I’m not the childish one; you’re just old.”
“…….”
So we were both extremely hostile, yet we managed to select a song faster than any other team.
It was truly a case of ‘enemies in the same boat.’
Once we selected a song, the next step was to learn and solidify the choreography.
Yoo Seol, still irritated by the constant “has-been” taunts, watched the dance video for the song I picked a few times before saying coldly,
“From now on, I’ll teach you directly, so just follow along.”
“…What do you mean?”
…What is she, a trainer giving choreography lessons to a trainee? What does she mean just follow?
In that instant, I thought Yoo Seol was just being pretentious, but….
‘……Oh?’
Yoo Seol was indeed teaching me the moves, making sure to solidify her own details in that short time.
No matter how talented, this was unbelievable.
‘…No way?’
With a glimmer of hope, I asked Yoo Seol.
“Unnie, have you covered this before?”
“……”
Yoo Seol didn’t have an answer. I sensed I was probably right.
Realizing that Yoo Seol had covered this song before, I scolded her,
“That’s cowardly.”
“……”
“I’m totally new to this song, but you’ve done it before, haven’t you?”
I was already at a disadvantage in stats compared to Yoo Seol.
With her having already covered the dance, my chances of catching up with her were slim.
When I pointed out the unfairness, Yoo Seol asked with a stoic expression,
“So, should we switch to another song?”
“Of course, let’s switch to a different song right now…”
“Think other songs will be different?”
“What do you mean…? No way…?”
Taken aback by her words, I swapped my gaze between the songs on the tablet PC and Yoo Seol’s face.
Yoo Seol had a confirming expression.
“…You’ve covered all these over 20 songs on this list?”
“…….”
“…No way.”
If that’s the case, does that mean she’s thoroughly covered all these various choreographies?
I clicked my tongue and figured out Yoo Seol’s scheme.
‘So that’s why she told me to pick any song. She’s already done them all…!’
With that realization, I immediately opened a music chart app.
I needed to find a song that was not on Yoo Seol’s list.
Yoo Seol watched silently as I did this and calmly asked,
“What are you doing? Are you looking for a different song?”
“…Yes, a song that’s not on this list…”
“Don’t you think I might have covered other songs too?”
“……”
At Yoo Seol’s comment, I froze, and my fingers momentarily stopped on the tablet PC as she came closer and rested a hand on my shoulder.
“Ye-rin, while you were in school, I was rotting in the practice room.”
“……”
“For a whole 9 years. How many songs do you think I covered during that time?”
…Right, aside from stats, there was one thing I could never beat Yoo Seol in.
And that was time.
I had only been training for a few months, whereas Yoo Seol had been a trainee for over 9 years.
The tallest mountain, the longest river.
At that moment, the pressure coming from Yoo Seol was something I felt I could never hope to overcome.
Yoo Seol caressed my frozen cheek as if she were bestowing mercy upon me, saying,
“Just stick with the song you originally picked. That would still be your best option.”
“……”
In an instant, I had a rebellious urge to refuse Yoo Seol’s suggestion, but….
Nod.
Eventually, I set aside my pride and nodded.
Choosing another song where vocal ability would take precedence would leave me with no chance whatsoever.
Even if Yoo Seol had covered it, picking a song that focused on dance was my best shot.
“Got it, let’s start practicing now.”
“……”
“Ye-rin, I’m the one teaching you the choreography, so you need to respond.”
“…Yes.”
“Aw, good girl. Ye-rin, you’re so pretty when you’re obedient. Can you keep it up like this? Okay?”
“…….”
“Respond.”
“…Yes.”
Swish, whoosh.
Yoo Seol messed up my hair playfully, as if getting back at me for patting her head when we picked the team.
Her touch was playful like a kid, and I was upset about my pride, but there was nothing I could do.
Right now, the gap between Yoo Seol and me was just too vast….
All I could do now was bend down as much as possible, soak up everything she had to offer, and try to narrow the gap so I might just have a chance to get past her.
“Okay, now I’m really starting. Just follow along.”
“…Yes.”
With that, I followed Yoo Seol’s training, determined to overcome my challenges.
And….
‘……Wow.’
…Soon, I felt astonished.
Yoo Seol wasn’t just high in stats; she also had a remarkable ability to teach others.
‘…How is this girl just a trainee?’
I felt like I was being trained by Lee Ji-woo instead of a mere trainee.
Maybe that’s why I seemed to absorb everything Yoo Seol taught me and quickly memorized the choreography.
“…You’re definitely fast.”
Yoo Seol looked surprised at my progress and murmured with a hint of irritation.
‘If I can properly learn the choreography like this…and explode with Sky Demon Enchantment on stage….’
There’s a chance.
…That’s what I was thinking when it happened.
Throb.
“……!”
“…What are you doing? You were off-beat just now.”
“…Ah, that’s…”
Maybe it was because we had practiced the choreography for three hours straight….
Though it was a bit achy, I thought I could endure it, but suddenly….
Throb, throb.
…Pain rushed through as if a dam had burst in my ankle.